Political Culture, Indigenous Participation, and Communication Networks during the Colonial Crisis. The Case of the Peruvian Viceroyalty, 1809-1914

When the juntista movement bursted out in the Viceroyalty of Peru, the society had already been living in constant agitation for several decades. The oligarchical aristocracies rearranged after the 1780 crisis kept up an open struggle for power. Racial, cultural, and political divisions became more visible. Among the Indians, defeat had left a void that was being filled up by local chieftainships and a collective sensibility returning to myths and building an ongoing memory of resistance. The Church and local authorities came to fulfill the role of guardians of collective rights, and an almost underwater current of legal and political resistance could be felt in the towns and villas of every region. This work seeks these new actors, rescued from oblivion, for they offer a new face for the rebellious towns and allow a bet­ ter understanding of the cultural and political processes in the Americas