The Chachapoyas Cloud Warriors of Ancient Peru – Part 3/3: From Allies to Oppressors (9th – 15th C AD)
When the Spanish colonialists arrived in Peru, many Chachapoyas saw this as their opportunity to escape subjugation from the Inca. Fed up with the harsh treatment and continual suppression of their culture, they allowed and even helped the Spanish to move into Cochebamba, looting local villages as they advanced through the Incan Empire.
Since they were a military culture, the Inca were not about to roll over and let the Spaniards take their land without a fight. The Inca leader Manco Yupanqui attempted to enlist groups of Chachapoyas to help, but they remained loyal to the Spanish and refused to defect… and yet by 1547, more Spanish soldiers arrived in the area, eventually taking over the city of Chachapoyas and removing any last vestiges of Chachapoyas independence.
The Cloud Warriors found themselves relocated into Spanish-style settlements and towns, forced to convert to the Spanish way of life and religion. Within 200 years after the Spanish arrival on Peruvian shores, the population of indigenous peoples in the Chachapoyas region was reduced by 90%. Attrition, poverty, and disease all contributed to the decline of the Chachapoyas culture and people, even after their help with Spanish advancement against the Inca.
Although the modern city of Chachapoyas still stands as a remnant of the ancient people, their culture and lineage has all but disappeared. Fortunately, their elaborate burials along the sides of cliffs have deterred looters to an extent, preserving their material culture enough for history to remember them as they were. Their monumental fortress of Kuelap also still stands, containing more than 400 buildings on the interior – it has even been referred to as the ‘Machu Picchu of the North’. However, keeping with the Chachapoyas tradition of setting themselves up on terraced slopes and cliff-side areas, Kuelap’s remote location often deters visitors from making their way to the site.
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