The Tupac Amaru and Catarista Rebellions

"This volume represents a true breakthrough.  The indigenous uprisings of the late eighteenth century in the Andes form one of the most dramatic chapters in colonial Latin American history.  Yet until now there has been no set of original documents from the period available in the English language.  Ward Stavig and Ella Schmidt have worked assiduously to make this material available and the resulting book is impressive in its breadth and depth.  It covers a long span of the eighteenth century and the major regional theaters of insurgency.  It will be of great value to scholars, teachers, and students."
     —Sinclair Thomson, Department of History, New York University

SKU
26879g

An Anthology of Sources

Edited and Translated by Ward Stavig and Ella Schmidt
Introduction by Charles Walker

2008 - 288 pp.

Grouped product items
Format ISBN Price Qty
Cloth (no dust jacket) 978-0-87220-846-9
$45.00
Paper 978-0-87220-845-2
$17.00
Instructor Examination (Review) Copy 978-0-87220-845-2
$3.00

Through a wide variety of primary sources—including letters, eyewitness accounts, and governmental documents—this collection portrays in vivid detail the three indigenous rebellions that threatened Spanish control of its South American colonies more than a quarter century before the Wars of Independence (1808-1825).  Headnotes introduce each selection, and a general introduction provides historical, cultural, and political context.  Maps, a chronology of the rebellions, and a glossary of terms are included.

 

Reviews:

"This volume represents a true breakthrough.  The indigenous uprisings of the late eighteenth century in the Andes form one of the most dramatic chapters in colonial Latin American history.  Yet until now there has been no set of original documents from the period available in the English language.  Ward Stavig and Ella Schmidt have worked assiduously to make this material available and the resulting book is impressive in its breadth and depth.  It covers a long span of the eighteenth century and the major regional theaters of insurgency.  It will be of great value to scholars, teachers, and students."
     —Sinclair Thomson, Department of History, New York University

 

". . . this endeavor provides a wealth of material to study when consulting scholarship on the rebellions. . . . Highly recommended."
     —K. Cleland-Sipfle, CHOICE

 

"This anthology of primary sources offers a window into the most vivid aspects of the Indian-based rebellions that spread through Peru and Bolivia between 1780 and 1783. . . . This sourcebook is, above all, a rich, well-constructed, and careful selection of relevant testimonies about a defining moment in the crisis of Spanish colonialism.”
     —Jose C. de la Puente, Texas Christian University, for H-Net: Humanities and Social
Science Reviews Online

 

"[A]n extraordinary cache of official records, letters and eyewitness accounts in English translations that transmit the direct voices of the actors and protagonists.
     Stavig and the other five translators merit high praise for meeting the stiff challenges posed by these convoluted and complex texts ' written in the midst of war.' . . . Their English versions render cultural fidelity as well as a taste of the original writing styles. Headnotes that provide the provenance and context for each document, maps, a chronology of the uprisings, and a glossary of terms greatly enhance readability."
     —Bulletin of Spanish Studies

 

"This is an incredibly valuable resource—it contains excellent English translations of important primary documents of the Tupac Amaru rebellion. This reasonably priced anthology is a great resource for researchers as well as undergraduate and graduate students."
     —Ananda Cohen, Smith College

 

About the Authors:

Ella Schmidt is Assistant Professor of Anthroplogy, University of South Florida.

The late Ward Stavig was Professor of History, University of South Florida.

Charles Walker is Associate Professor of History, University of California Davis.