Felipe Guaman De Ayala's Drawings and the Wider Purpose behind Them

Felipe Guaman Poma de Ayala was an ethnic Andean, deeply inspired by the injustice of the colonial regime, he wrote a massive manuscript in 1615 about the history of the Inca Empire to the King of Spain. His masterpiece includes 1,200 pages, of which 398 were images full of details, that are clearly considered by the artist to be the most direct and effective way of communicating his ideas to the audience. Felipe de Ayala focused on the conflicts between the settlers and the natives to reveal, in his powerful drawings, his wider purpose of a desire for a colonial reformation that will bring stability and justice to the Andean people. Two major reasons that motivated Ayala to write the manuscript are broadly seen in his drawings: the first is the mistreatment towards him and the second is a more direct discrimination of the native Andeans.

The first major reason for writing the manuscript illustrates the difficulties that Felipe Guaman Poma de Ayala felt during the colonial period. As a young man, he migrated from an Inca state to a newly conquered area by the Incas. He settled there with privileges given to him by the Inca Empire to teach the superior ways of their culture. But with the arrival of the Europeans in 1532, these new settlers like Guaman Poma were viewed as outsiders. The situation worsened when Viceroy Francisco de Toledo fixed an administration that divided the indigenous community into two groups: native born members and outsiders. When Guaman Poma started defending his inherited land, he presented himself as a native Andean and as a Spanish appointee. Since he collaborated with the Spanish colonial regime as a Church assistant, he considered himself as a man with rights, loyal to the Crown. During this time, Fe...

... middle of paper ...

... him and the second is a more direct discrimination of the native Andeans. The manuscript was addressed to the King of Spain, with the intention of seeking reformation of the Spanish colonial domination, to save Andean lives from exploitation and diseases. Felipe de Ayala's personal experiences during the colonial period as a Church servant, transform his believes, to realize that the Andean civilization and culture were at risk. These facts are widely portrayed in his vivid drawings as a medium full of colonial affairs. As a result of this inner awakening, he decides to dedicate the rest of his life to his people and become an activist of the colonial regime. Felipe Guaman Poma de Ayala illustrates desire for a reformation of the colonial system through an effective way of communicating his ideas, mostly through pictures, in his 1,200 letter to the King of Spain.