En A Companion to Early Modern Lima

This chapter argues that British piracy in Spanish American territories impacted the Peruvian viceroyalty both politically and culturally, inspiring new ways of reflecting on challenges to the Spanish Empire from within its colonies. At first, maritime predation became a rhetorical tool for Spaniards to claim sovereignty and possession over the New World. Later on, it helped to justify the need of a well-organized and trained American army that could defend the American coasts from English maritime forces and the inland region from rebellious indigenous groups. As I conclude, the presence of European enemies in the Viceroyalty of Peru fostered a new literary voice that sought to represent Lima as its distinctive place of enunciation.