Tupac Amaru Study Guide

Tupác Amaru II’s Rebellion in Peru Indigenous Responses to Imperialism Historical Context For thousands of years, the indigenous people of Latin America have been living and thriving in their own culture. Despite Latin America’s rich history, the modern world has lost most of its traditions and history. In present times, the information we know about Latin America mainly comes from Spanish accounts. However, the Spanish conquerors were the very same people who denied the indigenous people of Latin America their basic human rights and traditions. From the very moment Columbus discovered the Americas, to 300 years later, the native people of Latin America would experience dehumanization and constant abuse, forced proselytization, exploitation,

Nationalism Spanish Nationalism From the beginning of Spain’s imperial era, the Spaniards had felt like it was their divine right and duty to conquer Latin America. Spain’s growing sense of nationalism and racial and cultural superiority motivated them to send missionaries and educators to establish institutions to “civilize” the indigenous people by converting them to Catholicism. In fact, Tupac Amaru II would be well educated by Jesuits (Catholic Missionary Society). As a result of Spanish nationalism in Latin America, a lot of Latin American traditions would be lost. Latin American Nationalism As tensions increased between the Spanish colonial government and the indigenous people of Latin America, an increasing sense of nationalism began to emerge that would unify the people who participated in Tupac Amaru’s Rebellion. Not only was it a movement to establish fair treatment of the indigenous people, but the Mestizos and Creoles also helped to support the fight. Tupac Amaru II’s Rebellion in Peru was a result of several abuses that the Spanish colonial government inflicted on the indigenous

People were executed if they resisted the Spanish colonial government, which is what happened to Tupac Amaru II’s father. The Spanish further abused their authority by forcing the indigenous people to completely abandon their generational traditions and embrace Western culture/religion. At times, people were punished for speaking their native languages and not Spanish. Events The rebellion first began in 1780 when Tupac Amaru II executed (local colonial authority) Antonio Arriaga for cruelty. While his motives are spreading across the Andes, he attracts several more followers from indigenous, mestizo, creole, and even Spaniard groups who continue to attack other authority figures. Tupac Amaru II then has plans to capture Cuzco, Peru, the former capital of the Inca Empire, but they fail, for Tupac is captured and executed along with his family. The rebellions continued for another two years, but were eventually completely suppressed by the Spanish. Nonetheless, his radical actions would make him a hero in Latin American history. Outcome The death toll of the rebellion was immense with about 100,000