Genocide and Millennialism in Upper Peru: The Great Rebellion of 1780-1782

About the Book

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.

Table 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

About the Author :
NICHOLAS A. ROBINS is Visiting Scholar at the Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies, Duke University, and Executive Director of Fundación Amistad, East Hampton, NY. He is the author of El Mesianismo en los Andes: La Rebelión de Tupac Amaru en la Provincia de Ororu, Alto Peru, 1781 (1997), and Mesianismo y Semiotica Indigena en el Alto Peru: La Gran Rebelion de 1780-1782, (1998).

Review :
.,."extremely well written, reflecting the exercise of an economy of words, lucidity in style and a cogency of discourse. More importantly, however, the book introduces a new paradigm in conceptualization and as a result is a signal contribution to the field....this work will cause many scholars to reevaluate their definitions of genocide and opens a new frontier in the study of this tragic phenomenon of the human condition."-V.N. Dadrian Zoryan Institute "Robin's provocations will be read with passion by all the students of Andean rebellions. This book will provoke not only doubts, but also new investigations and that is an honor that only few authors merit."-Jan Szeminski Universidad de Varsovia .,."exciting and provocative....This work speaks not only to Latin Americanists, but to a wider audience interested in ethnic conflicts. All academic collections."-Choice ?...exciting and provocative....This work speaks not only to Latin Americanists, but to a wider audience interested in ethnic conflicts. All academic collections.?-Choice ?Discusses an indigenous millennialist movement that evolved into an Indian revolt against Spanish rule.?-The Chronicle of Higher Education ?Nicholas A. Robins has written an engaging account of the massive, Indian-based uprising in Upper Peru or Charcas (what became Bolivia) in 1780-1782....an accessible account of this fascinating period and contributes to our understanding of violence and anticolonialism in the Andes.?-American Historical Review ?Thorough research, thoughtfully and clearly presented, opens up new territory both in terms of a case study and of the dynamics of genocide....Robins' insights offer an important clue to an understanding of similar phenomena in places like Rwanda, Bosnia or Cambodia.?-The ISG Newsletter ..."exciting and provocative....This work speaks not only to Latin Americanists, but to a wider audience interested in ethnic conflicts. All academic collections."-Choice "Discusses an indigenous millennialist movement that evolved into an Indian revolt against Spanish rule."-The Chronicle of Higher Education "Thorough research, thoughtfully and clearly presented, opens up new territory both in terms of a case study and of the dynamics of genocide....Robins' insights offer an important clue to an understanding of similar phenomena in places like Rwanda, Bosnia or Cambodia."-The ISG Newsletter "Nicholas A. Robins has written an engaging account of the massive, Indian-based uprising in Upper Peru or Charcas (what became Bolivia) in 1780-1782....an accessible account of this fascinating period and contributes to our understanding of violence and anticolonialism in the Andes."-American Historical Review