Narrative of the Incas

the long version

"A chronicle that has been judged the 'single most authentic document of its kind.' Based on testimonies from descendants of Inca kings, who in the 1540s-50s still remembered the oral history and traditions of their ancestors. Beginning in 1551, Betanzos transcribed their memories and translated them from Quechua by order of Viceroy Antonio de Mendoza. Pt. I covers Inca history prior to the Spanish arrival and Pt. II deals with the conquest to 1557, mainly from the Inca point of view"--Handbook of Latin American Studies, v. 58.