Pedro de León Portocarrero’s <i>Descripción del Virreinato del Perú</i> (c.1620): A New Christian Between Spain and Netherlands in Colonial Latin America

This essay explores the <i>Descripción del Virreinato del Perú</i> (c.1620), an anonymously authored account of viceregal Peru attributed to Pedro de León Portocarrero (c.1576–c.1620)—a Spanish New Christian merchant likely of Portuguese background. The analysis reveals that Portocarrero...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Gabriel Mordoch
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2024-12-01
Series:Religions
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/15/12/1481
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Summary:This essay explores the <i>Descripción del Virreinato del Perú</i> (c.1620), an anonymously authored account of viceregal Peru attributed to Pedro de León Portocarrero (c.1576–c.1620)—a Spanish New Christian merchant likely of Portuguese background. The analysis reveals that Portocarrero’s text undermines Spanish colonial authority not just by supplying secret commercial and military intelligence to Dutch officials but also by subtly critiquing Spain’s colonial enterprise on a symbolic discursive level. Consequently, the work offers an alternative, non-triumphalist, and dissident perspective on the Spanish colonization of Peru.
ISSN:2077-1444