Abstract

SAN MIGUEL, Pedro L.. A Paradigm of Civilization or a Model of Tyranny? The Tawantinsuyu and the Origins of Latin American Historiography. Hist. graf [online]. 2022, n.58, pp.199-242.  Epub Feb 21, 2022. ISSN 1405-0927.  https://doi.org/10.48102/hyg.vi58.379.

Drawing on a broader investigation of the “civilization or barbarism” dilemma in Latin America, this essay examines the debate that emerged in the early colonial period about the character of the Inca regime. Two interpretations of the Tawantinsuyu emerged at the time: one regarded it as a civilizing system; the other one portrayed it as a “tyranny”. This dispute, which reflected the political conflicts of the moment, was apparent in the early historical production about the Incas. Figures such as Pedro Cieza de León, Juan de Betanzos, Juan de Matienzo, and Pedro Sarmiento de Gamboa contributed to this debate. The essay argues that this controversy is one of the founding moments of Latin American historiography.

Keywords : Tawantinsuyu; civilization/barbarism; “Inca tyranny”; historiography; Latin America.

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