Tupac Amaru II
Tupac Amaru II, born José Gabriel Condorcanqui in the mid-18th century, was a significant figure in the history of indigenous resistance against Spanish colonial rule in Peru. He was a descendant of Tupac Amaru I, the last recognized Inca monarch. Orphaned at a young age, he received a Jesuit education and became a local political leader in southern Peru, where he witnessed the severe oppression and exploitation of indigenous peoples under colonial governance.
In response to the unjust labor practices, such as the mita system, and the harsh economic conditions imposed by Spanish authorities, Tupac Amaru II initiated a rebellion in 1780. He sought to address the grievances of his people and assert their rights by overthrowing the colonial administration. His early successes garnered significant support, but internal divisions and the brutal response from colonial forces ultimately led to his defeat. Captured and executed in 1781, his death symbolized the desperation of the colonial regime to suppress indigenous uprisings.
While the rebellion was ultimately unsuccessful, it marked a pivotal moment in the struggle against colonial oppression, influencing future movements for independence in Peru, which would not fully materialize until 1821. Tupac Amaru II's legacy is remembered as a symbol of resistance and the enduring impact of colonialism in South America.
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Subject Terms
Tupac Amaru II
Indigenous-Peruvian rebel leader
- Born: c. 1740
- Birthplace: Tinta, Viceroyalty of Peru (now Surimana, Peru)
- Died: May 18, 1781
- Place of death: Cuzco, Viceroyalty of Peru (now in Peru)
A descendant of the last Inca monarch and claimant to its kingship, Tupac was a principal leader in an Andean rebellion against colonial Spanish rule, heading an indigenous uprising. The unsuccessful rebellion inaugurated further repression of Incan culture and the control of traditional Incan lands, which continues into the twenty-first century. The rebellion was, however, a precursor to Peruvian independence in 1821.
Early Life
Tupac Amaru II (tew-PAHK ahm-AHR-ew) was born José Gabriel Condorcanqui. He was directly descended from Tupac Amaru I, the last recognized Inca monarch of Peru. Tupac Amaru I, murdered by the Spaniards, was related to Atahualpa, the fated Inca who confronted the Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire.
Orphaned at the age of ten, Tupac Amaru II was raised by relatives and at age sixteen entered the Jesuit school in Cuzco, which was open to the sons of the local aristocracy. Tupac Amaru spoke not only his native Quechua but also Spanish, and he knew Latin. He married a woman of Spanish descent, had three sons with her, and inherited the chieftainship (cacicazgo) of his native district south of Cuzco, becoming a prominent local political leader. Cuzco was the ancient capital of the Inca Empire.
His district was part of a larger government entity called the Viceroyalty of Peru. Headquartered in Lima, it had governed Peru since the Spanish conquest at the beginning of the sixteenth century. By the middle of the eighteenth century the viceroyalty extended from modern-day Peru into Bolivia (which had been called Upper Peru), the southern Andes, and on to Argentina and the regions around the Plata and Paraguay Rivers.
Life’s Work
Tupac Amaru II was socialized as a Hispanicized Catholic with a refined education. He sustained himself and his family through trade, managing pack mule trains through the Andes. Managing Andean trade had been a traditional source of economic and political authority for the Inca. Transporting minerals and merchandise, Tupac Amaru frequently traveled over an area that extended from Cuzco to the rich silver mining region of Potosí in Bolivia and up to Lima. He was exceptionally well placed to observe and sense the grating poverty and servitude to which indigenous peoples (speakers of not only Quechua but also Aymara) had been subjected by the conquest.
Among the most acute causes of suffering among the indigenous were a number of Spanish administrative regulations. South American Indians were forced to work in the silver mines. The forced labor was known as the mita. Moreover, controls on trade required them to buy certain merchandise, in a system of repartos, paying tariffs on these items along with other taxes. Local government officials, corregidores, were ruthless in applying labor and fiscal regulations. Furthermore, the corregidores represented a larger cultural environment that assumed the cultural superiority of Creoles—individuals born in Peru of Spanish or foreign descent—to the defeated indigenous population.
Administrative divisions that came out of the creation in 1776 of a new viceroyalty centered in Buenos Aires seriously disrupted trade in the region south of Cuzco. Compounding these hardships were measures carried out by local governors to collect increased taxes so that government revenue would not suffer from the economic disruption. Tupac Amaru attempted to negotiate with colonial officials in Cuzco and Lima to change their harsh policies. However, his efforts were to no avail, and he was admonished to return to his home territory.
