La Florida del Inca. Garcilaso in His Many Names

Abstract

This article explores the treatment the Inca gives to the many names of his relatives, protectors and potential patrons in four paratexts to La Florida: Relación de la descendencia..., his hitherto unknown Epítome del descubrimiento..., the dedicacy to the duke of Bragança and chapter II.vi, containing the conquistadors presentation. From this perspective we can identify the count of Feria as the main relative whose refusal to help Garcilaso partly determined his name change; the Relación and the Epítome are seen as having a unity of purpose. The publication of two of the Inca’s works in Lisbon responds to very specific political interests of the house of Bragança: glorifying the role of Portuguese conquistadors in Florida as a way to showcase the importance of Portugal in the Hispanic Monarchy.