Page 127 - Encyclopedia Of World History Vol V

1904 berkshire encyclopedia of world history

taking of Cuzco in the 1530s and who established a the sale of goods by doubling or even tripling the estab-
neo-Inca state in Vilcabamba. Also among his ancestors lished quotas. This practice aroused the ire of many
was Túpac Amaru I, Manco’s son and the last leader of indigenous people, some of whom began to balk at such
the Vilcabamba resistance. excessive economic coercion.
Túpac Amaru II pressed the Spanish courts to be rec- Parallel to these changes, the indigenous population
ognized as heir to the Inca throne.Two factors worked to was finally starting to grow after the terrible decline
feed belief in the return of the Inca to power: The works caused largely by the epidemics of Old World diseases
of Garcilaso de la Vega glorified the rule of the Inca, and that devastated the New World well into the eighteenth
the myth of Inkarrí spread. According to the Inkarrí century in the Andes.Thus, just as the colonial govern-
myth, the body of the Inca ruler was regenerating from ment was increasing its demands, the indigenous peo-
his buried head (the first Túpac Amaru had been ples were seeing their per capita resource base shrink as
beheaded by the Spanish after surrendering), and when villages once again were teeming with people.This con-
the process was complete he would reemerge to reestab- junction of international, regional, and local circum-
lish the more just rule and social order that had existed stances increased tensions and created a climate in
before the arrival of the Europeans. which a rebellion might gain hold.

Colonial Oppression Rebellion
At the time Túpac Amaru was voicing his claims, and Aftermath
Andean indigenous society was suffering from the The combination of messianic hopes, deep discontent
changes the Spanish crown was making in the colonial over the current political situation, and the presence of a
structure. In the eighteenth century, Spain, like other leader created a conjuncture in which rebellion erupted.
European powers, tightened its control over its colonial Spreading like wildfire over the southern highlands of
possessions. In the Spanish realm this meant, among Peru and Bolivia, the rebellions of the early 1780s shook
other changes, making a determined effort to restructure colonial society to its foundations and led to some
the colonies so they would be more lucrative for the 100,000 deaths. Túpac Amaru was captured when the
mother country. In the Andes there was an effort to rebellion was just a few months old and he and much of
increase the efficiency in collecting tribute and sales his family were executed in a most brutal manner in the
taxes were not only increased but also imposed on plaza of Cuzco while other family members were exiled.
some items produced by indigenous people that had Despite the suppression of the rebellions they led, how-
previously been exempt. In addition, some items that ever, Túpac Amaru, Túpac Katari, and the Katari family
previously had not been taxed became subject to had all given direction and voice to many of the exploited
increasing taxation and customs houses were estab- peoples of the Andes, who under increasing pressure
lished to ensure collection of these duties. This dis- risked everything to end their exploitation and establish
rupted trading and exchange in the southern highlands, a more just rule under a system that would be culturally
as did the creation of the Viceroyalty of Río de la Plata, meaningful to them. In the short run the rebellion put a
which took over control of much of the region that later fear into the dominant society that increased the distance
rebelled. between the races in Peru. Over the longer haul the image
At the same time, local Spanish authorities known as of Túpac Amaru as a harbinger or symbol of social jus-
corregidors pressed the indigenous population ever tice has emerged.The left-leaning military government of
harder after the informal forced sale of goods was legal- Velasco used his image and rhetoric from the rebellion to
ized. Corregidors often abused their colonial right to force promote social change in the late 1960s, the dream of