Rebellion of Túpac Amaru II

Rebellion of Túpac Amaru II
	Part of the decolonization of the Americas
	; An illustration of Túpac Amaru II from c. 1784–1806
Date	4 November 1780 – 15 March 1783
Location	Viceroyalty of Peru and Real Audiencia of Charcas
Result	Spanish victory Abolition of repartimiento, corregidores, and Kuraka; Aymara-Quechua cultural genocide;
Belligerents
Spanish Empire	Aymara-Quechua rebels
Commanders and leaders
Agustín de Jáuregui; José Antonio de Areche; José del Valle; Gabriel de Avilés; Mateo Pumacahua; Tiburcio Landa †; Antonio de Arriaga ; Juan José de Vértiz; Sebastián de Segurola;	Túpac Amaru II ; Micaela Bastidas ; Tomasa Tito Condemayta ; Diego Cristóbal Túpac Amaru; Hipólito Túpac Amaru ; Andrés Túpac Amaru; Pedro Vilcapaza ; Túpac Katari ; Tomás Katari ; Bartolina Sisa ; Gregoria Apaza ;
Strength
Spanish units:; 20,000–30,000 soldiers	Rebel units:; 100,000 soldiers; 40,000 – 60,000 First Phase; 10,000 – 40,000 Second Phase
Casualties and losses
	100,000 total estimated killed; 10,000 died of starvation or illness

The Rebellion of Túpac Amaru II was an uprising by kuraka-led Aymara, Quechua, and mestizo rebels aimed at overthrowing Spanish colonial rule in Peru, from 1780 to 1783. The causes of the rebellion included opposition to the Bourbon Reforms, an economic downturn in colonial Peru, and a grassroots revival of Inca cultural identity led by Túpac Amaru II, an indigenous kuraka and the leader of the rebellion. While Amaru II was captured and executed by the Spanish in 1781, the rebellion continued for at least another year under other rebel leaders.

The rebellion arose as a reaction to the imposition of the Bourbon Reforms in the Spanish viceroyalties of America. These reforms, among others, forced the indigenous population to mine minerals under the Mit'a system, largely in Cerro Rico in Potosí. Among Túpac Amaru II's proclamations were the demands of the freedom of the indigenous population and the abolition of slavery.

The rebellion began with the capture and execution of Antonio de Arriaga, the corregidor of Tinta. This initial phase of the rebellion in Cusco and the south was marked by key victories, such as the capture of Ayaviri, the Battle of Pillpinto, and especially the Battle of Sangarará, which consolidated rebel control over the Cusco region. As royalist forces responded with a punitive expedition from Lima, the insurgent movement began to weaken. Túpac Amaru II was captured after being betrayed when retreating to Langui after the defeat in the Battle of Combapata on 5 April, 1781, and Battle of Checacupe on 6 April. He, along with his family and other commanders, were executed in the Plaza de Armas of Cusco on 18 May, 1781. Despite the death of Túpac Amaru II, Túpac Katari and Diego Cristóbal Túpac Amaru continued the rebellion in until 1783.

Tupac Amaru II's rebellion was simultaneous, and occasionally cooperated, with the uprising of Túpac Katari in colonial-era Upper Peru (now Bolivia). The rebellion was the first large-scale attempt at an independence movement in Latin America and the largest revolt in the Americas prior to the Spanish American wars of independence and Haitian Revolution.