Túpac Amaru II José Gabriel Túpac Amaru ( March 19 , 1742 – May 18 , 1781 ) — known as Túpac Amaru II — was a leader of an indigenous uprising in 1780 against the Spanish in Peru . Although unsuccessful , he later became a mythical figure in the Peruvian struggle for independence and indigenous rights movement and an inspiration to a myriad of causes in Peru . Túpac Amaru II was born José Gabriel Condorcanqui in Surimana , Tungasuca , in the province of Cuzco , and received a Jesuit education at the " San Francisco de Borja " School , although he maintained a strong identification with the indigenous population . He was a mestizo who claimed to be a direct descendant of the last Inca ruler Túpac Amaru . He had been honored by the Spanish authorities of Peru with the title of Marquis of Oropesa , a position that allowed him some voice and political leverage during Spanish rule . Between 1741 and 1780 Amaru II went into litigation with the Betancur family over the right of succession of the Marquisate of Oropesa and lost the case . In 1760 , he married Micaela Bastidas Puyucahua of Afro - Peruvian and indigenous descent . Condorcanqui inherited the caciqueship , or hereditary chiefdom of Tungasuca and Pampamarca from his older brother , governing on behalf of the Spanish governor . The " Corregidores " and the Exploitation of the Natives . Although the Spanish trusteeship labor system , or " encomienda " had been abolished in 1720 , most natives at the time living in the Andean region of what is now Ecuador and Bolivia , who made up nine tenths of the population at the time , were still pushed into forced labor for what were legally labeled as public work projects . However , most natives worked under the supervision of a master either tilling soil , mining or working in textile mills . What little wage that was acquired by workers was heavily taxed and cemented Native - American indebtedness to Spanish masters . The Roman Catholic Church also had a hand in extorting these natives through collections for saints , masses for the dead , domestic and parochial work on certain days , forced gifts , etc . Those fortunate enough not to be subjugated to forced labor were subject to the Spanish provincial governors , or " corregidores " who also heavily taxed any free natives , similarly ensuring their financial instability . Condorcanqui ' s interest in the Native - American cause had been spurred by the re - reading of one the " Royal Commentaries of the Incas " , a romantic and heroic account of the history and culture of the ancient Incas . The book was outlawed at the time by the Lima viceroy for fear of it inspiring renewed interest in the lost Inca culture and inciting rebellion . The marquis ' native pride coupled with his hate for the oppressors of his people , caused him to sympathize and frequently petition for the improvement of native labor in the mills , farms and mines ; even using his own wealth to help alleviate the taxes and burdens of the natives . After many of his requests for the alleviation of the native conditions fell on deaf ears , Condorcanqui decided to organize a rebellion . He began to stall on collecting reparto debts and tribute payments , for which the Tintan corregidor and governor Antonio de Arriaga threatened him with death . Feeling that his time was ripe , Condorcanqui changed his name to Túpac Amaru II and declared his lineage to the last Inca ruler Felipe Túpac Amaru . Rebellion . Túpac Amaru II ' s rebellion was one of many indigenous Peruvian uprisings in the latter half of the 18th century , and its birth was marked by the capturing and killing of Tinta Corregidor and Governor Antonio de Arriaga on November 4 , 1780 . The event unfolded after both Túpac Amaru II and Governor Arriaga attended a banquet hosted by a priest . When governor Arriaga left the party in a drunken state , Túpac Amaru II and several of his allies captured him and forced him to write letters to a large number of Spaniards and curaca s . When about 200 of them gathered within the next few days , Túpac Amaru II surrounded them with approximately 4 , 000 natives . Claiming that he was acting under direct orders from the Spanish Crown , Amaru II gave Arriaga ' s slave Antonio Oblitas the privilege of executing his master . A platform in the middle of a local town plaza was erected , and the initial attempt at hanging the corregidor failed when the noose snapped . Arriaga then ran for his life to try to reach a nearby church , but was not quick enough to escape being successfully hanged on the second attempt . After the execution of the Arriaga , Amaru II continued his insurrection . Releasing his first proclamation , Tupac Amaru II announced , " that there have been repeated outcries directed to me by the indigenous peoples of this and surrounding provinces , outcries against the abuses committed by European - born crown officials . . . Justified outcries that have produced no remedy from the royal courts " to all the inhabitants of the Spanish provinces . He went on in the same proclamation to state , " I have acted . . . only against the mentioned abuses and to preserve the peace and well - being of Indians , mestizos , mambos , as well as native - born whites and blacks . I must now prepare for the consequences of these actions . " Tupac Amaru II then went on to quickly assemble an army of 6 , 000 natives who had abandoned their work to join the revolt . As they marched towards Cuzco , the rebels occupied the provinces of Quispicanchis , Tinta , Cotabambas , Calca , and Chumbivilcas . After years of living under oppression , the rebels looted the Spaniards ' houses and killed their Spanish oppressors . On