This work is the story of the discovery and conquest of Peru, from the time that rumors of a civilization to the south of Panama first reached the Spaniards, through the epoch of the civil wars. In addition to providing a descriptive chronology of discovery and conquest, Busto has included topical chapters on the founding of cities, soldiers and their origins, the weaponry of the conquest, encomiendas, women of the conquest, and the children of the conquerors. This book is profusely illustrated with drawings and maps as well as photographs of engravings, paintings, and prints. At times, the appropriateness of the illustrations is questionable, and the quality of the reproductions is most uneven.
The scholarship of Busto’s work is not consistent. Although the book contains neither bibliography nor footnotes, a close reading reveals that it is partially based on documentation from Spanish and Peruvian archives, and this certainly is one of its strengths. This work is seriously deficient, however, in its failure to take into account the relevant, recently published studies in English. For example, the chapter on the encomienda refers only to the publications of Silvio Zavala, Demetrio Ramos Pérez, and José María Ots Capdequí, neglecting, among others, those of James Lockhart. The result is legalistic and nonanalytical; del Busto fails to explain the centrality of this institution to the conquest period.
This book has other weaknesses. Busto tends to compile rather than analyze, as the chapter dealing with women illustrates. Despite the extensive archival researches conducted by the author over the years, he often bases his descriptions on legislation rather than an examination of the actual practices, as seen in his discussion of Indian slavery (pp. 502ff). Often, Busto is not very discerning in his evaluation of source materials. He continually cites Garcilaso de la Vega as the principal authority for aspects of the conquest, failing to understand the limitations of a commentator who wrote a half-century after the events in question.
Despite these limitations, the book is useful. Although it does not provide any major new interpretations of Peruvian history, it does contain a wealth of detail on the people and events of the period. The author’s writing style, which includes numerous anecdotes and quotations, has produced a very readable work.
