The defense of the Indo-Peruvian nation, Felipe Guaman Poma de Ayala's primary objective

Abstract

Through an analysis of the geographic references and of the past in Guaman Poma’s Nueva corónica, this article proposes the notion of memory as a guiding thread towards the central thesis of the work: the defense of the nation in its archaic sense, that is, ethnic. Guaman Poma advocates for access to and ownership of the Andean territory by its original settlers. His critique of the colonial state goes beyond mere legal or “arbitrista” claims and develops his argument through an ideological revision of the Andean past.