Historical manuscript page with handwritten Spanish text, several illustrations including a crowned figure on a throne labeled "S.TIDAD," coats of arms, and seated individuals in prayer, from 1744.

Felipe Guaman Poma de Ayala

Indigenous Andean Author and Artist (1535–1616)

Author of El primer nueva corónica i buen gobierno (c. 1615), an almost 1,200-page letter written to the King of Spain that also has 398 illustrations.

A historical black-and-white line drawing depicting a religious scene with a priest teaching three kneeling figures, some with praying gestures, inside a building with arched windows and stone walls.
Learn more about the colonial Americas
Learn more about the colonial Americas

Learn about conquistadors, including how some are portrayed in Guaman Poma’s letter.

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