Tupac Amaru
The emperor of Vilcabamba

Tupac Amaru was the last indigenous leader of the Inca state in Peru. He was the fourth son of Manco Capac, the Inca emperor who was initially allied with the Spaniards, then tried a war against them but wasn´t succesful.

Manco Capac founded an independent state to the north east of Cusco called Vilcabamba. It was a place with very difficult access (upper amazon).

In 1544 there was an Spanish attack to Vilcabamba and Manco Capac was killed. He was succeded by his son Sayri Tupac who died , probably poisoned in Cusco 1558. His brother Titu Cusi then was in charge of Vilcabamba for about twelve more years, he died in 1571.

Tupac Amaru, another brother of the two previous indigenous leaders, was crowned as the new Vilcabamba Emperor. The Spanish viceroy of Peru, Francisco de Toledo, wanted to get rid of the remnants of the Inca Empire in Vilcabamba at the time so in 1572 Spanish soldiers and their indigenous allies attacked the Vilcabamba empire and captured Tupac Amarú and his followers.

He was taken to Cuzco held by a chain of gold round his neck and sentenced to death convicted of the murder of Friar Diego Ortiz and others, of which he was probably innocent. He was decapitated in the town’s main plaza on November 14, 1572, in front of thousands of natives and Spanish crowd. The military leader of the Incan army, Wallpa Yupanki was also decapitated.

The last words of the Inca were:

"Ccollanan Pachacamac ricuy auccacunac yahuarniy hichascancuta."

"Mother Earth, witness how my enemies shed my blood."

Tupac Amarú is a powerful symbol of resistance in Peru and Latin America. The 18th-century Peruvian rebel, José Gabriel Condorcanqui adopted the name Tupac Amarú II and took the leading role on a two-year rebellion against the Spanish colonial rule in the 1780´s.


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