At all times people who thought that their rights were violated stood up for what they considered right which developed into mass revolts and rebellions. Spain saw many such revolts, especially during the eighteenth century but those who organized such revolts never thought of uniting their forces and trying to win by quantity. A lot of data about these rebellions was preserved, including three manuscripts that were written approximately in the same period.
When dealing with the first manuscript we can find out that it is a letter. The author of it is Micaela Bastidas. She wrote this letter to her husband, Jose Gabriel Condorcanqui who was the leader of the rebellion against colonial law in Spain. This document is known as a letter from Micaela Bastidas to Tupac Amaru. The thing is that Jose Gabriel Condorcanqui shared the views of Tupac Amaru who lived in the 16th century and was the last emperor of the Inca people that’s why he took the name of Tupac Amaru II. Micaela belonged to one of the best advisors of her husband who fought against the Spanish authority. From her letter to Tupac Amaru, it can be seen that this is not the first time that she is writing to him because she reproaches him for not keeping to his word repeating all the time that she already warned him to march on Cuzco but he never listened to her. She finishes her letter by informing Tupac Amaru that she is aware of the enemy’s location and is planning to attack him. The letter concerns the rebellion which took place in Peru in 1780 when the Inca peasants revolted against Bourbon reforms. It is known that this rebellion lasted for two years and when it was ended Tupac Amaru II became a symbol of resistance for his country.
The second manuscript looks like an order though originally it was supposed to be more of a negotiation. The author of this document is Julian Puma Catari. He is demanding to bring to him the three thieves and if this will be done he grants his forgiveness to who he addresses and calls “Christians” who were in fact inhabitants of Latin America of European descent but more frequently of Spanish descent. If what Catari is writing about is not done he threatens to turn everything into ashes within eight days. This manuscript was written when the rebellious forces surrounded La Paz, a Spanish city situated in Bolivia. Julian Puma Catari replaced Tupac Catari when the latter died and gave a word to take revenge and punish all white people irrespective of their origin or religious beliefs.
The third document deals with the Comunero uprising which took place in Viceroyalty in 1780-1781 because the government imposed on people taxes that were too high. It was an uprising against crown officials which started in north-central Colombia but with time spread over the neighboring towns. This revolt never saw serious battles and the third manuscript is all about the people’s attempt to settle the conflict which has arisen peacefully. The document is addressed to the colonial government and comprised of the leaders of the rebellion who demand lower taxes. Those who comprised the document laid out their demands very clearly and it seems that they are sure in what exactly they are not pleased with. The demands were met quickly but when the rebel forces dispersed the government proclaimed the agreement invalid.
In conclusion, the reasons why the rebellions did not unite to achieve their goals are hard to determine. Most evidently it was because each rebellion had its prior demands and they differed because Tupac Amaru’s revolt was against the colonial government as such whereas the Comunero uprising was caused by high taxes people refused to pay. The insurrectionists led by Tupac sought independence whereas the ones of the Comunero uprising simply wanted reforms.