ABSTRACT
The massive pan-Andean uprising of the early 1780s was the largest and most radical indigenous challenge to Spanish colonial rule in the Americas since the conquest. Between 1780 and 1782, whole insurgent armies were organized in the heart of Peru and Alto Peru (today Bolivia). Ancient and populous cities such as Cuzco, La Paz, Chuquisaca, and Oruro were besieged and occupied. Extensive rural areas fell under the complete control of the rebel forces. Although Tupac Amaru, the self-proclaimed new Inca King, became the rebellion’s most recognizable symbol, it was not a homogenous movement, but rather a concurrence of several regional uprisings, each with its own history and dynamics. The chapter first analyzes the long-term socioeconomic grievances and patterns of political contention that paved the way to the event. It then explores the similarities and differences among those regional uprisings in terms of their ideological outlook, social makeup, and expectations of change.
