Rebellion of Túpac Amaru II
Encyclopedia
The Rebellion of Túpac Amaru II (1780–c. 1782) was an uprising of native and mestizo
peasants against the Bourbon reforms in the Spanish Viceroyalty of Peru
. While Túpac Amaru II
, an early leader of the rebellion, was captured and executed in 1781, the rebellion continued for at least another year under other leaders.
, in an effort to streamline the operation of its colonial empire, began introducing what became known as the Bourbon Reforms
throughout South America
. In 1776, as part of these reforms, it created the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata
by separating Upper Peru
(modern Bolivia
) and the territory that is now Argentina
from the Viceroyalty of Peru
. These territories included the economically important silver mines at Potosí
, whose economic benefits began to flow to Buenos Aires
instead of Cuzco and Lima. The economic hardship this introduced to parts of the altiplano
, combined with systemic oppression of Indian and mestizo
underclasses (a recurring source of localized uprisings throughout Spanish colonial South America) to create an environment in which a large-scale uprising could occur.
In 1779 Spain raised sales taxes (known as the alcabala
) on goods produced and sold in the colonies, in part to fund its participation in the American Revolutionary War
. José Gabriel Condorcanqui, an upper-class Indian with claims to the Inca lineage, in 1780 adopted the name Túpac Amaru II
, and called for rebellion. He was motivated in part by reading of a prophecy that the Inca would rule again with British support, and he was aware of the British colonial rebellion in North America
and Spanish involvement in the war.
, Túpac and supporters seized Antonio Arriaga, the corregidor
of his hometown of Tinta, held him for 6 days, and then publicly executed him. Before executing Arriaga, Túpac convinced Arriaga to ask a number of Spaniards to bring money to him, under the pretext of ransoming him. Túpac began moving through the countryside, where he gained supporters, primarily from the Indian and mestizo classes, but also with some Criollos
(locals of mostly Spanish descent). On November 17 he arrived at the town of Sangarará
, where Spanish authorities from Cuzco and the surrounding area had assembled a force of about 900. Túpac's ad hoc army, which had grown to several thousand, routed this force
the next day, destroying the local church where a number of people had taken refuge.
Spanish colonial administrator José Antonio de Areche
acted in response to Túpac's uprising, moving troops from Lima and as far off as Cartagena
toward the region. Troops from Lima were instrumental in helping repel attempts by Túpac to capture Cuzco in December and January. Following these failures, his coalition of disparate malcontents began to fall apart, with the upper-caste Criollos abandoning him first to rejoin the loyalist forces. By the end of February 1781, Spanish authorities began to gain the upper hand, and Túpac and his family were captured on April 6, 1781. On May 15 he was sentenced to death, and on May 18, he was forced to witness the execution of his wife and children before he was himself hanged, drawn and quartered.
Areche's decrees following the execution of Túpac Amaru II included the banning of the Quechua
language, the wearing of indigenous clothing, and virtually any mention or commemoration of Inca culture and history.
in Upper Peru, another rebellion sprang up in December 1780, this one led by Túpac Katari
. He was aided by Túpac Amaru's brother Diego, and benefited from the remnants of Túpac Amaru's forces following the latter's capture. He laid siege to La Paz
for six months in 1781 with poorly-organized forces numbering as much as 40,000. He was captured and executed in November 1781, while Diego Cristóbal Túpac Amaru held out until March 1782 before also being captured and executed.
Mestizo
Mestizo is a term traditionally used in Latin America, Philippines and Spain for people of mixed European and Native American heritage or descent...
peasants against the Bourbon reforms in the Spanish Viceroyalty of Peru
Viceroyalty of Peru
Created in 1542, the Viceroyalty of Peru was a Spanish colonial administrative district that originally contained most of Spanish-ruled South America, governed from the capital of Lima...
. While Túpac Amaru II
Túpac Amaru II
Túpac Amaru II was a leader of an indigenous uprising in 1780 against the Spanish in Peru...
, an early leader of the rebellion, was captured and executed in 1781, the rebellion continued for at least another year under other leaders.
