Pedro de Cieza de León left Spain at the age of thirteen for a life of uncertain adventure, first in Hispaniola and then as a soldier in Colombia and Peru.  He was also involved in the re-conquest of Peru from Spanish rebel forces. With government permission, Cieza de León began interviewing local officials, Inca lords, and high officials about the Inca realm and its past.  From these interviews and his own research, he produced the first European chronicle of Peru, which includes natural history, ethnography, and the history of pre-Inca and Inca civilizations.