Micaela Bastidas Puyucahua

Micaela Bastidas Puyucahua (born in Tamburco, 1745; died in Cusco, May 18, 1781), was a courageous pioneering indigenous leader against Spanish rule in South America, and a martyr for Peruvian independence. She led a rebellion against the Spanish with her spouse, Tupac Amaru II. She was executed before her husband and eldest son by the Spanish in Cuzco in 1781. Her execution had vital importance, specifically in the Rebellion de Tinta. Her bravery and determination to defend her goals for justice and freedom, until her tragic and unexpected death by the hands of the Spaniards, have become legend and symbolic of the fight against colonial oppression and exploitation.

Micaela was born in Pampamarca (in Abancay) in 1744. She was the daughter of Manuel Bastidas (of African descent) and Josefa Puyucahua (a Native American). The young Micaela was slender, pretty, and had brown skin with a head full of waves. Due to her African as well as her indigenous roots, she was known by many as Zamba, a name given during the colonial period to people that are the product of a mixed race of African American and Native American.

On May 25, 1760, before her sixteenth birthday, Micaela married José Gabriel Condorcanqui, Túpac Amaru II in the church of Our Lady of Purification in the city of Surimana. José was a young mixed-race descendent of an important figure in Peruvian history, of the Inca Tupac Amaru I. In 1764, he was named the chief of the territories corresponding with his legacy: Pampamarca, Tungasuca, and Surimana. He fixed his residency with Micaela in Tinta, a region of Cusco.

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