Chronicle
Historia del Reino de Quito
Not translated into English
Juan de Velasco · 1789
Synopsis
The early history of the kingdom is divided into four epochs. It begins with the country of the Quitus, then recounts the arrival by sea, around the year 700 or 800, of the Caras led by Caran, their journey north up the río Esmeraldas and the conquest of Quito, where the scyris now reign. The marriage of Toa, only daughter of the last of them, to Duchicela, son of the chief of the Puruhaes, unites the two peoples; Hualcopo stands up to the Inca Tupac Yupanqui, then Huayna Capac marries Queen Paccha. The narrative then follows the Spanish conquest as far as the civil wars.
Context
This history was completed in exile: the dedication to Antonio Porlier, of the Council of the King of Spain, is dated Faenza, 15 March 1789. It has three parts, the first of which deals with natural history. Henri Ternaux-Compans published the historical part in French in Paris in 1840, with Arthus Bertrand; the complete Spanish edition appeared in Quito from 1841 to 1844. The kingdom of the Scyris that it describes has left no archaeological trace, and Marcos Jiménez de la Espada and Jacinto Jijón y Caamaño both disputed its existence; the work has nonetheless fed the national identity of Ecuador.
Who it is for
A chronicle of 1789 to be read with caution: archaeology has not confirmed the kingdom it describes. A partial French translation has existed since 1840.
Prizes and reception
Regarded in Ecuador as a quasi-official history, it is read today as a founding text of national identity.
Sources for this page 4
The pages consulted to check this page.