Tupac Amaru II’s Indigenous uprising against colonial Spain | Stories of Resistance

The Real News Podcast · Nov 4, 2025 · 6m

In the late 1700s, Indigenous peoples in the Spanish colonies of the Andes were forced to work for the Spanish. They tilled the land, worked in the textile mills and the mines. Those that didn’t faced heavy taxes. But in early November 1780, Indigenous Incan leader Tupac Amaru II led an uprising against the Spanish that he hoped would end it all.

It was the largest revolt against colonial Spain. Thousands would join the months-long rebellion. It would inspire uprisings elsewhere across the continent, and independence leaders. South America would gain its freedom from Spain just 40 years…