Background
The government of SpainSpain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, in an effort to streamline the operation of its colonial empire, began introducing what became known as the Bourbon Reforms
Bourbon Reforms
The Bourbon Reforms were a set of economic and political legislation introduced by the Spanish Crown under various kings of the House of Bourbon throughout the 18th century. The reforms were intended to stimulate manufacturing and technology in order to modernize Spain...
throughout South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
. In 1776, as part of these reforms, it created the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata
Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata
The Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata, , was the last and most short-lived Viceroyalty of the Spanish Empire in America.The Viceroyalty was established in 1776 out of several former Viceroyalty of Perú dependencies that mainly extended over the Río de la Plata basin, roughly the present day...
by separating Upper Peru
Upper Peru
Upper Peru was the region in the Viceroyalty of Peru, and after 1776, the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata, comprising the governorships of Potosí, La Paz, Cochabamba, Los Chiquitos, Moxos and Charcas...
(modern Bolivia
Bolivia
Bolivia officially known as Plurinational State of Bolivia , is a landlocked country in central South America. It is the poorest country in South America...
) and the territory that is now Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
from the Viceroyalty of Peru
Viceroyalty of Peru
Created in 1542, the Viceroyalty of Peru was a Spanish colonial administrative district that originally contained most of Spanish-ruled South America, governed from the capital of Lima...
. These territories included the economically important silver mines at Potosí
Potosí
Potosí is a city and the capital of the department of Potosí in Bolivia. It is one of the highest cities in the world by elevation at a nominal . and it was the location of the Spanish colonial mint, now the National Mint of Bolivia...
, whose economic benefits began to flow to Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
instead of Cuzco and Lima. The economic hardship this introduced to parts of the altiplano
Altiplano
The Altiplano , in west-central South America, where the Andes are at their widest, is the most extensive area of high plateau on Earth outside of Tibet...
, combined with systemic oppression of Indian and mestizo
Mestizo
Mestizo is a term traditionally used in Latin America, Philippines and Spain for people of mixed European and Native American heritage or descent...
underclasses (a recurring source of localized uprisings throughout Spanish colonial South America) to create an environment in which a large-scale uprising could occur.
In 1779 Spain raised sales taxes (known as the alcabala
Alcabala
The alcabala or alcavala was a sales tax of up to fourteen percent, the most important royal tax imposed by Spain under the Antiguo Régimen....
) on goods produced and sold in the colonies, in part to fund its participation in the American Revolutionary War
Spain in the American Revolutionary War
Spain actively supported the Thirteen Colonies throughout the American Revolutionary War, beginning in 1776 by jointly funding Roderigue Hortalez and Company, a trading company that provided critical military supplies, through financing the final Siege of Yorktown in 1781 with a collection of gold...
. José Gabriel Condorcanqui, an upper-class Indian with claims to the Inca lineage, in 1780 adopted the name Túpac Amaru II
Túpac Amaru II
Túpac Amaru II was a leader of an indigenous uprising in 1780 against the Spanish in Peru...
, and called for rebellion. He was motivated in part by reading of a prophecy that the Inca would rule again with British support, and he was aware of the British colonial rebellion in North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
and Spanish involvement in the war.
Rebellion near Cuzco
On November 4, 1780, at or after a party in Tungasuca, where Túpac was caciqueCacique
Cacique is a title derived from the Taíno word for the pre-Columbian chiefs or leaders of tribes in the Bahamas, Greater Antilles, and the northern Lesser Antilles...
, Túpac and supporters seized Antonio Arriaga, the corregidor
Corregidor (position)
A corregidor was a local, administrative and judicial position in Spain and its empire. He was the highest authority of a Corregimiento. In the Americas a corregidor was often called an alcalde mayor. They began to be appointed in fourteenth century Castile and the institution was definitively...
of his hometown of Tinta, held him for 6 days, and then publicly executed him. Before executing Arriaga, Túpac convinced Arriaga to ask a number of Spaniards to bring money to him, under the pretext of ransoming him. Túpac began moving through the countryside, where he gained supporters, primarily from the Indian and mestizo classes, but also with some Criollos
Criollo people
The Criollo class ranked below that of the Iberian Peninsulares, the high-born permanent residence colonists born in Spain. But Criollos were higher status/rank than all other castes—people of mixed descent, Amerindians, and enslaved Africans...
(locals of mostly Spanish descent). On November 17 he arrived at the town of Sangarará
Sangarará, Peru
Sangarará is a small village in Peru, located in the Cusco Region, and more specifically in the Sangarará District of the Acomayo Province. Sangarará is located at 13° 57' 18 S, 71° 36' 10 W....
, where Spanish authorities from Cuzco and the surrounding area had assembled a force of about 900. Túpac's ad hoc army, which had grown to several thousand, routed this force
Battle of Sangarará
The Battle of Sangarará was fought on November 18, 1780 in Sangarará, Viceroyalty of Peru, between rebel forces under Túpac Amaru II and Spanish colonial forces under Tiburcio Landa. Túpac Amaru II's forces won decisively.-Background:...
the next day, destroying the local church where a number of people had taken refuge.
Spanish colonial administrator José Antonio de Areche
José Antonio de Areche
José Antonio de Areche was a Spanish colonial official in Peru . He was responsible for the brutal execution of Inca rebel Túpac Amaru II, his family and coconspirators.-Background:...
acted in response to Túpac's uprising, moving troops from Lima and as far off as Cartagena
Cartagena, Colombia
Cartagena de Indias , is a large Caribbean beach resort city on the northern coast of Colombia in the Caribbean Coast Region and capital of Bolívar Department...
toward the region. Troops from Lima were instrumental in helping repel attempts by Túpac to capture Cuzco in December and January. Following these failures, his coalition of disparate malcontents began to fall apart, with the upper-caste Criollos abandoning him first to rejoin the loyalist forces. By the end of February 1781, Spanish authorities began to gain the upper hand, and Túpac and his family were captured on April 6, 1781. On May 15 he was sentenced to death, and on May 18, he was forced to witness the execution of his wife and children before he was himself hanged, drawn and quartered.
Areche's decrees following the execution of Túpac Amaru II included the banning of the Quechua
Quechua languages
Quechua is a Native South American language family and dialect cluster spoken primarily in the Andes of South America, derived from an original common ancestor language, Proto-Quechua. It is the most widely spoken language family of the indigenous peoples of the Americas, with a total of probably...
language, the wearing of indigenous clothing, and virtually any mention or commemoration of Inca culture and history.
Rebellion in the south
Word of Túpac Amaru's activities spread to the south, where in the region near Lake TiticacaLake Titicaca
Lake Titicaca is a lake located on the border of Peru and Bolivia. It sits 3,811 m above sea level, making it the highest commercially navigable lake in the world...
in Upper Peru, another rebellion sprang up in December 1780, this one led by Túpac Katari
Tupac Katari
Túpac Katari or Catari , born Julián Apasa Nina, was a leader in the rebellions of indigenous people of Bolivia against the Spanish Empire in the early 1780s....
. He was aided by Túpac Amaru's brother Diego, and benefited from the remnants of Túpac Amaru's forces following the latter's capture. He laid siege to La Paz
La Paz
Nuestra Señora de La Paz is the administrative capital of Bolivia, as well as the departmental capital of the La Paz Department, and the second largest city in the country after Santa Cruz de la Sierra...
for six months in 1781 with poorly-organized forces numbering as much as 40,000. He was captured and executed in November 1781, while Diego Cristóbal Túpac Amaru held out until March 1782 before also being captured and executed.
Aftermath
It is estimated that more than 80,000 Indians and mestizos were killed during the rebellion and its aftermath, while nearly 10,000 Spaniards and upper-caste Criollos were killed.See also
- Revolt of the ComunerosRevolt of the Comuneros (New Granada)The Revolt of the Comuneros was an uprising by the inhabitants of the Viceroyalty of New Granada against the Spanish authorities in 1781. While underlying causes may have been economic, ideas of freedom and self-government were expressed...
, a 1781 revolt in the Viceroyalty of New GranadaViceroyalty of New GranadaThe Viceroyalty of New Granada was the name given on 27 May 1717, to a Spanish colonial jurisdiction in northern South America, corresponding mainly to modern Colombia, Ecuador, Panama, and Venezuela. The territory corresponding to Panama was incorporated later in 1739...
caused by the Bourbon Reforms