Suppression of the Neo-Inca State in Vilcabamba

In 1572, the Spanish suppressed the last Inca resistance by annihilating the Neo-Inca State in Vilcabamba. This event marked the end of organized Inca resistance against Spanish rule. The Indigenous population had already dramatically collapsed due to epidemic diseases introduced by the Spanish, exploitation, and socio-economic changes. Viceroy Francisco de Toledo reorganized the country in the 1570s, focusing on gold and silver mining as the main economic activity and using Amerindian forced labor as the primary workforce. The discovery of great silver and gold lodes at Potosí and Huancavelica made the viceroyalty an important provider of mineral resources, fueling a complex trade network extending to Europe and the Philippines. The spread of Christianity was also a significant aspect of the conquest, with most people being forcefully converted to Catholicism. The church played a crucial role in the acculturation of the Natives, integrating religious native rituals with Christian celebrations. By the 18th century, declining silver production and economic diversification led to the enactment of the Bourbon Reforms, which increased taxes and partitioned the Viceroyalty. These changes provoked rebellions, including Túpac Amaru II's rebellion, which were suppressed. The Spanish and their creole successors monopolized control over the land, seizing many of the best lands abandoned by the massive native depopulation. The viceroyalty eventually dissolved in the early 19th century due to national independence movements, leading to the formation of modern-day countries in South America.