Habsburg Peru

The book provides two different contributions: a first section by Peter Bradley entitled “The Early History of the English Fascination with Peru,” and the second by David Cahill, “The Inca and Inca Symbolism in Popular Festive Culture: The Religious Processions of Seventeenth-Century Cuzco.” Both studies are embedded in the current discourse on the real, reality, and the imaginary, a framework that is discussed in the preface.Bradley presents an overview of English-language writings about Peru and works that were translated into English during the Spanish colonial period. Besides the introduction and conclusion, the published English-language documents are divided into historical texts, accounts of sea voyages and travels, collections of voyages and travels, geographies and atlases, and other documents (monographs and dramatic works). Without losing the thematic goal, the author provides interesting and useful commentary on the content and purpose of these English source materials, differentiating between imagined perceptions and firsthand observations of places described. He also refers to the English interests in overtaking the Spanish colonies, ultimately unsuccessful, which nevertheless managed to nourish the native hopes for outside support during rebellions. This latter theme is worthy of future studies.Bradley’s approach not only adds to contemporary debates on the “imaginary” in colonial literature but also enhances our knowledge of lesser-known European source materials that have not been taken into account because of their scarcity or because they contain controversial information. The overview of the types of information in English-language source documents makes this contribution valuable for specialists, historians, and students looking for sources beyond Spanish-language documentation.In the second section, Cahill attempts to explore Inca identity and imaginary in seventeenth-century Peru through the analysis of two colonial fiestas that took place in Cuzco. Cahill provides authoritative historical background information on colonial Spanish society, including the laws and circumstances under which the Spanish administration and church would allow the display of Incan paraphernalia during the above-mentioned fiestas. This Cahill explains in detail. However, Cahill’s approach and interpretation remains solely a Western view of Incan imaginary.While Bradley’s study of the English imaginary relies on works written by the English themselves, Cahill’s study is based on documentation written by Spaniards or creoles, and not natives. This results in a superficial appreciation of Inca imaginary during the colonial period. Even with the help of some ethnohistorical writings, it only scratches the surface of what native Andeans could have thought and imagined. The study of Andean cultures and the Inca requires a better understanding of Andean cosmology. To achieve this, an interdisciplinary approach is necessary, using the data provided by archaeology, anthropology, and linguistic studies. Nevertheless, Cahill’s contribution lies in the clarifications of how colonial Cuzqueño society was influenced by both the Spanish administration and the Inca past. As Cahill notes, “[T]he allure of the ‘the Inca’ for Creoles help[s] us to understand the formation of political alliances between Creole and indigenous elites” (p. 105). The appendixes of both fiesta accounts are valuable documentation for further studies on the continuity of Inca culture

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