Micaela Bastidas y Marmolejo

Peruvian revolutionary leader who fought for indigenous rights alongside her husband Tupac Amaru II in the 18th-century Andean rebellion against Spanish rule.

Micaela Bastidas (1740-1781) was an Indigenous Quechua woman who became a central figure in Peru's great rebellion against Spanish colonial oppression. Partnering with her husband José Gabriel Condorcanqui (Tupac Amaru II), she organized armies and led military campaigns demanding land rights and autonomy for Andean peoples. Her role in the 1780-1781 uprising was unprecedented for a woman in that era, using her position to negotiate alliances between Indigenous communities and Afro-Peruvian groups. Captured by Spanish forces, she was tortured and executed alongside Tupac Amaru, but their rebellion inspired later independence movements. Modern Peruvian feminists celebrate her as a pioneer of Indigenous and women's resistance. Her story is preserved in historical records showing her strategic brilliance in diplomacy and warfare.