Manco Inca and the Founding of the Neo-Inca State at Vilcabamba

Manco Inca Yupanqui (c. 1516–1544) was a younger son of the Sapa Inca Huayna Capac who was installed as a puppet ruler by the Spanish after the execution of Atahualpa in 1533, and who subsequently led the most serious indigenous rebellion against the Spanish in the history of the conquest. In 1535 Manco Inca escaped from the Spanish garrison in Cusco and withdrew to the highland fortress of Ollantaytambo, in the Sacred Valley northeast of the former Inca capital. From there he organized a general rebellion that, by 1536, had put the Spanish garrisons in Cusco, Lima, and the central highlands under serious threat. The Spanish counterattack pushed Manco Inca from Ollantaytambo in 1537, and he withdrew with a small retinue into the remote forest region of Vilcabamba, on the eastern slopes of the Andes, where he established what historians call the Neo-Inca State. The Neo-Inca State survived for more than thirty years, until the Spanish conquest of Vilcabamba in 1572 and the execution of the last Sapa Inca, Túpac Amaru I, in September of that year. The persistence of the Neo-Inca State served as a focus for indigenous resistance to the Spanish and as a reminder of the legitimacy of the pre-conquest order.

Background of the rebellion

The installation as puppet Sapa Inca

Manco Inca had been installed as Sapa Inca by Francisco Pizarro in late 1533, after the conquest of Cusco and the death of Atahualpa. The installation was a political move, designed to give the Spanish occupation a veneer of legitimacy and to divide the Inca nobility. Manco Inca, who was about twenty years old at the time, accepted the installation, and the royal capital of Tawantinsuyu was formally transferred to the new order. The Spanish accounts report that Manco Inca was crowned with the mascapaicha, the royal fringe that was the symbol of the Sapa Inca, and that the installation was performed with considerable ceremony, in the Inca manner.

The relationship between Manco Inca and the Spanish deteriorated rapidly. The Spanish demanded gold and silver, took possession of the aqllawasi — the houses of the chosen women — and treated the young Inca with increasing contempt. The Spanish accounts report that Manco Inca was treated as a puppet ruler, and that the Spanish officials made decisions without consulting him. Manco Inca was also required to renounce polygamy and to accept baptism into the Christian faith, although the Spanish were flexible about the timing of the baptism. The situation came to a head in 1535, when Manco Inca learned that the Spanish planned to execute him, and he decided to escape from Cusco.

The escape from Cusco

In the spring of 1535, Manco Inca escaped from the Spanish garrison in Cusco and withdrew to the highland fortress of Ollantaytambo, in the Sacred Valley northeast of the former capital. The escape was a daring undertaking, and the Spanish accounts report that Manco Inca was able to leave the city by pretending to go on a hunting trip, and that he was joined by a large retinue of Inca nobles and warriors. The Spanish, who were caught by surprise, were unable to prevent the escape, and the rebellion that followed was, in effect, a general uprising of the Inca population against the Spanish occupation.

The rebellion that Manco Inca organized in 1535 was the most serious indigenous uprising against the Spanish in the history of the conquest. By the spring of 1536, the rebellion had put the Spanish garrisons in Cusco, Lima, and the central highlands under serious threat. The highland populations, who had been incorporated into the Inca empire only recently and who had been resettled by the Inca, joined the rebellion in large numbers. The Spanish, who were few in number and who were spread out across the central Andes, were unable to suppress the rebellion, and the Spanish crown, in the form of the newly created viceroyalty of Peru, had to intervene to settle it.

The highland rebellion, 1535–1537

The siege of Cusco, 1536

The most famous episode of the highland rebellion was the siege of Cusco in 1536, in which Manco Inca’s forces succeeded in cutting the Spanish off from the surrounding countryside. The siege lasted for several months, and the Spanish garrison, under the command of Francisco Pizarro’s two brothers, Gonzalo and Juan, was reduced to desperate straits. The Spanish accounts, which include the chronicles of Pedro Cieza de León and Bernabé Cobo, report that the Inca forces succeeded in cutting the Spanish water supply, in burning the surrounding fields, and in killing many of the Spanish soldiers who attempted to leave the city. The Spanish were saved only by the arrival of a relief force under the Spanish captain Alonso de Alvarado, which had been raised in the northern highlands and which broke through the Inca siege lines.

The siege of Cusco was a major military engagement, and it is one of the most serious defeats the Spanish suffered in the Americas. The Inca forces, although they lacked steel weapons and cavalry, were able to besiege a Spanish garrison in a fortified city, and they were able to maintain the siege for several months. The Spanish were saved only by the arrival of the relief force, and the relief force was raised only with great difficulty. The siege of Cusco illustrates the limits of Spanish military power in the Andes, and it shows that the indigenous population, when properly organized, was capable of putting up a serious resistance to the Spanish.

The battle of Ollantaytambo, 1537

The Spanish counterattack against Manco Inca’s rebellion pushed the Inca forces from Ollantaytambo in 1537. The battle of Ollantaytambo, in January 1537, was a major engagement in which the Spanish, under the command of the captain Alonso de Alvarado, attempted to storm the highland fortress that Manco Inca had established in the Sacred Valley. The Inca had fortified the fortress with walls and terraces, and the Spanish were unable to take the fortress by storm. The Spanish accounts report that the Inca forces succeeded in repelling several Spanish assaults, and that the Spanish suffered heavy casualties. The battle ended inconclusively, but the Spanish were eventually able to take the fortress by cutting off the Inca water supply, and Manco Inca was forced to withdraw.

