Qhapaq Ñan: An Indigenous Rival Geography in the Age of Revolutions, 1780–1825

How did Indigenous understandings and use of space shape the Age of Revolutions in the central and southern Andes? The steep and rugged nature of the Andes is well known, as it was the Spanish imperial effort to resettle the population to promote civility and to pursue an evangelizing crusade that began in the sixteenth century. The old Inka road network, or Qhapaq Ñan, remained in use only where it served imperial goals. However, muleteers, llama herders, chaskis (foot messengers), runaway peoples, and others continued to use Qhapaq Ñan roads that linked towns and communities in ways the Spanish empire never fully controlled. This “rival geography,” I argue, played a central role in mobilizing information, ideas, and resources during the War of Independence that started in 1810. By looking at two examples from the Audiencia of Charcas and the intendancy of Puno, I will reconstruct the traces of this geography that were hidden in plain sight.