INDIGENOUS REBELLIONS IN AMERICA Summary of the main indigenous uprisings in the American continent against the abuse of the Spanish invaders CAONABO, 1494 Chief of the Taino chiefdom of Maguana, in the Cibao region, (current Dominican Republic) and married to Princess Anacaona, he was feared for his ferocity in combat and known for putting up tenacious resistance to Christopher Columbus and other invaders from overseas. In December 1492, near the current Cap Haitien, Christopher Columbus, before his imminent trip to Spain, began the construction of a fort or settlement using the wood of the Santa María caravel that had run aground on the coast on Christmas Eve, for what he called to this construction "Fort Nativity" leaving in its care the royal scribe Diego de Arana in command of 39 men. It is from this fort that the soldiers began to commit excesses and abuses against the population, also imposing heavy taxes and obligations on them. In this context, a group of Spaniards, among them Rodrigo de Escobedo and Pedro Gutiérrez, entered the cacique's territories in search of gold, being killed by him, who after killing them went to the Natividad fort, destroying it and killing the few dozen Spaniards who, under the command of Diego de Arana, had remained for their guard. In November 1493, upon his return, Christopher Columbus found the fort destroyed, so determined to avenge the death of his men, he ordered his lieutenant Alonso de Ojeda to go to Maguana to capture Caonabo, for which the Spanish had to resort to a trick to achieve it. He showed up at the cacique's village and, knowing of the good faith in the actions of the indigenous people and knowing the great value they gave to brass and other European metals, he kissed his hands and affirmed "I bring a gift from the admiral, they are precious metals ." with which the kings of Castile adorn themselves” and showing him some brass handcuffs, he indicated that said gift should be placed next to the Yaqué river. Caonabo, trusting Ojeda's word, allowed himself to be handcuffed and got on the horse that the Spaniard offered him. In this way the cacique was taken prisoner. Fearing a major uprising and Caonabo's eventual death, Columbus decided to send him to Castile to be tried by the Catholic kings. However, the ships that arrived in Spain did not have the precious cargo. According to Bartolomé de las Casas, Caonabo died during the voyage, chained to a mast, drowned, due to the fury of the sea, according to other historians, he committed suicide during the voyage, refusing to eat and drink, without having shown weakness even once . Caonabo, the first leader of the indigenous resistance, would inherit his integrity to the following American rebellions. ENRIQUILLO, 1498 Guarocuya, future chief of the Bahoruco, nephew of Anacaona and heir to the Taino nobility, was the leader of the native resistance on the island of Hispaniola, now the Dominican Republic. In 1503 he saw his parents die charred by the Spanish flames, becoming an orphan after Governor Nicolás de Ovando assassinated his parents in the Jaragua massacre while they were celebrating a peace agreement. He was saved by Bartolomé de las Casas, who took him to a monastery and baptized him with the name of Enrique. At the age of twelve it was entrusted to Francisco de Valenzuela and when he died, it became the property of his son Andrés de Valenzuela, who treated him as a slave, committing abuses against him and his wife Mencía, who in turn was his cousin and granddaughter. of Caonabo and Anacaona. Enrique would complain about said mistreatment before the governor and the Santo Domingo audience, however his claims were denied, therefore, he would go to the Bahoruco mountains. He was persecuted by the Spaniards whom he confronted and killed, sparing Valenzuela's life. From the mountains of Bahoruco he began his resistance through guerrillas, assaulted the Spanish haciendas, took away their weapons and repelled their attacks. A friar goes to the mountain and asks Enriquillo to stop the confrontation, to which he replies: “so that they don't kill me like my elders, I came to my land. Neither I nor mine do wrong, we only defend ourselves from the invader who wants to capture us. We will not live in servitude." Approximately in 1533, as the Spanish were unable to control the rebellion and after fourteen years of fighting, Enriquillo reached a peace agreement with Captain General Francisco de Barrionuevo, representative of the Spanish crown, granting the Tainos the right to freedom and ownership, eliminating the encomienda system and taxes to the crown. Enriquillo would have died in 1536, at the age of 40. The church of Agua Santa was built on his grave in the community of Boya. It is said that in the lake that bears his name, near the border with Haiti, at the foot of Bahoruco, you can see the image of Enrique Guarocuya drinking water, before returning to the mountain. AGUEYBANÁ II, 1511 Cacique, heir to the island called by the natives Borinquen, now Puerto Rico, fought bravely and nobly against the abuse of the Spanish invaders commanded by Juan Ponce de León. In 1511 Agueybana II organizes his people and manages to confederate allied peoples to join the fight, however the idea of the immortality of foreigners still existed among them, so the chief Uroyoán is entrusted with the mission of breaking said myth. . Thus, Uroyoán drowned the Spaniard Diego Salcedo in the Guaorabo river and kept him under observation for three days waiting for some reaction from the body, but the only