known as El Inca
born April 12, 1539, Cuzco, Peru
died April 24, 1616, Córdoba, Spain
One of the great Spanish chroniclers of the 16th century.
Garcilaso was the illegitimate son of a conquistador and an Inca noblewoman. Raised in his father's household on a vast estate in Peru, he absorbed the traditions of both cultures. After going to Spain in 1560, he served as captain in the Spanish army against the Moors, and then he entered the priesthood. He is best known for La Florida del Ynca (an account of Hernando de Soto 's expeditions north of Mexico) and his history of Peru. He was related to his namesake, the Spanish Golden Age poet Garcilaso de la Vega (b. 1503, Toledo, Spain
d. Oct. 14, 1536, Nice, duchy of Savoy).