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This is an end of the year paper I wrote last year for World History. I thought I might as well post it here for the use of others. I know it is rather short for the broad topic (four pages in Microsoft Word), but I did have a length restriction as well as an assigned topic. Unfortunately, I seem to have lost the file with the bibliography. I will try and get it from my World History teacher though.
July, 1821, the Republic of Peru is established. November, 1811, the United Provinces of New Granada is established. April 1825, Bolivian independence is secured. These revolutions were led by criollos (creoles, whites born in the colonies), but were driven by the First Nations (a.k.a. Native Americans), the mestizos (mixed white and First Nations), mullatos (mixed white and African), zambos (mixed African and First Nations), and Africans. In the Cuzco area of Peru, Northern Potosí, the La Paz area of Bolivia, and the rest of Peru and Bolivia, the First Nations would lead the charge, fueled by Incan nationalism (including pseudo-religious beliefs about the resurrection of the Sapa Inca), radical egalitarian ideas, and challenges to local Spanish authority in all its forms. In New Granada the libres de todos colores or free men and women of all colors would fight to secure rights in a mix of native, African, and creole nationalism. The mindset of the Andean First Nations during the Latin American Revolutions in complex and to understand it one must understand that each area of the Andes experienced the revolution differently and had a different outlook on the situation. The best way to come to understand the Andean First Nations mindset would be to examine the best available example of the mindset of these people.
Perched in a valley high in the Andes Mountains, Cuzco was the center of the largest and most advanced pre-Columbian empire, running a centralized nation stretching from southern Columbia in the north to central Chile in the south. From Cuzco branched out a system of roads that would have made the Romans cry for jealousy. At the dawn of the Latin American Revolutions Cuzco would become a center again, the center of a pan-Inca independence movement stretching from Cuzco throughout Peru, Northern Chile, Northwestern Argentina, and much of Bolivia. The epitome of this movement is seen in the Great Rebellion, led by Túpac Amaru II a native trader and a member of the curaca class of native nobility, claiming descent from the last Sapa Inca, Túpac Amaru. Buring the height of the Great Rebellion Túpac Amaru II held such power and prestige in aforementioned areas that his orders were carried out as if they were from a Sapa Inca, and indeed, the people believed he was the new Sapa Inca come to liberate the pan-Inca people from Spain and recreate the Inca Empire. The Great Rebellion covered over 200,000 miles of vital territory and well more than 100,000 native soldiers.
The religious ideas of millennialism, resurrection/reincarnation of the Sapa Inca inspired by Christianity, and other concepts were the driving force along with pan-Inca nationalism is the Great Rebellion and the later liberation of Peru for the First Nations of Cuzco and the surrounding areas, and in fact were a driving force for the criollos he joined with the First Natives in the Great Rebellion and the liberation of Peru and the rest of the Andes. This came about from the practices and outlook of the criollos and other Spanish authorities. For the criollos the Inca culture was in a sense a way to distinguish themselves from the peninsulares (Iberian born whites). To them the Inca were a culture inherited by the criollos upon the conquest of the area. The criollos pursued the Inca culture encouraging pre-Columbian festivals, native dress and culture, and dramatic and other shows of the stories of the Inca past. For the peninsulares the Inca were a defeated culture and allowing people to remember them in a utopian way could have no harm as the Inca were dead, a lost civilization that provided no threat. As a result of this Inca nationalism rose among the First Nations, and the criollos, encouraging rebellion and the search for independence. In addition the power structure and in particular the massive and far too quick Bourbon reforms caused great unease, in particular among the criollos who lost a great amount of power after the Bourbon reforms and the curacas who sought more power, themselves having too lost great amounts of power after the Bourbon reforms. For the peasantry too the Bourbon reforms were a great cause of dissent as they put further hardships upon the people, despite the Bourbons intentions of streamlining colonial government and reforming the system. The two key factors that prevented much of the First Nations from revolting were loyalty to the king (though this nearly evaporated after the Bourbons were replaced by a Napoleonic monarchy) and the fact that the promises of reform from revolutionary leaders often rang hollow, for instance Túpac Amaru after achieving some power established a parallel structure to that of the colonial system.
