The Tupac Amaru rebellion occurred in the Andes between 1780 and 1783. It is regarded as the largest uprising that was ever witnessed in the history of the colonial Spanish-America. Some of the areas that experienced the skirmishes include Peru, Cuzco, present-day Bolivia, and Charcas. Revolts were also witnessed in the present day Argentina, Chile, and Columbia. Some of the activities of the rebels include torching textile mills, sacking haciendas, and influencing the local peasants to rise against the Spanish. The insurgents also focused on the abolition of taxes, protection of priests, and fighting for fundamental human rights. The brutal struggle led to the death of almost 100,000 people and subsequent leading to their failure. Although the rebels unanimously showed dissatisfaction to the colonial rule, the struggled ultimately failed due to several reasons including the Colonialists' superiority and the in-division among the rebels.
The Spanish colonialists mainly targeted the leaders of their rebels in a bid to incapacitate the entire movement. Leaders such as Jose Gabriel Condorcanqui and his wife were targeted by the colonialists and punished severely for subversion. In 1781, the two were tied and dragged behind horses with both the hands and the legs tied to the main plaza in Cuzco. The main aim of this was to ensure that the punishment acted as a lesson to others hence intimidating any person wishing to rebel against the regime. The executioners further slashed the tongue of Condorcanqui and subsequently strangling her to death. On the other hand, his husband Condorcanqui limb's were dislocated and eventually beheaded by the authorities. 1 The authorities then moved ahead to display the heads and the limbs of the leaders to the general public as a sign of warning to anybody who intended to cause any act of rebellion.
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Commitment on the part of the natives was also a major problem in mounting a serious challenge against the Spanish authorities. It is imperative to note that the rebellious movements did not divide the colonial population along racial or social groups but gathered people from diverse backgrounds initially in the war. However, as things slowly toughened, Serulnikov asserted that the alliances which were mainly political, ethnic, or racial formed and collapsed almost immediately. Initially, the indigenous rebels cherished the support they acquired from the outraged creoles, but with time the alliances proved tenuous in comparison with the force they received from the Spanish authorities. For instance, in Cusco, the creoles abandoned the cause after the rebels unintentionally burned a church located at Sangarara where the Spanish troops plied their trade. The Bishop of the church in retaliation excommunicated Tupac Amaru 2 and his rebel followers. Therefore both sides began infighting, and the revolution turned into a race war. As such, the rebellion was long overdue to fail because of a lack of commitment from other quarters and the problem of infighting that disgruntled the rebels.
Divisions among the civilians also frustrated the rebels’ efforts to win the war against the organized Spanish authorities. The Native in Andea were sharply divided into two factions; the rebels and the royalist camps. The royalist camps rejected the leadership offered by Tupac Amaru 2 and further treated his desire to rule and mobilize the people to fight against the authorities with utter contempt. Some indigenous rebels, especially from Cusco, were reluctant to form any military or political alliance to fight for their lost rights and freedoms. Another important factor that contributed to the failure of the natives is because of how they approached the war. They used modest weapons such as clubs, spears, and slings against a strong militia that used sophisticated and dangerous weapons such as artillery, steel swords, and muskets among others.
Other than the inferior weapons that gave the colonialists an upper hand against them, the rebels were also faced with betrayals that ultimately set a definite path towards their failure. Tupac Amaru had many dedicated followers who gave their all in fighting for their rights. However, he was betrayed by one of his dire followers leading to the torture of him, his wife, son, and other members of his family. The betrayal of Amaru proved to be detrimental to the whole cause as the movement lacked a leader leading to the fading away of the participants.
The war strategies employed by the indigenous people also cost them much in the struggle. Tupac Amaru 2 who on most occasions partnered with his wife had launched two unsuccessful attempts to take over the Cuzco city. It is imperative to note that despite the huge number of army at the disposal for Amaru and his wife estimated to be around 60,000 they did not manage to outshine the Spanish forces that were estimated to be a paltry 17,000 soldiers. 2 The defeat experienced by Amaru’s army at Cuzco was a major blow experienced on the side of the rebels hence prompting them to take recuperation. However, this gave the Spanish forces time to strategize and imported troops from other areas such as Lima. Therefore, the Spanish forces were able to attack and mitigate the rebel forces. As such, the native rebels depicted tactical naivety in the sense that they failed to utilize their numerical strength and secondly, they did not read the situation well giving the Spanish authorities a chance to react properly.
Christianity also negatively influenced the indigenous and the rebels at large. The Catholic Church, for instance, succeeded in forcing the natives into a foreign religion that they understood nothing about. The church also forced the natives to work on public projects and was also subjected to forced collections in what was referred to as the saints' days. 3 The natives paid religious tax for fear that they would be accused of showing unchristian tendencies. Also, the rebels feared that failing to comply with the requirements of the religion would lead them to face the eternal punishment of descending to hell. As such, religion impacted negatively on the course of the rebellion as certain quarters of people were influenced by the eternal punishment and forced to comply with the demands of the rebels. The Catholics heavily criticized the rebels prompting most of the natives to abandon the fight. The death of Tupac Amur was also a major blow to the rebellion because it not only led to disintegration but also fear among the rebels.
In conclusion, it is vital to appreciate that despite the endeavors of the indigenous rebels, they eventually failed in the end. Some of the reasons for their failure can be attributed to divisions in the camp, lack of commitment, and the use of poor strategies and weapons. Betrayals and religion, which was used as a negative influence on the people, also affected the cause of the struggle. The final blow to the rebellion was the death of Tupac Amur as it left the rebels leaderless and the Spanish authorities also utilized it as a way of cautioning any future uprising. However, it is important to note that the rebellion did not go in vain. The fight set a center stage for one of the biggest revolutions that went ahead to remove the Spanish rule in the Andes and the subsequent freedom of the countries that occupy the region in the present day.
Bibliography
Mark Burkholder and Lyman Johnson, Colonial Latin America (New York: Oxford University Press, 1994).
Sergio Serulnikov, Rebellion in the Andes. The Age of Túpac Amaru Pac Amaru (Chapel Hill: Duke University Press, 2013).
Walker, Charles F. The Tupac Amaru Rebellion . Harvard University Press, 2014.
1 Sergio Serulnikov, Rebellion in the Andes. The Age of Túpac Amaru Pac Amaru (Chapel Hill: Duke University Press, 2013).
2 Walker, Charles F. The Tupac Amaru Rebellion . Harvard University Press, 2014.
3 Mark Burkholder and Lyman Johnson, Colonial Latin America (New York: Oxford University Press, 1994).
