In 1578, a major and well-organized uprising against Spanish rule erupted in the Upper Napo region – the westernmost fringe of the Amazon basin, near the Andes – homeland of the Quijos Indigenous nation. The rebellion mobilized a fighting force likely numbering in the hundreds, perhaps low thousands, composed primarily of Quijos warriors from riverine and forest communities, supported by allied lowland Amazonian groups. Interethnic divisions, however, meant that some Andean caciques did not join. The insurgents rose in response to oppressive encomienda demands, forced labor and tribute, violent abuses by settlers, land dispossession through colonial expansion, and the encroachment of missionaries. These grievances were amplified by ritual visions and charismatic leadership, blending political defiance with cosmological legitimacy. While Curaca Jumandy – formally recognized in 2011 as a national hero of Ecuador – emerged as the principal military leader, colonial sources identify the ‘pendes’ (shamans/sorcerers) Guami, Imbate, and Beto as the main instigators, supplying both spiritual sanction and mobilizing rhetoric. The revolt began in late November with the assault and destruction of the Spanish settlements of Ávila (Tena) and Archidona, where hundreds were killed. The rebels then attempted to seize Baeza by Christmas but were repelled by colonial militias reinforced from Quito and aided by allied Indigenous forces. Following defeat, the leaders fled into the forest but were captured within roughly two(?) months, taken to Quito, sentenced to death, and publicly hanged and dismembered. Though suppressed, the rebellion’s devastation and the ensuing mass flight of the Indigenous population seriously undermined Spanish colonization of this frontier region for decades.