Unlocking the Doors to the Worlds of Guaman Poma and His Nueva corónica

Abstract

Felipe Guaman Poma de Ayala’s handwritten illustrated book, Nueva corónica y buen gobierno, from 1615—honored by UNESCO as a “Memory of the World” item—rewrote Andean history in accordance with his goals of reforming Spanish colonial rule in Peru. On the eve of the four-hundredth anniversary of Poma’s book, a renowned group of international scholars has been assembled to focus fresh attention on the work, its author, and its times. This volume brings together a range of established and younger scholars to explore the countless avenues of inquiry that emerge from Poma’s work, including Andean institutions and ecology, Inca governance, Spanish conquest-era history, and much more.