| Name | Felipe Túpac Amaru De Castro Yupanqui |
| Cause | Reestablish independent Inca state |
| Dates | 1565 - 1572 |
| Title | Inca Prince |
| Outcome | Defeated and killed in battle |
| Opponents | |
| Allegiance | Neo-Inca State |
| Significance | Legendary figure of indigenous resistance, inspired later anti-colonial movements |
Felipe Túpac Amaru De Castro Yupanqui was an Inca prince and military leader who led a major uprising against Spanish colonial rule in the Andes Mountains from 1565 to 1572. Descending from the royal Sapa Inca dynasty, Túpac Amaru sought to reestablish an independent Inca Empire after the Spanish conquest in the 1530s. Though ultimately defeated, he managed to control a significant portion of the Andes for several years, establishing the Neo-Inca State, and became a legendary figure of indigenous resistance.
Túpac Amaru was born in 1545 in the city of Cuzco, the historic capital of the Inca Empire. He was the son of Manco Inca Yupanqui, the last uncontested ruler of the Inca before the Spanish conquest, and the nephew of the famous Inca emperor Atahualpa. As a member of the Inca royal family, Túpac Amaru was trained from a young age in military strategy, statecraft, and the rituals and traditions of the Inca civilization.
After the execution of his father by the Spanish in 1544, Túpac Amaru and his family fled Cuzco and took refuge in the remote Andes, where they maintained a network of supporters and sympathizers among the native population. Here, Túpac Amaru began to plot the overthrow of Spanish colonial rule and the restoration of Inca independence.
In 1565, at the age of 20, Túpac Amaru launched his first major uprising against the Spanish colonial authorities in the Andes. Taking advantage of a power vacuum and weakened Spanish presence, Túpac Amaru was able to quickly mobilize thousands of indigenous fighters and seize control of large swaths of the Inca heartland, including the historic capital of Cuzco.
Over the next several years, Túpac Amaru's forces engaged in a protracted guerilla war against the Spanish and their native allies. Taking refuge in the remote Vilcabamba region, Túpac Amaru established the Neo-Inca State, a sovereign Inca kingdom that maintained de facto independence from the Spanish colonial administration. From this base, he launched raids, ambushes, and coordinated attacks against the Spanish presence in the Andes.
Túpac Amaru's military campaign was marked by a complex relationship with the Spanish colonists. While fighting against the colonial government, he also sought alliances with certain factions of the Spanish elite, playing various Spanish interests against each other. This enabled him to maintain control of the Neo-Inca State for nearly a decade.
In 1572, the Spanish colonial authorities, led by the viceroy Francisco de Toledo, launched a major offensive to crush Túpac Amaru's rebellion. After a series of bloody battles, Túpac Amaru's forces were overwhelmed by the superior Spanish firepower and organization. Túpac Amaru himself was captured and executed by the Spanish.
The fall of the Neo-Inca State marked the end of the last independent Inca polity. However, Túpac Amaru's heroic resistance and ultimate martyrdom made him a legendary figure in the Andes, inspiring later indigenous independence movements such as the Túpac Amaru Revolutionary Movement in the 20th century.
Túpac Amaru's legacy endures as a symbol of indigenous pride, resistance to colonial oppression, and the ongoing struggle for self-determination among the native peoples of the Americas. His story continues to be retold and reinterpreted by historians, artists, and activists seeking to reclaim Inca and Andean heritage.
