News about the city of Santa Catalina de Guadalcázar de Moquegua [I]

Abstract

Montenegro y Ubaldi offers a detailed chronicle on the history of Moquegua. The text describes the burial customs of the ancient inhabitants and the Inca conquest by Mayta Cápac, refuting the theory that the valley served as a prison. It narrates the Spanish foundation and the transfer of settlements from San Sebastián de Escapagua to the Villa de Santa Catalina de Guadalcázar in 1625, thus consolidating the latter settlement, following a dispute resolved by the Viceroy. The article includes catalogs of corregidores and vicars, as well as histories of the convent’s foundations such as Santo Domingo, the Jesuits, and the Belemnites hospital. Genealogical data of the conquerors and notable families are provided in order to reconstruct the regional identity.