Blas Valera

Blas Valera (* 1545 in Chachapoyas, † probably April 2, 1597 in Cadiz ) was a Peruvian Jesuit, writer and chronicler.

His father was Luis Valera, a worthy man in the wake of Francisco Pizarro, his mother Francisca Pérez, a local woman whose ancestry is not yet fully understood. Since he lived very shortly after the fall of the Inca empire, he was able to meet many formerly important people (eg, the so-called Amauta ) whose knowledge he worked in his works. Blas Valera is referred to as the "first Peruvian historian " or as a " phantom chronicler ".

He began his studies in Trujillo and set it later in Lima continued. He joined the Society of Jesus and was soon used for its knowledge of Quechua in various mission areas of the Jesuits in Peru. He was one of the first mestizos who were enrolled in the Jesuit Order.

His major works include " De Tahuantinsuyus prischis Gentibus " and " Historia Occidentales " works, from which also Inca Garcilaso de la Vega frequently quoted in his lyrics. Since a large part of Valera's work was irretrievably lost in a fire, these quotes are in some of his texts, the only thing of them still exist. In 1893, the Spanish historian Jiménez de la Espada published a book entitled " Relación del Jesuita Anónimo ", whose authorship is also attributed Blas Valera.

About his death, there are various theories. Officially Blas Valera died on April 2, 1597 in a pirate attack on Cadiz. According to other sources, this death was only feigned, it is reported in the following years by several meetings between Blas Valera and Jesuits in Bolivia and Peru, where he is said to have completed his major works under another name. He is said to have written the book Nueva y buen gobierno Coronica among others under the name " Felipe Waman Puma de Ayala ." So reports, inter alia, 1611 the Jesuit Giovanni Anello Oliva from a meeting with Valera, the Santa Cruz de la Sierra (Bolivia ) to have taken place.