For the First Nations of the Cuzco area the choice was very clear in most cases. Rebellion against Spain was the only option in their minds. With a decaying colonial system, failed and oppressive reforms by the Bourbons, pressure from foreign creoles like José Francisco de San Martín and Simón Bolívar, rising nationalist feelings and rising messianic beliefs, the only obvious choice for the First Nations would be to side with the revolutionaries. However, many members of the Andean First Nations still stayed loyal to the Spanish throne. Though there are reasons to account for why the specific cases of the Andean First Nations did not rebel the main reason was no doubt much simpler. People are simply not that willing to cooperate in drastic change. If the trains run on time, then whats the difference? Many people in the Andes had no obvious reason to revolt. Though they knew that the peninsulares, criollos, and really everyone else in the colonial hierarchy had more than they did, this fact did not necessarily affect their everyday lives. They knew that whoever was in charge, they would still rise early in the morning to do begin whatever work had to be done, work a long hard day, go to sleep, and begin again. For most people, then and now, life is life and there is little that people see that they can change.
The happenings of the Cuzco region are paramount to an introductory understanding of the Andean First Nations during the Latin American Revolutions. While Cuzco is a fabulous example, it is by no means an exhaustive one. By studying Cuzco alone one does not come to understand in depth the effect of new philosophical ideas on the revolution in the La Paz area, nor does one learn about how the complex hierarchy of the colonial system contributed to revolt in Northern Potosí, and one also does not learn of the greatly unique situation of New Granada where the First Nations were normally not separated from the mullatos, mextizos, zambas, blacks, and even for a large part the criollos. The Andean First Nations were of primal importance in the revolutions to establish independent states in South America, but they still benefited the least in most cases. Bolivia has only recently elected its first native leader, practically a crime against democracy when one considers that Bolivias population is majority native. The Andean First Nations had an important decision to make at the outbreak of the Latin American Revolutions. The decisions that the individuals lost to history so long ago have defined where the Andes, Latin America, Spain, the Americas, Europe, and the world are today.
A Flame Burns in Cuzco: The First Nations of the Andes during the Andean Revolutions
July, 1821, the Republic of Peru is established. November, 1811, the United Provinces of New Granada is established. April 1825, Bolivian independence is secured. These revolutions were led by criollos (creoles, whites born in the colonies), but were driven by the First Nations (a.k.a. Native Americans), the mestizos (mixed white and First Nations), mullatos (mixed white and African), zambos (mixed African and First Nations), and Africans. In the Cuzco area of Peru, Northern Potosí, the La Paz area of Bolivia, and the rest of Peru and Bolivia, the First Nations would lead the charge, fueled by Incan nationalism (including pseudo-religious beliefs about the resurrection of the Sapa Inca), radical egalitarian ideas, and challenges to local Spanish authority in all its forms. In New Granada the libres de todos colores or free men and women of all colors would fight to secure rights in a mix of native, African, and creole nationalism. The mindset of the Andean First Nations during the Latin American Revolutions in complex and to understand it one must understand that each area of the Andes experienced the revolution differently and had a different outlook on the situation. The best way to come to understand the Andean First Nations mindset would be to examine the best available example of the mindset of these people.
Perched in a valley high in the Andes Mountains, Cuzco was the center of the largest and most advanced pre-Columbian empire, running a centralized nation stretching from southern Columbia in the north to central Chile in the south. From Cuzco branched out a system of roads that would have made the Romans cry for jealousy. At the dawn of the Latin American Revolutions Cuzco would become a center again, the center of a pan-Inca independence movement stretching from Cuzco throughout Peru, Northern Chile, Northwestern Argentina, and much of Bolivia. The epitome of this movement is seen in the Great Rebellion, led by Túpac Amaru II a native trader and a member of the curaca class of native nobility, claiming descent from the last Sapa Inca, Túpac Amaru. Buring the height of the Great Rebellion Túpac Amaru II held such power and prestige in aforementioned areas that his orders were carried out as if they were from a Sapa Inca, and indeed, the people believed he was the new Sapa Inca come to liberate the pan-Inca people from Spain and recreate the Inca Empire. The Great Rebellion covered over 200,000 miles of vital territory and well more than 100,000 native soldiers.
