ENCYCLOPAEDIA of Rebellions

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Cochabamba rebellion 1730

Synopsis
Having started in Cochabamba, the rebellion would quickly spread throughout the whole province of Oruro. Led by the mestizo Alejo Calatayud, it explodes when the viceroy of Peru, the Marquis of Castelfuerte, orders a new population census in order to include the mestizos (mixed-race people) in the category of taxpayers, given that much of the Indian population pretended to be mestizo not to pay taxes. The rebels also claimed for a reduced quota of the Indians to be included in the ‘mita’. The priests and friars also supported the rebellion, adding to its goals the opposition to the new forced distribution of goods, another measure promoted by the viceroy that affected both the Indians and the mestizos. As the corregidor was involved in both measures, the rebellion was firstly directed against this crown official, typically someone sent from Spain and hated by the native population. The Creoles then joined the rebellion, adding the claim that henceforth the corregidor and the members of the municipal council should be Creoles, having achieved this objective after murdering and replacing the Spaniards who then held these offices. Paradoxically, once the goal was achieved, the new Creole mayor ordered the city's troops to suppress the rebellion, and Calatayud and the other mixed-race leaders were hanged.
Additional info

Starting date: . Ending: . Duration: 2 months. Name in sources: Rebelión de Cochabamba, Rebelión de Calatayud. Location: Cochabamba Country (current): Bolivia. Monarchy: Spanish. Main participants: Clergymen, Indigenous, Settlers/Colonists. Number of participants: >500. Main reasons & motivations: Economic, Fiscal, Labour conditions. Leadership: Alejo Calatayud. Relevance: medium.

Further reading
LAVIANA, María Luisa (1986). “Movimientos subversivos en la América española durante el siglo XVIII. Clasificación general y bibliografía básica”, Revista de Indias, 178: 470-501. O'PHELAN, Scarlett (1985). Rebellions and Revolts in Eighteenth Century Peru and Upper Peru. Cologne: Bohlau Verlag & Cie. O’PHELAN, Scarlett (1992). “Rebeliones andinas anticoloniales. Nueva Granada, Perú y Charcas entre el siglo XVIII y el XIX”, Anuario de Estudios Americanos, 49: 395-440.
Cite this entry

Enriquez, Lucrecia Raquel (2022). "Cochabamba rebellion 1730", in J. V. Serrão and M. S. Cunha (coord), Rebellions in the Early Modern Iberian World. http://atlas.cidehusdigital.uevora.pt/revolt/cochabamba-rebellion-1730/ (accessed on 21 Abril 2022).