[5][6][7][8] He later became a mythical figure in the Peruvian struggle for independence and indigenous rights movement, as well as an inspiration to a myriad of causes in Spanish America and beyond.

Amaru II inherited the caciqueship, or hereditary chiefdom of Tungasuca and Pampamarca from his older brother, governing on behalf of the Spanish governor.

[15][16] Condorcanqui lived the typical situation of the kurakas (tribal chiefs): he had to mediate between the local commander and the indigenous people in his charge.

Although the Spanish trusteeship labor system, or encomienda, had been abolished in 1720, a seventh of the population living in native communities (pueblos de indios) as well as permanent indigenous workers at the time living in the Andean region of what is now Ecuador and Bolivia, who made up nine tenths of the population, were still pushed into forced labor for what were legally labeled as public work projects.

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.

[20] Those not employed in forced labor were still subject to the Spanish provincial governors, or corregidores who also heavily taxed and overpriced commodities to any free natives, similarly ensuring their financial instability.

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.

He began to stall on collecting reparto debts and tribute payments, for which the Tinta corregidor and governor Antonio de Arriaga threatened him with death.

[23] The Tupaq Amaru rebellion was an Inca revival movement that sought to improve the rights of indigenous Peruvians suffering under the Spanish Bourbon Reforms.

At one level, it expressed simply a demand on the Spanish authorities for changes and reforms within the structure of colonial rule, often speaking in the name of the king himself, for example.

In the main, the soldiers of the Tupamarista armies were poor Indian peasants, artisans and women, who saw the rebellion not so much as a question of reforms or power sharing but as an opportunity to 'turn the world upside down'.

"[24] When Arriaga left the party drunk, Tupaq Amaru II and several of his allies captured him and forced him to write letters to a large number of Spaniards and kurakas.

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.

[23] 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.

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.

"[26] In fact, Tupaq Amaru II's wife, Micaela Bastidas, commanded a battalion of insurgents and was responsible for the uprising in the San Felipe de Tungasuca region.

It is told that she scolded her husband for his weakness and refusal to set up a surprise attack against the Spaniards in Cusco to catch the weakened city defenders off guard.

Instead of listening to his wife, Tupaq Amaru II lost precious time by encircling the country in hopes that he could gather more recruits for his army.

His partner and female commander, Bartola Sisa, took control after his capture and lead an astonishing number of 2,000 soldiers for several months.

The battle revealed that Amaru II was unable to fully control his rebel followers, as they viciously slaughtered without direct orders.

The gravest defeat came in Amaru II's failure to capture Cuzco, where his 40,000 – 60,000 indigenous followers were repelled by the fortified town consisting of a combined force of loyalist Native troops and reinforcements from Lima.

"After being repelled from the capital of the ancient Inca empire and intellectual hub of colonial Peru"[28] Amaru and his men marched through the countryside attempting to recruit any native to his cause, in doing so bolstering his forces.

Amaru II's army was surrounded between Tinta and Sangarara and he was betrayed by two of his officers, Colonel Ventura Landaeta and Captain Francisco Cruz, which led to his capture.

It was ordered that Tupaq Amaru II be condemned to have his tongue cut out after watching the executions of his family and to have his hands and feet tied:[31] ...to four horses who will then be driven at once toward the four corners of the plaza, pulling the arms and legs from his body.

[32] Scientists who have studied this dismemberment attempt concluded that due to the physical build and resistance of Tupaq Amaru II, it would not have been possible to dismember him in that way.

[34] 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.

The rebellion took on important manifestations in "Upper Peru" or what is today modern Bolivia including the region South and East of Lake Titicaca.

Indeed, Tupaq Amaru II inspired the indigenous peoples 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 in his immortality and heritage.

Al tercer día de los sufrimientos, cuando se creía todo consumado, gritando: ¡LIBERTAD!

— Alejandro Romualdo The fame of Tupaq Amaru II spread to such an extent that for the indigenous rebels in the plains of Casanare in the New Granada region, he was recognized as "King of America".