Titu Cusi Yupanqui

Titu Cusi Yupanqui (* around 1529; † 1571 in Vitcos ), according to Peruvian Quechua spelling Titu Kusi Yupanki , was the seventeenth Inca king from 1560 until his death , the third of Vilcabamba , the last retreat of the Incas . It is significant because of a comprehensive report which he sent to the Spanish King Philip II , in which he complained in European form to clarify legal matters about the conquest of the empire of his ancestors and demands appropriate compensation. The work is unique in that an at least nominally free ruler of a pre-Columbian high culture presents his view of the Spanish conquistador .

Life

Titu Cusi was a son of the Inca ruler Manco Cápac II. After Manco's murder, Titu Cusi's underage brother Sayri Túpac was his successor. Sayri Túpac left Vilcabamba after negotiations with the Spaniards, was baptized and received land around Cusco. When Sayri Túpac died soon afterwards, Titu Cusi was his successor.

Titu Cusi initially pursued his father's policy, undertaking guerrilla raids and supporting rebellion movements against Spanish rule. After a few years, however, in view of the superior strength of the Spanish, he stopped the attacks and switched to a policy of peaceful coexistence. He began negotiations with the Viceroy , corresponded with the King of Spain and finally allowed missionaries to come to Vilcabamba. In 1568 he was baptized himself and received the Spanish name Diego de Castro Titu Cusi Yupanqui . For years the Spaniards hoped that he would submit to the king in exchange for a royal pension. Titu Cusi was able to preserve the independence of his Inca state through his skillful handling.

His death, possibly caused by pneumonia, was attributed to poisoning by the Spaniards, which led to renewed clashes and the murder of missionaries. His brother Túpac Amaru became his successor.

plant

• Martin Lienhard (ed.): Titu Kusi Yupanki: The fight against the Spaniards. An Inca king reports. Düsseldorf 2003.
• Francisco Carrillo (Ed.): Titu Kusi Yupanki: Relacion de la conquista del Peru. Lima 1973. online: [1]

predecessor	Office	successor
Sayri Túpac Sayri Tupaq	Inca of Vilcabamba 1561–1570	Túpac Amaru Tupaq Amaru