The battle of Ollantaytambo was significant for the way in which it demonstrated the effectiveness of the Inca defensive strategy. The Inca, who had chosen a site that could be easily defended and that was difficult to attack, were able to hold off a much larger Spanish force for several months. The Spanish, who were used to open battles and to direct assault, were unable to adapt their tactics to the highland terrain, and they were forced to use siege tactics. The battle of Ollantaytambo was a significant moment in the Spanish conquest, and it illustrates the way in which the indigenous population was able to use the highland terrain to resist the Spanish.

The retreat to Vilcabamba

The establishment of the Neo-Inca State

After the loss of Ollantaytambo in 1537, Manco Inca withdrew with a small retinue into the remote forest region of Vilcabamba, on the eastern slopes of the Andes. The region, which is located in the watershed of the Urubamba River and which is today part of the Machu Picchu historical sanctuary, was sparsely populated and difficult to access. The Inca had built roads and administrative centers in the region, and they had used it as a refuge for displaced populations and as a source of coca leaves and other tropical products. Manco Inca established a new capital at Vilcabamba, and he began to organize the resistance to the Spanish from there.

The Neo-Inca State at Vilcabamba was a small polity, perhaps 30,000 to 40,000 people, in a remote and difficult country. The state was organized on the Inca model, with a Sapa Inca, a council of Inca nobles, and a system of labor extraction based on the mit’a. The state was, in effect, a continuation of the Inca state in exile, and it maintained many of the institutions of the pre-conquest order. The state launched raids into the highland provinces, and the Spanish were unable to suppress it for more than thirty years. The persistence of the Neo-Inca State served as a focus for indigenous resistance to the Spanish and as a reminder of the legitimacy of the pre-conquest order.

Manco Inca’s assassination

Manco Inca was assassinated in 1544 by a group of Spanish-allied indigenous people, who had been bribed by the Spanish captain Pedro Martín de Sicilia. The assassination was a political act, designed to remove a potential rallying point for indigenous resistance, and it marked the end of the first phase of the Neo-Inca State. Manco Inca was succeeded by his son Sayri Túpac, who was a child at the time of his father’s death. The regency, which was exercised by a council of Inca nobles, continued the resistance to the Spanish, and Sayri Túpac was eventually installed as Sapa Inca.

The assassination of Manco Inca illustrates the way in which the Spanish were able to use indigenous allies to suppress the indigenous resistance. The Spanish, who did not have the military resources to conquer the Neo-Inca State by force, were able to bribe and manipulate the indigenous allies to assassinate the Sapa Inca. The assassination of Manco Inca was the first of a series of similar acts, and it illustrates the way in which the Spanish were able to exploit the divisions within the indigenous population.

The legacy of the Neo-Inca State

The persistence of the resistance

The Neo-Inca State at Vilcabamba persisted for more than thirty years after the retreat of Manco Inca. The state was ruled by Manco Inca from 1537 until his assassination in 1544, then by his son Sayri Túpac, by another son Titu Cusi, and by a third son, Túpac Amaru I. From Vilcabamba, the Inca launched raids into the highland provinces, and the Spanish were unable to suppress them. The persistence of the Neo-Inca State was a significant source of instability for the colonial regime, and the Spanish crown, in the form of the viceroyalty of Peru, had to intervene several times to suppress the resistance.

The persistence of the Neo-Inca State was, in part, a consequence of the difficulty of the terrain. The region of Vilcabamba is located in the watershed of the Urubamba River, and it is characterized by steep mountains, dense forest, and a humid climate. The Spanish, who were not used to fighting in such terrain, were unable to mount effective military campaigns against the Neo-Inca State, and they were forced to use diplomacy and bribery to settle the conflict. The persistence of the Neo-Inca State was also a consequence of the divisions within the Spanish camp. The Spanish civil war of 1537–1542 distracted the Spanish from the indigenous resistance, and the Spanish were unable to mount a coordinated campaign against Vilcabamba.

The Spanish campaigns against Vilcabamba

The Spanish launched several campaigns against the Neo-Inca State at Vilcabamba. The first, in 1540, was a small expedition under the command of Pedro de Anzures, which was unable to penetrate the region. The second, in 1544, was a larger expedition under the command of Pedro Martín de Sicilia, which was also unsuccessful. The third, in 1559, was a large expedition under the command of the Viceroy García de Castro, which was forced to withdraw after a serious defeat at the hands of the Inca forces. The fourth, in 1572, was a large expedition under the command of Martín García de Loyola, which succeeded in capturing the Neo-Inca capital and in executing the last Sapa Inca, Túpac Amaru I.

The Spanish campaigns against Vilcabamba illustrate the difficulty of the conquest of the region. The Spanish, who had conquered the central Andes in the 1530s, were unable to conquer the Neo-Inca State for more than thirty years, and they were forced to use a combination of military force, diplomacy, and bribery to settle the conflict. The persistence of the Neo-Inca State was, in effect, a sign of the limits of Spanish military power in the Andes, and it served as a reminder of the legitimacy of the pre-conquest order. The destruction of the Neo-Inca State in 1572 marked the end of the independent political life of the Inca, and it was followed by the establishment of the colonial regime throughout the central Andes.