The survival of Tahuantisuyu; the return of the Incarri

 "They say that Tupac Amaru's head is in Cuzco And they also say that his hair is growing and that his body is growing down from his head. When he is whole again, the Last Judgment will take place."

The Tahuantisuyu was the largest and most organized state in the Americas.

It stretched for four thousand kilometers from north to south along the Andean chain and along the Pacific coastal plains. Its population was close to eight million inhabitants. The capital was established in the city of Cuzco where the Inca resided, who was, at the same time, head of government and senior priest. It was a great multi-ethnic domain, where numerous nations coexisted in a system of high productive efficiency, environmental sustainability and respect for the diversity of cultures. Despite its size and power, the Tahuantisuyu was occupied, in a short time, by a very small group of Spanish adventurers, who commanded by Francisco Pizarro, began a period of exploitation and dependence that lasts until today. At first glance, the conquest of the Inca state by Pizarro and his people seems like a real feat. It would be better defined as a historical coincidence. To the superiority of armaments and military implements and to the lack of scruples of the Europeans, the weakening in which the Inca society was due to a recent and deadly smallpox epidemic and a civil war was added, which took place as an indirect result of the plague . The epidemic entered through the north. Some people think that it spread from the current territory of Colombia, although it may have originated from a Spanish expedition that had visited the city of Tumbes a few years ago (one of the members of it had been Francisco Pizarro himself). References indicate that more than half of the population died, disarticulating government, economy and society. Among those who died were the Inca, Huayna Capac and much of the ruling class. The acefalía of government also favored the Spanish adventure causing the confrontation of its children Atahualpa and Huáscar, in which the first one would be victorious. The hard struggle for succession added its effects to smallpox, placing Peruvian society in a situation of great vulnerability. It was at that critical moment that the strange "gang" of bearded and metal formwork riders appeared in 1532, with their obsession of wealth and domination. Francisco Pizarro and his people managed to establish contact with the new Inca in the headquarters, who, trusting in the strength of his army, invited them to his camp. Once at the scene, they managed to imprison Atahualpa and called for a precious rescue in precious metals in exchange for the freedom of their prisoner. After receiving the claimed wealth, they breached their part of the deal by executing the Inca before everyone's surprise and outrage. After the assassination of Atahualpa, the Spaniards headed towards Cuzco, where they arrived a year later. There they were well received, especially since Atahualpa was an enemy of the Cuzqueños. A short time would be good relationships. The Spaniards seized the government and imposed a new Inca, son of Huayna Capac and half brother of Atahualpa. His name was Mancu Yupanqui who became a real hostage. From the beginning Mancu was a puppet of the invaders. He was chained and was a victim of mistreatment and constant humiliation. While at first Mancu endured these excesses stoically, in the end, he lost his patience. In 1536, taking advantage of a ceremonial hunt (which the Spanish authorized in exchange for more treasures), he managed to communicate with his trusted men calling them to rebellion.

The Inca resistance in Tampu and Vilcabamba

"I have learned from experience, and you have now seen it with your own eyes how vilely these bearded men have paid me back for what I did for them. They have told me a thousand insults, they have imprisoned me and chained me like a dog by the feet and by the neck, and worst of all, they have done all that after giving me their word that ... we were allies.

I remind you now ... how many times you have begged me to do what I now intend to do ... Send your messengers throughout the territory, so that in twenty days everyone is here in the city. Make sure the barbados know nothing. Send to my general Kisu Yupanqui who governs that province and I will instruct him that on the same day we attack the Spaniards here he and his men fall on them there. Soon we will annihilate them, until none remains, and then we can wake up from this nightmare and rejoice. "(Mancu Yupanqui, 1536) ''

Barely three years had passed since Atahualpa's death. At the call of Mancu Yupanqui the people rose in arms everywhere. The invaders were besieged in Cuzco and Lima, dying more than a thousand. The Cuzco site was broken by Diego de Almagro who thus managed to stabilize the situation and at the same time displace Pizarro, who was currently in Lima. The Spaniards affirmed themselves in their strongholds, while the Inca established his base of operations in the city of Tampu (today 0llantaytambo). From there Mancu tried to fight the invaders with his own weapons, forced the Spanish prisoners to make gunpowder for some rare firearms he had managed to obtain and began using horses. Shortly after, the Inca decided to go on the attack. His forces, led by Kisu Yupanqui, took the city of Jauja and began the final assault on Lima. Unfortunately, for the interests of Mancu Yupanqui, the assault was unsuccessful. In the three years since their arrival the Spaniards had managed to import a large cavalry that was decisive in the outcome of the battle. The Inca army was defeated. After the confrontation of Lima, the Spaniards resumed the offensive forcing the withdrawal of Mancu to Vilcabamba, where the Inca was established in order to rebuild his forces and continue the war that would continue for several decades. Some time later, the Inca Mancu was killed by some Spaniards whom he had given "refuge" and the Inca government remained in the hands of regents until the assumption of power by Sayri Tupa in 1557. The new Inca chose the suggestive name Mancu Capac Pachacuti ( Mancu Capac had been the founder of Tahuantisuyu and Pachacuti is a Quechua word that means earthquake or revolution). Four years later, at a time when a truce had been negotiated, surprisingly, Pachacuti was also poisoned. It was a sad time for Peru. The population had dropped considerably (reduced to 5-10% of their pre-contact levels), irrigation canals were abandoned, cities were transformed into spooky ruins. Over time the persistence of the free state of the Incas was weakening. Mancu Capac Pachacuti's successor was Titu Kusi who tried to reach some kind of agreement with the Spaniards to avoid further bloodshed. He was baptized, authorized the entry of the friars and finally, in 1570, he wrote a plea to the King of Spain defending the right of the Incas to govern Peru. Unfortunately, the new Spanish viceroy, Francisco de Toledo (who had taken office in 1569) was a recalcitrant person. I was just waiting for an opportunity to destroy the last bastion of the Inca resistance.

This opportunity came in 1571 when, in a very suspicious way, Titu Kusi was also poisoned. The Incas of Vilcabamba supposed, probably with good foundation, that the death of Titu Kusi had been the work of the Spaniards and, consequently, retaliated with all foreigners, including the friars. The new Inca, Tupac Amaru, decided to ban Christianity and closed the borders with the colony

"Coincidentally," the following year (1572), a smallpox epidemic spread through Vilcabamba, killing many people. The Spanish took advantage of the situation, attacked in full plague and set the city on fire. The Inca resistance was desperate. With inferiority of armaments and fighting with bare chest, they died by thousands.

The Spanish army managed to control the situation. The Inca Tupac Amaru (Bright Snake in Quechua) escaped to the jungle, but was captured and taken in chains to Cuzco. Once in the capital, before thousands of painful and stunned looks Tupac Amaru was beheaded. His head was nailed in a pike and publicly exposed to the people. It remained in sight of thousands of pilgrims who for a long time went to Cuzco to venerate it. The martyrdom of Tupac was fixed in the collective memory. A long time later his name and image would reappear even more strongly.

"They say that Tupac Amaru's head is in Cuzco And they also say that his hair is growing and that his body is growing down from his head. When he is whole again, the Last Judgment will take place."

Reproduced from "Amerrique, the orphans of paradise", Danilo Antón, Piriguazú Ediciones.