thing he obtained was its decomposition, a fact that was immediately communicated to Agueybana, who quickly began the rebellion The cacique directs his attack on the SotoMayor people, causing the death of many invaders, however the Spanish response was immediate, Juan Ponce de León, governor of said island, systematically attacks the indigenous peoples, with the few soldiers he had left . . It is during these attacks that Agueybaná is finally killed. Although the indigenous defend themselves to the end, taking refuge in the Yaguaca region, they are defeated, falling to the superiority in arms of their enemies. Agueybaná II, with his blood and courage, showed the path of struggle to the Caribs and Tainos. HATUEY, 1512 Taino chief, from the island of Quisqueya, now the Dominican Republic, who arrived in Cuba after being expelled by the Spanish invaders from his homeland. When they arrived in Cuba and built the capital of the island: Baroca, Hatuey advised the chiefs of the different Taino tribes of said territory to get rid of all the gold they possessed and take a basket full of the precious metal and before throwing it into the Rio told them: "This is the god that the Spaniards adore, for having him they anguish us, persecute us, mistreat us, for him they have killed our parents and brothers." The cacique and his men began to attack the invaders by surprise, using sticks, stones and arrows, but the Spaniards led by Diego Velazquez attacked them using sniffer dogs, firearms, crossbows and armor, so they gradually managed to capture it. Hatuey was sentenced to die burned alive at the stake, when his ordeal was about to begin, Father Olmedo approached him asking him if he wanted to become a Christian through baptism to go to heaven, to which the cacique replied: and the Spaniards? Are they Christians? Given the priest's affirmative response, he replied, “Then I have nothing to do with them, my soul cannot walk with them, it must be free and live in the territory that separates the kingdom of heaven from the kingdom of earth. ”. The execution took place in the town of Yara, a place where a monument is currently erected in his honor and where it is said that, at night, a light can still be seen that comes out in the path of travelers as a symbol of denial. of this brave warrior to leave the region where he was executed. CEMACO, 1513 Cemaco burns plantations of the Hispanics Cacique of the lands located in the Gulf of Uraba, on the banks of the Darién River, present-day Panama, he was a brave warrior who resisted the Spanish invasion from the beginning, receiving them at the point of arrows when these landed in their region. However, despite his bravery, he was captured and tortured by Vasco Núñez de Balboa to point out the places where gold could be extracted. Due to an oversight by his captors, he manages to escape and organize the attack in response to the abuses committed by the foreigners, firstly burning the plantations and crops from which they obtained their food. Vasco Núñez then sends Francisco Pizarro and a handful of men in search of the rebel cacique, however other caciques have already joined the fight and it is difficult for them to find him. Cemaco draws up a plan to attack the town of Santa María la Antigua, but the sister of one of his warriors is a captive lover of the Spanish chief, so without informing his superiors, he goes to warn her of the danger, asking her to hide at the time of the fight. She informs the Spanish of Cemaco's plans, being induced by the invader to lure her brother. Once this is done, they stop him and get all the information about the attack and the names of the caciques involved in the rebellion. The natives are surprised in the middle of the preparations for the battle, they are attacked and decimated, Cemaco and all the leaders of the revolt being hanged. URRACÁ, 1520 Cacique of the Natá region, in present-day Panama, bravely confronted the Spanish invaders for almost nine years, repeatedly confronting the Spaniard Gaspar Espinosa, who wanted to build a town in Natá because it was rich in precious metals. Urracá made alliances with the chiefs of neighboring areas to repel the Spanish attacks, however, the arrival of Hernán Ponce de León forced the allies to withdraw. Despite the years of fighting, Urracá continues with his rebellion, it is for this reason that, in 1531, the Spanish invaders plan to capture him through a ruse: they send emissaries to his lands in order to start peace negotiations . The cacique accepts the invitation and when he goes to the indicated place he is arrested with the intention of being sent to Spain. However, he manages to escape and reunite with his former allies, determined to die in combat so as not to continue living in captivity. Villa de Natá is attacked several times and although the indigenous power weakens, Urracá and his warriors maintained their resistance for many years. In the city of Santiago, in front of the façade of the national school, stands a statue of Urracá, always ready to defend his land against invaders. TECÚN - UMÁN, 1525 A warrior and the last chief of the Quiché in the region that currently corresponds to Guatemala, he blocked the path of the Spanish invaders when they entered his region in search of gold. The Quiché knew of the horror that foreigners meant, slavery came with them, it was written in the Chilam-Balam. Tecún - Umán and his ten thousand warriors would be in charge of protecting his land and his people, fighting the invader, represented by the Spanish Pedro de Alvarado. With