Neo-Colonialism and Indian Unrest in Southern Peru, 1867-1898

Abstract

The last half-century of Spanish rule in the southern Andes was character? ized by large-scale native rebellion that resulted in the deaths of tens of thousands and caused widespread economic dislocation. The persistence of Indian rebellions in the region during the nineteenth century is an important thread that links the colonial and national periods of Peruvian history. Although scholars have frequently discussed peasant revolts in the modern period they have produced mostly tentative or introductory accounts that do not adequately relate the events to economic and political changes at the local, regional, and national levels. The state of the literature on nineteenth century rebellions can be attributed to at least two causes: there were no insurrections ofthe scope and significance of the great eighteenth century rebellions, so scholars have taken less interest in the topic, and sources on nineteenth century insurrections are harder to find and comparatively incomplete. Many scholars of modern rebellions have been at least partially concerned with identifying insurrec? tions as a means of countering elite claims of Indian passivity. AJthough this is an important point, it does little to advance our knowledge of the general causes and results of native rebellion. Several writers, such as Jean Piel, Wilfredo Kapsoli, and Peter Blanchard, have identified important insurrec? tions and linked them to unjust taxation and political chaos. Blanchard, in particular, argues that the proliferation of rebellions in the late nineteenth century can be primarily attributed to the economic, political and adminis? trative disarray that followed Peru's defeat during the War of the Pacific (1879-1883)-1 These conclusions are sound as far as they go, but we may profit from a closer analysis of political economy and economic change. The more developed literature on late colonial rebellions demonstrates the complexity of causes and the difficulty of interpreting peasant behavior in the southern Andes. Most of these publications concern the great rebellion of Tiipac Amaru II of 1780-1783. Tremendous variations in interpretation exist on this insurrection, ranging from those who portray it as an Incan separatist movement to writers who see it as an attempt to reform adminis? tration and taxation. It is inappropriate to offer a summary of this voluminous literature here,2 but I will note a few contributions that provide linkages to modern rebellions. Most recent publications have focused, in one way or another, on the economic policies of the Spanish Bourbons as the principal cause of eighteenth century insurrections. Jiirgen Golte's Repartos y Rebeliones: