Female Warriors

Bartolina Sisa

Born Bartolina Sisa Vargas, in 1750, in the indigenous village of Q'ara Qhatu (Caracoto) a village in the Real Audiencia of Charcas (now part of modern-day, Bolivia), Viceroyalty of Peru. Her parents were José Sisa & Josefa Vargas. When she was just a young child, the family moved to Sica Sica, where the family traded coca leaves & produced woven textiles. As was typical in many peasant families, Bartolina travelled around the Altiplano (Andean Plateau), selling goods her family had made. In Sica Sica, Bartolina also met her husband, Julián Apaza aka. Túpac Katari, with whom she had 4 children.

As a young adult, Bartolina bore witness to the oppression of Indigenous peoples of the Altiplano by the Spanish colonists, which would push her to join her husband in leading guerilla groups in the region, to stand up against colonial rule. In 1780, a Indigenous rebellion made up of mostly Aymara & Quechua peoples, led by Túpac Amaru II (prev. Jose deSan Martin), rose up against colonial authorities of the Viceroyalty. During the conflict, Bartolina was given a important leadership role, at the head of an army approximately 40,000 strong.

Bartolina alongside her husband & other independence leaders like Simon Bolivar, Túpac Amaru II & the brothers, Damasio & Tomas Katari, were united in their ambitions to better the lives of Indigenous peoples & convinced about 150,000 Indigenous people to join their cause, mainly Aymara & & Quechua. On March 13, 1781, Bartolina & Túpac Katari launched a siege around the city of La Paz, the capital of Charcas with a force of 20,000, that eventually bloomed to 100,000, after more joined the fight. As La Paz, is located in a narrow valley that is difficult to access, the rebel forces were able to cut off all access to & from the city. Bartolina established camps during the siege & served as the head commander of the Indigenous forces. On May 21, a Spanish assault was undertaken against the rebels but they were repelled. Bartolina & Katari, set up a temporary court in El Alto & were able to maintain the siege periodically for another 6 months, from March to October. The siege finally came to an end after Spanish reinforcements arrived from Lima, La Plata & Buenos Aires. They were also assisted by other Indigenous leaders who opposed Katari.

Bartolina was captured by the Spanish in September 1781 & executed via hanging on September 5, in the main square of La Paz, only after being publicly humiliated. After she died, the Spanish cut her body into pieces, which they sent all over the region, to serve as a warning to the Indigenous community. Her husband would suffer a similarly gruesome fate, Túpac Katari, who'd refused an offer of pardoning was travelling to the city of Achacachi, to consolidate his scattered forces. He was betrayed by some of his followers & captured by the Spanish on the night of November 9. He would be executed via hanging & quartering, 6 days later on November 15.

In 1980, the Bartolina Sisa Confederation, was created in her honor. The organization works with Indigenous & impoverished women to find ways to be more included more in political, social & economic spheres in Bolivia. In 1983, at the 2nd meeting of Organizations & Movements of the Americas, held in Tiwanaku, an Pre-Columbian historical site about 70 km outside of La Paz; September 5 was declared as International Day of the Indigenous Woman. Bartolina has also inspired the publications of a series of books by various authors including, Bartolina Sisa: La virreina Aymara que murió por la libertad de los indios (The Aymara Vicerine who Died for the Freedom of the Indians) by Alpio Valencia Vega (1978), We Alone Will Rule: Native Andean Politics during the Time of Insurgency (2002), Bartolina Sisa: La generala aymara y la equidad de género (The Aymara General & Gender Equality) by Marina Ari(2003).