The old saying that "history is written by the victors" certainly applies to most of the history of European colonialism in Spanish America. However, in recent decades scholars have begun to study the Spanish conquest and early colonialization of America from the point of view of native Americans in an attempt to right this imbalance.

Taking the perspective of the vanquished, the present author aims to determine and explain some of the general principles on which the pre-Hispanic Andeans' lives were based.

The book describes how the imposed Spanish colonial system altered the organization and belief systems of the native inhabitants of northern Peru during the first fifty years or so after the Spanish conquest. By centering on an area that was incorporated into the Inca empire relatively late (1460's-70's), the book offsets the Cuzco focus of much of the existing literature on Inca history and culture.

It explores the impact of expanding colonialism on indigenous ideas about leadership and legitimacy, the supernatural and morality, land and tenure, service and allegiance, and wealth.

This history is based on many types of early historical accounts, local-level primary documents, and archaeological and anthropological findings. Although the writings of Spanish chroniclers are used cautiously, administrative records often contain petitions from Indians who express their concerns in their own, albeit translated, words, and judicial records include valuable testimony from native witnesses.

These native American statements give us an intimate glimpse into Amerindean society, showing how indigenous people actively sought opportunities to defend the principles on which their community life depended. That these attempts to explain their beliefs and conception of the world were ignored or dismissed, discredited and ridiculed, and certainly largely misunderstood has resulted in a lasting distortion of the historical record.