Alonso de Ercilla, La Araucana

The epic of the Spanish war in Chile, written by a soldier who fought in it and often drafted on leather for want of paper. Its declared subject is Spanish valour; its argument is that the Mapuche chose their leaders by merit, had never been ruled by any king, and were defending their liberty against enemies the poet calls fierce and Spanish. It also states, from inside the army, that the war exceeded the laws of war.