This was a very interesting and engrossing historical novel about the founding of Chile in the Sixteenth Century. It is told from the point of view of Inés Suárez who was instrumental in the conquest and settlement of Chile along with her lover, Pedro de Valdivia.
Allende uses the device of writing this memoir in Ines' old age as a record for her adopted daughter. She gives a very encompassing history of the conquest of Chile including the cruelty of the Spanish towards the native Indians. The driving force behind the conquest was the pursuit of gold and land, and the enslavement of the natives to work the land. Although Ines was against cruelty to the natives, she describes many instances of the horrors they endured at the hands of the Spanish. One passage notes that an admiral and his crew "sailed to a remote inlet where his sailors were welcomed with food and gifts by friendly Indians, whom the Spaniards rewarded by raping the women, killing many of the men, and capturing others they took in chains to Concepcion, where they exhibited them like animals in a fair." This is one of the more mild descriptions...others included decapitations and dismemberment of uncooperative natives. The Indians of Chile, the Mapuche, did not give in easily to the Spaniards, unlike the Inca and Aztecs. They were at constant war with them for decades. Although war with the Indians were a constant threat, Ines was a friend to the native poor and helped them out by establishing hospitals and soup kitchens.
Overall, this was a real education for me. I knew practically nothing about the history of Chile and its conquest. This novel definitely fills in the gaps. Allende states in her author's note: "This novel is a work of intuition, but any similarity to events and persons relating to the conquest of Chile is not coincidental". A real eye-opener!
Allende uses the device of writing this memoir in Ines' old age as a record for her adopted daughter. She gives a very encompassing history of the conquest of Chile including the cruelty of the Spanish towards the native Indians. The driving force behind the conquest was the pursuit of gold and land, and the enslavement of the natives to work the land. Although Ines was against cruelty to the natives, she describes many instances of the horrors they endured at the hands of the Spanish. One passage notes that an admiral and his crew "sailed to a remote inlet where his sailors were welcomed with food and gifts by friendly Indians, whom the Spaniards rewarded by raping the women, killing many of the men, and capturing others they took in chains to Concepcion, where they exhibited them like animals in a fair." This is one of the more mild descriptions...others included decapitations and dismemberment of uncooperative natives. The Indians of Chile, the Mapuche, did not give in easily to the Spaniards, unlike the Inca and Aztecs. They were at constant war with them for decades. Although war with the Indians were a constant threat, Ines was a friend to the native poor and helped them out by establishing hospitals and soup kitchens.
Overall, this was a real education for me. I knew practically nothing about the history of Chile and its conquest. This novel definitely fills in the gaps. Allende states in her author's note: "This novel is a work of intuition, but any similarity to events and persons relating to the conquest of Chile is not coincidental". A real eye-opener!
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