Domination without Dominance: Inca-Spanish Encounters in Early Colonial Peru (Latin America Otherwise)

Offering an alternative narrative of the conquest of the Incas, Gonzalo Lamana both examines and shifts away from the colonial imprint that still permeates most accounts of the conquest. Lamana focuses on a key moment of transition: the years that bridged the first contact between Spanish conquistadores and Andean peoples in 1531 and the moment, around 1550, when a functioning colonial regime emerged. Using published accounts and array of archival sources, he focuses on questions of subalternization, meaning making, copying, and exotization, which proved crucial to both the Spaniards and the Incas. On the one hand, he re-inserts different epistemologies into the conquest narrative, making central to the plot often-dismissed, discrepant stories such as books that were expected to talk and year-long attacks that could only be launched under a full moon. On the other hand, he questions the dominant image of a clear distinction between Inca and Spaniard, showing instead that on the battlefield as much as in everyday arenas such as conversion, market exchanges, politics, and land tenure, the parties blurred into each other in repeated instances of mimicry.Lamana’s redefinition of the order of things reveals that, contrary to the conquerors’ accounts, what the Spanairds achieved was a “domination without dominance.” This conclusion undermines common ideas of Spanish (and Western) superiority. It shows that casting order as a by-product of military action rests on a pervasive fallacy: the translation of military superiority into cultural superiority. In constant dialogue with critical thinking from different disciplines and traditions, Lamana illuminates how this new interpretation of the conquest of the Incas revises current understandings of Western colonialism and the emergence of still-current global configurations. Offering an alternative narrative of the conquest of the Incas, Gonzalo Lamana both examines and shifts away from the colonial imprint that still permeates most accounts of the conquest. Lamana focuses on a key moment of the years that bridged the first contact between Spanish conquistadores and Andean peoples in 1531 and the moment, around 1550, when a functioning colonial regime emerged. Using published accounts and array of archival sources, he focuses on questions of subalternization, meaning making, copying, and exotization, which proved crucial to both the Spaniards and the Incas. On the one hand, he re-inserts different epistemologies into the conquest narrative, making central to the plot often-dismissed, discrepant stories such as books that were expected to talk and year-long attacks that could only be launched under a full moon. On the other hand, he questions the dominant image of a clear distinction between Inca and Spaniard, showing instead that on the battlefield as much as in everyday arenas such as conversion, market exchanges, politics, and land tenure, the parties blurred into each other in repeated instances of mimicry. Lamanas redefinition of the order of things reveals that, contrary to the conquerors accounts, what the Spanairds achieved was a domination without dominance. This conclusion undermines common ideas of Spanish (and Western) superiority. It shows that casting order as a by-product of military action rests on a pervasive the translation of military superiority into cultural superiority. In constant dialogue with critical thinking from different disciplines and traditions, Lamana illuminates how this new interpretation of the conquest of the Incas revises current understandings of Western colonialism and the emergence of still-current global configurations. The author both examines and shifts away from the colonial imprint that permeates most accounts of the conquest of the Incas. He examines the years that bridged the first contact between Spanish conquistadores and Andean peoples in 1531 and the moment, around 1550, when a functioning colonial regime emerged. He focuses on questions of sub-alternization, meaning-making, copying, and exotization, which proved crucial to both the Spaniards and the Incas. He questions dominant images of Inca-Spanish distinctiveness and shows that in the battlefield as much as in everyday arenas such as conversion, market exchanges, politics, and land tenure, the parties blurred into each other in repeated instances of mimicry. The resulting landscape of plural attempts to define the order of things reveals that what the Spaniards achieved was a "domination without dominance." This conclusion undermines common ideas of Spanish (and Western) superiority. It shows that casting order as a by-product of military action rests on a pervasive fallacy : the translation of military superiority into cultural superiority Gonzalo Lamana offers an alternative narrative of the conquest of the Incas that at once examines and shifts away from the colonial imprint still permeating most historical accounts. Focusing on questions of meaning making, subalternization, copying, and exotization, he makes central to the conquest narrative such often-dismissed, discrepant stories as books that were expected to talk and year-long attacks that could only be launched under the full moon. He also questions the dominant image of a clear distinction between Inca and Spaniard, showing instead that on the battlefield as much as in everyday arenas, the parties blurred into each other in repeated instances of mimicry. Lamana's redefinition of the order of things reveals that what the Spaniards achieved was domination without dominance. Undermining common ideas of Spanish (and Western) superiority, this conclusion shows that casting order as a by-product of military action rests on a pervasive fallacy: the translation of military superiority into cultural superiority Contents 10 About the Series 8 Acknowledgments 12 Introduction: Situated Interventions: Colonial Imprints, Decolonial Moves 16 1. Beyond Exotization and Likeness: Alterity and the Production of Sense in a Colonial Encounter 42 2. Christian Realism and Magicality during Atahualpa’s Imprisonment 80 3. Why Betting a Barrel of Preserves Can Be a Bad Thing To Do: Civilizing Deeds and Snags 112 4. Illusions of Mastery: Manco Inca’s War and the Colonial Normal 140 5. The Emergence of a New Mestizo Consciousness: An Unthinkable Inca 174 6. Power as Moves: A Mid-1540s Repertoire of Flipping the Coin 208 7. “The End” 242 Basic Political chronology of the Spanish conquest 246 Notes 248 Glossary 264 References 266 Index 290 Introduction : Situated Interventions : Colonial Imprints, Decolonial Moves -- Beyond Exotization And Likeness : Alterity And The Production Of Sense In A Colonial Encounter -- Christian Realism And Magicality During Atahualpa's Imprisonment -- Why Betting A Barrel Of Preserves Can Be A Bad Thing To Do : Civilizing Deeds And Snags -- Illusions Of Mastery : Manco Inca's War And The Colonial Normal -- The Emergence Of A New Mestizo Consciousness : An Unthinkable Inca -- Power As Moves : A Mid-1540s Repertoire Of Flipping The Coin -- The End -- Basic Political Chronology Of The Spanish Conquest. Gonzalo Lamana. Includes Bibliographical References (p. [251]-274) And Index.