The religious ideas of millennialism, resurrection/reincarnation of the Sapa Inca inspired by Christianity, and other concepts were the driving force along with pan-Inca nationalism is the Great Rebellion and the later liberation of Peru for the First Nations of Cuzco and the surrounding areas, and in fact were a driving force for the criollos he joined with the First Natives in the Great Rebellion and the liberation of Peru and the rest of the Andes. This came about from the practices and outlook of the criollos and other Spanish authorities. For the criollos the Inca culture was in a sense a way to distinguish themselves from the peninsulares (Iberian born whites). To them the Inca were a culture inherited by the criollos upon the conquest of the area. The criollos pursued the Inca culture encouraging pre-Columbian festivals, native dress and culture, and dramatic and other shows of the stories of the Inca past. For the peninsulares the Inca were a defeated culture and allowing people to remember them in a utopian way could have no harm as the Inca were dead, a lost civilization that provided no threat. As a result of this Inca nationalism rose among the First Nations, and the criollos, encouraging rebellion and the search for independence. In addition the power structure and in particular the massive and far too quick Bourbon reforms caused great unease, in particular among the criollos who lost a great amount of power after the Bourbon reforms and the curacas who sought more power, themselves having too lost great amounts of power after the Bourbon reforms. For the peasantry too the Bourbon reforms were a great cause of dissent as they put further hardships upon the people, despite the Bourbons intentions of streamlining colonial government and reforming the system. The two key factors that prevented much of the First Nations from revolting were loyalty to the king (though this nearly evaporated after the Bourbons were replaced by a Napoleonic monarchy) and the fact that the promises of reform from revolutionary leaders often rang hollow, for instance Túpac Amaru after achieving some power established a parallel structure to that of the colonial system.
For the First Nations of the Cuzco area the choice was very clear in most cases. Rebellion against Spain was the only option in their minds. With a decaying colonial system, failed and oppressive reforms by the Bourbons, pressure from foreign creoles like José Francisco de San Martín and Simón Bolívar, rising nationalist feelings and rising messianic beliefs, the only obvious choice for the First Nations would be to side with the revolutionaries. However, many members of the Andean First Nations still stayed loyal to the Spanish throne. Though there are reasons to account for why the specific cases of the Andean First Nations did not rebel the main reason was no doubt much simpler. People are simply not that willing to cooperate in drastic change. If the trains run on time, then whats the difference? Many people in the Andes had no obvious reason to revolt. Though they knew that the peninsulares, criollos, and really everyone else in the colonial hierarchy had more than they did, this fact did not necessarily affect their everyday lives. They knew that whoever was in charge, they would still rise early in the morning to do begin whatever work had to be done, work a long hard day, go to sleep, and begin again. For most people, then and now, life is life and there is little that people see that they can change.
The happenings of the Cuzco region are paramount to an introductory understanding of the Andean First Nations during the Latin American Revolutions. While Cuzco is a fabulous example, it is by no means an exhaustive one. By studying Cuzco alone one does not come to understand in depth the effect of new philosophical ideas on the revolution in the La Paz area, nor does one learn about how the complex hierarchy of the colonial system contributed to revolt in Northern Potosí, and one also does not learn of the greatly unique situation of New Granada where the First Nations were normally not separated from the mullatos, mextizos, zambas, blacks, and even for a large part the criollos. The Andean First Nations were of primal importance in the revolutions to establish independent states in South America, but they still benefited the least in most cases. Bolivia has only recently elected its first native leader, practically a crime against democracy when one considers that Bolivias population is majority native. The Andean First Nations had an important decision to make at the outbreak of the Latin American Revolutions. The decisions that the individuals lost to history so long ago have defined where the Andes, Latin America, Spain, the Americas, Europe, and the world are today.
