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Exploring one of the least studied genocides in post-conquest South America, Robins calls into question many of the central assumptions currently held by genocide scholars. Victims of genocide usually lack the organization and weaponry to battle their enemies. During the 1780-1782 Great Rebellion in Peru and Upper Peru (now Bolivia), however, the Indian revolutionaries faced the better-organized and armed loyalist army. Whereas genocidal policies are usually characterized by centralized leadership, the Great Rebellion was highly fragmented and confederational in nature, undercutting the widely-held assumption that only the State is capable of committing genocide. The Rebellion is one of the rare cases when the victims of genocide emerged victorious.
Focusing on the events occurring in the region south of La Paz, Robins examines how a native millennial movement evolved into an Indian-led attempt at genocide, dealing an unprecedented challenge to Spanish rule in the Americas. In the eyes of the rebels, this revolt fulfilled prophecies of an inevitable, divinely assisted, and long-awaited return of native rule. Just like at the dawn of the colonial period, this new era was to be born of
pachacuti, or cataclysm. But this time the Spanish interlopers and their culture would be targeted for destruction.
List of contents
Introduction
The Historiography of the Great Rebellion
Colonial Control and Indian Consciousness in 18th Century Peru and Upper Peru
The 1780-1782 Rebellion in Peru and Upper Peru
The Futility of Litigious Resistance: The Cataris and the Rebellion in Chayanta and Yamparaez Provinces
Conflict and Ethnic Contradictions in the Provinces of Paria, Oruro, and Carangas
The Insurgency Erupts in the Provinces of Cochabamba, Misque, Chichas, Lipes, and Porco
Prophecy in Action: Messianism and Genocide in Upper Peru
Semiotics of Rebellion
Andean Antinonies: Ambivalences and Contradictions in the Rebellion
Conclusion
Appendix 1: Map of Towns Involved in the Great Rebellion of Upper Peru
Appendix 3: Chronology of the Great Rebellion
Glossary
Bibliography
Index