November 18 , 1780 , Cuzco dispatched over 1 , 300 Spanish and Native loyalist troops . The two opposing forces clashed in the town of Sangarará . It was an absolute victory for Amaru II and his Native rebels ; all of the 578 Spanish soldiers were killed and the rebels took possession of their weapons and supplies . The victory however , also came with a price . The battle revealed that Amaru II was unable to fully control his rebel followers , as they viciously slaughtered without direct orders . Reports of such violence and the rebels ' insistence on the death of Spaniards eliminated any chances for support by the Creole class . The victory achieved at Sangarara would be followed by a string of defeats . The most critical defeat came in Amaru II ’ s failure to capture Cuzco , which was fortified by a combined troop of loyalist natives and reinforcements from Lima . After subsequent skirmishes around the surrounding region , Amaru II and his rebels became surrounded between Tinta and Sangarara . A betrayal by two of his officers , colonel Ventura Landaeta and captain Francisco Cruz , sealed Amaru II ' s defeat and capture . When his captors attempted to procure the names of his rebel accomplices from him in exchange for promises , Amaru II scornfully replied " There are no accomplices here other than you and I . You as oppressor , I as liberator , deserve to die . " Amaru II was sentenced to be executed . He was forced to bear witness to the execution of his wife , his eldest son Hipólito , his uncle Francisco Tupa Amaro , his brother - in - law Antonio Bastidas , and some of his captains before his own death . The following is an extract from the official judicial death issued by the Spanish authorities which condemns Túpac Amaru II to torture and death . It was ordered in sentence that Túpac Amaru II was condemned to have his tongue cut out , after watching the executions of his family , and to have his hands and feet tied . . . Upon the dismemberment by quartering , he was then beheaded on the main plaza in Cuzco , in the same place his apparent great - great - great - grandfather Túpac Amaru I had been beheaded . When the revolt continued , the Spaniards executed the remainder of his family , except his 12 - year - old son Fernando , who had been condemned to die with him , but was instead imprisoned in Spain for the rest of his life . It is not known if any members of the Inca royal family survived this final purge . Amaru ' s body parts were strewn across the towns loyal to him as ordered , his houses were demolished , their sites strewn with salt , his goods confiscated , his relatives declared infamous , and all documents relating to his descent burnt . At the same time , on May 18 , 1781 , Incan clothing and cultural traditions , and self - identification as " Inca " were outlawed , along with other measures to convert the population to Spanish culture and government until Peru ' s independence as a republic . However , even after the death of Amaru , Native revolt still overtook much of what is today southern Peru , Bolivia and Argentina , as Native revolutionaries captured Spanish towns and beheaded many inhabitants . In one instance , a Native - American army under rebel leader Túpac Katari besieged the city of La Paz for 109 days before troops sent from Buenos Aires stepped in to relieve the city . Although Túpac Amaru II ' s rebellion was not a success , it marked the first large - scale rebellion in the Spanish colonies and inspired the revolt of many Natives and mestizos in the surrounding area . Indeed , Túpac Amaru II inspired the indigenous people ' s to such an extent that even the official document wherein he is condemned to death , it is remarked that " the Indians stood firm in the place of our gunfire , despite their enormous fear of it " and that despite being captured , his followers remained steadfast in their beliefs of his immortality and heritage . As well , multi - ethnic elements and utilization of Incan history within Túpac Amaru II ' s rebellion reflect the first appearance of large - scale counter - hegemonic political initiative in the Andes . The rebellion gave the Natives a new state of mind , a sort of indigenous nationalism that would re - emerge and change shape over the course of the country ' s future . They were now willing to join forces with anyone who opposed the hated Spanish . By contrast , the Peruvian creoles would prove to be South America ' s most conservative in the independence movement due to the fear that independence would leave them at the mercy of the Native populations . As well , other Peruvian creoles had prosperous co - owned businesses and land with the Spaniards , and as such did not want to lose those interests in the event of a revolution . Quotations . " Querrán volarlo y no podrán volarlo " ( " They will want to blow him up and won ' t be able to blow him up " ) . < br > " Querrán romperlo y no podrán romperlo " ( " They will want to break him and won ' t be able to break him " ) . < br > " Querrán matarlo y no podrán matarlo " ( " They will want to kill him and won ' t be able to kill him " ) . < br > " Al tercer día de los sufrimientos , cuando se creia todo consumado , gritando : ¡ LIBERTAD ! sobre la tierra , ha de volver . ¡ Y no podrán matarlo ! " ( " On the third day of suffering , when it was believed everything was finished , screaming : FREEDOM ! over the earth , he shall be back . And they won ' t be able to kill him ! " ) < br > — Alejandro Romualdo Cultural references . In novels . In the book , " Inca Gold " , by Clive Cussler , one of the main villains named himself Tupac Amaru and claims to be a descendant of the real Túpac Amaru .