Sporadic uprisings against the harsh new colonial measures, uprisings that collectively came to be known as the Great Andean Rebellion, erupted in various regions of southern Peru and northern Bolivia. At this time also, authorities in Lima denied Tupac Amaru the right to inherit the title of nobility that had been held by a previous descendant of an Inca (Tupac Amaru also was an Inca descendant). He began plotting in 1778 to overthrow Spanish rule. He asserted his right to lead the Inca nation and adopted the name of his defiant ancestor. He now called himself Tupac Amaru (Royal or Resplendent Serpent).
He began his uprising on November 4, 1780. At the commemorations celebrating the birthday of the king of Spain, he captured the local administrator, Antonio de Arriaga, and within a week had him publicly tried and executed. He then authorized the appropriation and distribution of the corrupt gains of other officials. A hastily organized government force confronted his considerably larger but poorly coordinated forces at Sangarará on November 18 and was defeated.
Tupac Amaru then organized his forces to advance on Cuzco and lay siege to the city. In route he gathered the support of tens of thousands of followers. The early success of Tupac Amaru sent shock waves through the viceroyalty. His victory would spell the loss of the crucial wealth and labor provided by his region. All civil, military, and religious authorities now rose against him. Moreover, some indigenous leaders (caciques) were divided as to whether they should risk supporting his movement. That he had begun his rebellion without sufficiently solidifying the cacique base would prove fatal for his movement. The violence of his rebellion also took away his modest Creole support. As the movement became more massive, it began to escape the control of any one individual and become as ruthless as the brutality under which so many of its followers had suffered. These followers had been increasingly committed to removing every vestige of Creole and Spanish influence.
During the second week of January, 1781, Tupac Amaru began to lay siege to Cuzco. His forces still numbered more than those that officials in Cuzco and Lima could gather and mount for the siege. Nonetheless, Tupac Amaru and his forces had to retreat from Cuzco. Essentially, Tupac Amaru’s interests had been to redress the injustices of Spanish rule only, so he was reluctant to harm the inhabitants of the ancient Inca capital. Moreover, he was devoutly religious and had been excommunicated. His reluctance sealed the fate of his rebellion.
He retreated south to Tinta, the core region of his support, and was pursued by mounting government forces. By mid-April, Tupac Amaru, his family, and his chief supporters were captured and imprisoned in Cuzco, and then tortured. His wife and son were tortured as well and then killed, along with other relatives and supporters, before his eyes. After a failed escape and his recapture, he was sentenced to death and brutally executed on May 18, killed as his body was ripped apart by four horses. He was then decapitated. His violent execution reflected the desperation of colonial officials to quell future indigenous uprisings. The uprisings continued in Upper Peru until the following year, however, and the combination of massive government repression and internal indigenous conflicts resulted in the rebellions ending with an estimated 100,000 dead.
Significance
The initial legacy of Tupac Amaru II was anticlimactic, a final, failed movement of a massive armed Inca resistance to colonial rule. In this sense it was obliquely victorious insofar as Peru became independent in 1821, two generations after Tupac Amaru’s last struggle. The chasm of hostility, however, based on centuries of brutality and segregation, has not been completely bridged in Peruvian history.
Bibliography
Cahill, David Patrick. From Rebellion to Independence in the Andes: Soundings from Southern Peru, 1750-1830. Amsterdam: Aksant, 2002. This work studies the social context of subversive political activity from the period preceding the rebellion of Tupac Amaru II to the independence of Peru.
Fisher, Lillian Estelle. The Last Inca Revolt, 1780-1783. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1966. A classic account of the circumstances of the insurrection of Tupac Amaru II.
Hemming, John. The Conquest of the Incas. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich. A compelling account by a noted historian of Spain’s conquest and occupation of Peru. Describes the Inca ancestors of and historical events previous to Tupac Amaru’s time.
Robins, Nicholas A. Genocide and Millennialism in Upper Peru: The Great Rebellion of 1780-1782. Westport, Conn.: Praeger, 2002. Analyzes Tupac Amaru’s insurrection within the context of Peruvian and Bolivian indigenous millennial movements, evaluating policies for eliminating enemies.
Stavig, Ward. The World of Túpac Amaru: Conflict, Community, and Identity in Colonial Peru. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1999. An ethnohistorical study of Tupac Amaru’s insurrection in relation to indigenous identities, social life, and customs.
Thomson, Sinclair. We Alone Will Rule: Native Andean Politics in the Age of Insurgency. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 2002. Traces the history of Aymara and Quechua politics, government, and warfare during the eighteenth century and the insurrection of Tupac Amaru within that context.
Valcárcel, Carlos Daniel. La rebelión de Túpac Amaru. Lima: Comisión Nacional del Sesquicentenario de la Independencia del Perú, 1972. A four-volume collection of original documents that examine the events before, during, and after Tupac Amaru’s rebellion.