his arms covered in colorful feathers, a silver and gold crown, and an emerald mirror on his chest, the great Quiche flew like an eagle over Pachah, where the battle took place, fighting fiercely resisting the invader's onslaught, leading his people, until Alvarado's sword pierced him. It is said that when Tecún fell, a quetzal perched on his blood and that is where the red on the bird's chest comes from. His memory gives name to the city of Tecún Umán, the main border crossing between Chiapas, in Mexico, and Guatemala, likewise, a statue is erected in his honor in the city of Quetzaltenango, a city near the place where the great Quiche leader died. CUAUHTEMOC, 1525 He was the last Mexica tlatoani. After the massacre perpetrated in Tenochtitlán, an event called "the sad night" by Pedro de Alvarado, lieutenant of Hernán Cortez, in May 1520, he became a bitter enemy of the Spanish invaders. Knowing that the Spanish would return after having been expelled during the government of Moctezuma II, he ordered the city to be rebuilt and fortified. However, Tenochtitlan would fall alongside the battle-hardened Mexica leader. On August 13, 1521, after suffering a ninety-day siege, the invaders, under the command of Hernán Cortez, razed the city and destroyed its fortresses, taking Cuauhtemoc as a prisoner in Tlatelolco. Later on the ruins of Tenochtitlán the city of Mexico would be built Imprisoned together with the chiefs Coanacoch and Tetlepanquetzal, they are tortured to reveal where they hid the royal treasure lost by the invaders in the "sad night". His wife, Tecuichpo, is harassed by Cortés and his soldiers. Cuauhtemoc is burned in his hands and feet, to the point of rendering him an invalid, but still he and his caciques remain silent. Finally, fearing that the people would organize a rebellion to free their leader, and given the distrust of his own soldiers regarding the location of the riches, Hernán Cortés took Cuauhtemoc with him along with his caciques on an expedition to the territory of the current Honduras. It is on this trip that the Spaniard meets Mexicalcingo, a citizen of Temixtitlan, who informs him that Cuauhtémoc is planning a conspiracy against him, therefore, Cortés, feeling vulnerable, decides to hang the tlatoani and his men, being hanged in the sacred kapok tree . Cuauhtémoc crosses the fire of the night and stands as a national symbol of the Mexican resistance against the Spanish invasion. LEMPIRA, 1531 Lempira was a leading cacique of the Lencas in the Cerquín region, located in present-day Honduras. With hair adorned with quetzal feathers, he commanded a group of indigenous people who did not accept being slaves to the invaders, fighting against the Spanish during the 1530s. Based on the Cerquín hill, he commanded the resistance to the penetration of the troops Spanish, who expedition after expedition returned without victory, until tired of fighting a ghost they hatched a plan to capture it. According to the chronicler Antonio de Herrera y Tordesillas, Lempira was betrayed by two Spanish soldiers sent by Captain Alonso de Cácerres to negotiate a false peace. Herrera describes how they fooled the cacique with a white flag, causing him to lower his guard to put a bullet through his heart. Other historians point out that Lempira died in combat. Lempira's legacy inspired his brothers to take up arms in the Comayagua Valley, in search of their freedom. RUMIÑAHUI, 1535 His name was Ati II Pillahuaso, chief of Patate and Salcedo, he was the son of the Inca Huayna Cápac and Nari Ati, princess daughter of Pillahuaso, chief of Pillaro. In 1533, when Atahualpa was arrested and executed by the invader Francisco Pizarro in Cajamarca, Tahuantinsuyo region, Rumiñahui, who was his half brother, decided to fight and confront the foreigners, who had already shown signs of their interest and greed for gold. and other precious materials from the Inca empire. He assumed command of the northern armies and began his fierce resistance against the Spanish troops, under the command of Captain Sebastián de Benalcázar. The Spanish made an alliance with the Cañaris Indians to fight the rebels, however it was not easy for them to fight against the Shiry of Quito, who covered the plains of Tiocajas with traps to prevent the advance of the enemy. The battle continues until a traitor warns Benalcázar of a safe path to retreat to Riobamba, Rumiñahui then decides to attack the city and it is during the fight that the Tungurahua volcano erupts, causing fear and bewilderment in the indigenous ranks, who attribute the eruption a bad omen, abandoning the battle and becoming an easy target for the Spanish soldiers. Defeated Rumiñahi returns to Quito and hides Atahualpa's treasures. At the beginning of 1535, Rumiñahui is captured by Hernando de la Parra and transferred to the presence of Benalcázar, who tortures him along with other caciques to indicate the whereabouts of the Inca treasures, however, he cannot get a single word out of them. Tired of so much silence, the Spanish ordered them to be executed at the stake in the foundation square of Quito. Fire does not consume memory as the brave cacique is considered a hero of the indigenous resistance and one of the bravest exponents of his race. These rebellions occurred in response to the abuse committed during the Spanish rule throughout America, they were led by indigenous people who courageously; they defended their land, their home, their customs, their traditions and their freedom; They defended their Indian America with their lives.