Shadows of Empire: The Indian Nobility of Cusco, 1750-1825

The Indian nobility of the Andes--largely descended from the Inca monarchs and other pre-conquest lords--occupied a crucial economic and political position in late colonial Andean society, a position widely accepted as legitimate until the Túpac Amaru rebellion. This volume traces the history of this late colonial elite and examines the pre-conquest and colonial foundations of their privilege and authority. It brings to light the organization and the ideology of the Indian nobility in the b...