Details

ISBN-10: 0674659996
ISBN-13: 9780674659995
Publisher: Belknap
Publish Date: 03/01/2016
Dimensions: 9.20" L, 6.10" W, 1.00" H

Tupac Amaru Rebellion

Paperback

Price: $23.00

Overview

The largest rebellion in the history of Spain’s American empire–a conflict greater in territory and costlier in lives than the contemporaneous American Revolution–began as a local revolt against colonial authorities in 1780. As an official collector of tribute for the imperial crown, José Gabriel Condorcanqui had seen firsthand what oppressive Spanish rule meant for Peru’s Indian population. Adopting the Inca royal name Tupac Amaru, he set events in motion that would transform him into Latin America’s most iconic revolutionary figure.

Tupac Amaru’s political aims were modest at first. He claimed to act on the Spanish king’s behalf, expelling corrupt Spaniards and abolishing onerous taxes. But the rebellion became increasingly bloody as it spread throughout Peru and into parts of modern-day Bolivia, Chile, and Argentina. By late 1780, Tupac Amaru, his wife Micaela Bastidas, and their followers had defeated the Spanish in numerous battles and gained control over a vast territory. As the rebellion swept through Indian villages to gain recruits and overthrow the Spanish corregidors, rumors spread that the Incas had returned to reclaim their kingdom.

Charles Walker immerses readers in the rebellion’s guerrilla campaigns, propaganda war, and brutal acts of retribution. He highlights the importance of Bastidas–the key strategist–and reassesses the role of the Catholic Church in the uprising’s demise. The Tupac Amaru Rebellion examines why a revolt that began as a multiclass alliance against European-born usurpers degenerated into a vicious caste war–and left a legacy that continues to influence South American politics today.

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Reviews
The history of Spain's conquest and three-century grip on indigenous South America is rife with drama, but nowhere is that clash of cultures more vivid than in the story of Tupac Amaru II and his fierce, stubborn war for independence. Walker recreates the life of this remarkable eighteenth-century rebel with a bold sense of narrative and a careful eye for detail. Here is a fascinating study of the prevailing tensions of Tupac Amaru's time–between conqueror and conquered, white and brown, city and mountain, Old World and New World–that still vex South America today.–Marie Arana, author of Bolívar: American Liberator
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Details

ISBN-10: 0674659996
ISBN-13: 9780674659995
Publisher: Belknap
Publish Date: 03/01/2016
Dimensions: 9.20" L, 6.10" W, 1.00" H
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