Week 13- Open Post

When I started reading Stern's Peru's Indian Peoples and the Challenge of the Spanish Conquest, the first thing I noticed is that his writing style is much easier to understand than that of other author's we have read throughout the semester even though the topics were often similar if not identical.

What I found interesting was that the first chapter covers many topics found in Religion and Empire by Conrad and Demarest, such as the ayllus, and the role of religion as a unifying source. However, while Conrad and Demarest view religion as the reason that the Inca Empire was able to come to power, Stern argues in his analysis that the Inca Empire based their power more on the idea of reciprocity, and that the Inca Empire was trying to mask their demand for free labor behind the pre-existing idea of reciprocity among intimate groups (pg. 23). Although religion does play a part, it has a different role, as religion was the factor that kept revitalizing the idea of kinship and reciprocity (pg. 26). 

Overall, from what I've read of the book so far, I am enjoying it more than the other books we have had to read because Stern's analysis is concise and he even cites other books we have had to read, in particular he cites Clendinnen on page xli. I also enjoyed the prologue, which did an excellent job providing a road map and setting the stage for the rest of the book.