The Jewish Inka King of Paytiti and the Converso Guaman Poma  de Ayala (Jewish Old Testament culture in Tridentine Peru, 1600-1650)

Jorge Cañizares-Esguerra, University of Texas-Austin This is a lecture on the thoroughgoing impact of Jewish Old Testament culture in the Spanish Monarchy, not only among Portuguese conversos, but also among Spanish Old Christians and Amerindian intellectuals. The lecture goes over the ideas of   Fernando Montesinos (literally, Mount-Sinai), most likely a Portuguese converso who in Peru became a great mining expert, alchemist, and interpreter of the history of “Hamerica” since creation via the exegesis of Old Testament prophets. Montesinos was also a leading Inquisitor who left the only printed description of the great auto de fe of Lima of 1639. The lecture also describes the life of   Fernando’s nephew, Francisco,  who inspired by his uncle’s ideas became an “Inca” who lead a nearly decade-long indigenous uprising against the crown in the Amazonian jungles. The Montesinos formed part of the same reforming circle of Antonio Leon Pinelo. They also shared the same biblical interpretations of Peru.  Leon Pinelo led a mercantilist, Colbertian legal reform of the empire. Pinelo was one of three sons of the most powerful Portuguese converso merchant of the South Atlantic. Finally the paper closes with the history of Peru of Guaman Poma de Ayala, who should be read as one of the most astute, creative, and learned  Old Testament exegetes of the Peruvian baroque. It turns out that the biblical historical ideas of Montesinos, Leon Pinelo, and Guaman Poma were nearly identical. Free and open to the public. Light lunch will be served. For more information, please contact Claudia at cgiribaldi@uchicago.edu. Cosponsored by the Department of History.