Mateo Pumacahua He was a military man born in 1740, in Cuzco, in the then viceroyalty of Peru. Thanks to his status as a noble indigenous person, he held various positions within his community. His military achievements allowed him to rise within the colonial administration until he became interim governor of the Royal Court of Cuzco..
Its first relevant military campaign took place during the insurrection led by Túpac Amaru II. Pumacahua, as part of the royalist troops, was decisive in the defeat of the indigenous leader. Later, he was responsible for some pacification campaigns in the area. These actions earned him to be promoted to colonel of the Spanish infantry.
In 1813, after the proclamation of the Constitution of Cádiz, of a liberal nature, Pumacahua changed their positions. This was also helped by having come into contact with groups of liberal Creoles who spread the ideas of the Enlightenment in the viceroyalty..
The leaders of the Cuzco Rebellion of 1814 asked him to join their movement against the colonial authorities. Pumacahua accepted and led one of the battalions fighting the royalists. After occupying Arequipa, he was defeated and taken prisoner at the Battle of Umachiri. The hero of independence was executed in 1815.
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Mateo García Pumacahua Chihuantito came to the world in Chincheros (Cuzco), on September 21, 1740. His family belonged to the high indigenous aristocracy and descended from the Inca Huayna Cápac. His father, Francisco Pumacahua Inca was the governor of Chincheros.
These noble origins and the quality of his writings have led historians to believe that young Mateo received a good education at the Colegio de Indios Nobles y de Caciques de San Francisco de Jesús, a Jesuit educational center located in Cuzco. According to some sources, it is possible that he coincided with Túpac Amaru there.
When his father died in 1770, Pumacahua inherited the position of chief and governor of Chincheros. As was customary at the time, he had to promise to maintain order, defend the Catholic religion and collect the corresponding taxes.
In 1773, he was appointed captain of the noble Indians of Urubamba and, three years later, he married Juliana Carihuamán, a union from which five children were born..
At the end of 1780, José Gabriel Condorcanqui, better known as Túpac Amaru II, started a rebellion against the colonial authorities. This insurrection took the viceroyalty by surprise, whose regular troops were scarce at the time..
The viceregal authorities had to mobilize the indigenous chiefs who remained faithful. Among them was Mateo Pumacahua, who managed to involve a large number of inhabitants of his territory in the fight against Túpac Amaru II..
Pumacahua brought together 1,200 indigenous people in a battalion to which Viceroy Abascal gave the privilege of using a flag, something quite rare at that time. His performance was essential to end the rebellion and, later, to capture Túpac Amaru II, who had tried to escape.
After Túpac Amaru was executed, Pumacahua continued to lead his troops as part of the pacification campaign that his launched in Puno. The military man was promoted to colonel and was awarded a salary of 180 pesos per month.
When his battalion was demobilized, Pumacahua returned to Chincheros and took command of a hacienda. However, his interest in moving up in his career led him in 1782 to request the Marquis of Salinas to expose his merits at court..
The following year, he was promoted to colonel in the militia and in 1794 he obtained the rank of colonel in the infantry. In 1802, the noble Indians of Cuzco elected him second lieutenant of the city.
At that time, Pumacahua was a fervent realist, so much so that in March 1809 he donated 2,500 pesos to fight the French invasion of Spain..
His military career, on the other hand, continued with his participation in the campaigns undertaken against the independentistas who had attacked Upper Peru..
His achievements in those campaigns earned him promotion to brigadier and the interim presidency of the Royal Court of Cuzco..
Mateo Pumacahua assumed the interim presidency of the Royal Court of Cuzco on September 14, 1812. The social and political context of the time was quite turbulent, with major clashes between liberals and conservatives. This situation worsened with the approval in Lima of the liberal Constitution of Cádiz.
The Cuzco authorities tried to stop the approval of the constitution, which provoked protests among the liberal sectors. Among other aspects, that Magna Carta ended the hereditary councils and replaced them with others whose members had to be elected by vote..
Pumacahua's figure as interim president began to deteriorate and a group made up of Creoles pressured him to swear in the constitution. The ceremony took place in January 1813 and was boycotted by many corporations, who refused to attend..
In the elections to the constitutional council, the most voted were the opponents of Pumacahua. Faced with the increase in tension, he mobilized the Indigenous Nobles Regiment, made up of some 2,000 men.
This, however, did not contribute to the calm coming. The Cabildo called Pumacahua an inept authority and rejected its candidate for judge of letters.
Some historians affirm that Pumacahua submitted his resignation by letter to the viceroy on April 26, 1813. On the other hand, others maintain that he was dismissed by the viceroy himself. Despite his cessation, the insurrections against the viceroyalty continued.
Mateo Pumacahua's biographers affirm that by that time his thinking had changed. From being a fervent realist, his past experiences and the relationships established with the enlightened liberals had caused him to be open to other ideas, more favorable to independence..
After leaving the presidency of the Royal Court, Pumacahua moved to his farm in Uruquillas, where he was on August 3, 1814, when the rebellion broke out..
The rebels contacted him to convince him to join the revolution. Pumacahua accepted the proposal and was one of the founders of the Cuzco Governing Board in defense of the Constitution of 1812. This body called the inhabitants of the viceroyalty to arms to maintain constitutional legality..
Mateo Pumacahua led the troops that marched to Arequipa. After defeating the royalists in Apacheta, on November 9, the military took the city.
The viceroyalty authorities reacted quickly and sent troops to Arequipa. On November 30, warned of his arrival, Pumacahua left the city and went to Cuzco, with the intention of resisting there..
The royalists managed to defeat the rebel troops at the battle of Umachiri, near Puno, on March 11, 1815. Mateo Pumacahua was captured in Sicuani and sentenced to be beheaded..
The execution took place on March 17, 1815. Pumacahua's head was sent to Cuzco and one of his arms was exposed in a square in Sicuani to remind the entire population of the punishment that awaited anyone who wanted to rebel..
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