Aquiminzaque (
Chibcha
The Muisca (also called Chibcha) are an indigenous people and culture of the Altiplano Cundiboyacense, Colombia, that formed the Muisca Confederation before the Spanish conquest. The people spoke Muysccubun, a language of the Chibchan lan ...
: ''Aquim ó Quiminza'', died
Tunja
Tunja () is a city on the Eastern Ranges of the Colombian Andes, in the region known as the Altiplano Cundiboyacense, 130 km northeast of Bogotá. In 2018 it had a population of 172,548 inhabitants. It is the capital of Boyacá departmen ...
, 1540) was the last ''
hoa
The Hoa people ( Vietnamese: ''Người Hoa'', or ) are citizens of Vietnam of full or partial Chinese origin. Chinese migration into Vietnam dates back millennia but most Hoa today derive their recent ancestral Chinese heritage from the 18t ...
'' of Hunza, on which the Spanish city of Tunja (in present-day Colombia) was built, reigning from 1537 until his death. His ''
psihipqua'' counterpart in the southern area of the Muisca was
Sagipa
Sagipa or Zaquesazipa (died 1539, Bosa, New Kingdom of Granada) was the fifth and last ruler ('' psihipqua'') of Muyquytá, currently known as Funza, as of 1537. He was the brother of his predecessor Bogotá but the traditional faction of the Mu ...
. Aquiminzaque was for the
Muisca
The Muisca (also called Chibcha) are an indigenous people and culture of the Altiplano Cundiboyacense, Colombia, that formed the Muisca Confederation before the Spanish conquest. The people spoke Muysccubun, a language of the Chibchan langu ...
what
Túpac Amaru
Túpac Amaru (1545 – 24 September 1572) (first name also spelled Tupac, Topa, Tupaq, Thupaq, Thupa, last name also spelled Amaro instead of Amaru) was the last Sapa Inca of the Neo-Inca State, the final remaining independent part of the Inca ...
was for the
Inca
The Inca Empire (also known as the Incan Empire and the Inka Empire), called ''Tawantinsuyu'' by its subjects, ( Quechua for the "Realm of the Four Parts", "four parts together" ) was the largest empire in pre-Columbian America. The adm ...
; and as the Inca leader, Quiminza was executed by decapitation.
Biography
Aquiminzaque was the nephew of his predecessor,
Eucaneme. Aquiminzaque‘s reign began on August 2, 1537, when Eucaneme was taken prisoner to
Suesca
Suesca is a town and municipality in the Almeidas Province, part of the department of Cundinamarca, Colombia. It is located on the Altiplano Cundiboyacense, north of the capital Bogotá. Suesca forms the northern edge of the Bogotá savanna an ...
by the Spanish.
Aquiminzaque ruled over the northern area of the
Muisca
The Muisca (also called Chibcha) are an indigenous people and culture of the Altiplano Cundiboyacense, Colombia, that formed the Muisca Confederation before the Spanish conquest. The people spoke Muysccubun, a language of the Chibchan langu ...
in present-day
Boyacá,
Colombia
Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the ...
in the years when the
Spanish conquistadores were entering the highlands of the Muisca.
At first Aquiminzaque converted to
Catholicism
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
, but when he realized the true motives of the Spanish conquerors over the Muisca people, he revolted against them, undermining the initial rule of
Hernán Pérez de Quesada, brother of
Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada
Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada y Rivera, also spelled as Ximénez and De Quezada, (;1496 16 February 1579) was a Spanish explorer and conquistador in northern South America, territories currently known as Colombia. He explored the territory named ...
. Shortly after, in 1540, Hernán executed Aquiminzaque by public decapitation in Tunja.
[Public execution of Aquiminzaque in Tunja]
- Universidad Distrital Francisco José de Caldas
Universidad (Spanish for "university") may refer to:
Places
* Universidad, San Juan, Puerto Rico
* Universidad (Madrid)
Football clubs
* Universidad SC, a Guatemalan football club that represents the Universidad de San Carlos de Guatema ...
The spectacle, meant as an example, was watched by the Muisca people and executions of other ''
cacique
A ''cacique'' (Latin American ; ; feminine form: ''cacica'') was a tribal chieftain of the Taíno people, the indigenous inhabitants at European contact of the Bahamas, the Greater Antilles, and the northern Lesser Antilles. The term is a S ...
s'' of
Toca
TOCA, formally trading as BARC (TOCA) Ltd, is an organiser of motorsport events in the United Kingdom. The company organises and administers the British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) and the support series to the BTCC, sometimes known as the T ...
,
Motavita
Motavita is a town and municipality in the Colombian Department of Boyacá, part of the subregion of the Central Boyacá Province. It covers approximately .
Often it is represented graphically in a cad ... vereda (townships): Centro, Carbonera, ...
,
Samacá
Samacá is a town and municipality in the Central Boyacá Province, part of the Colombian Department of Boyacá. It borders Cucaita, Tunja and Ventaquemada in the east, Ráquira in the west, Sáchica, Sora and Cucaita in the north and Ventaqu ...
,
Turmequé
Turmequé is a town and municipality in the Colombian Department of Boyacá, part of the subregion of the Márquez Province. Turmequé is located at northeast from the capital Bogotá. The municipality borders Ventaquemada in the west, in the e ...
and
Sutamarchán
Sutamarchán is a town and municipality in the Ricaurte Province, part of the department of Boyacá of Colombia. Sutamarchán is situated on the Altiplano Cundiboyacense at from the department capital Tunja. It borders Santa Sofía in the n ...
followed.
The death of the last ''hoa'' meant the end of the Muisca Confederation.
Legacy
In Tunja, the capital of the Boyacá
department, a statue honouring Aquiminzaque (''Monumento a la Raza Indígena'') has been erected.
Statue honouring Aquiminzaque
/ref>
Aquiminzaque in Muisca history
See also
*Spanish conquest of the Muisca
The Spanish conquest of the Muisca took place from 1537 to 1540. The Muisca were the inhabitants of the central Andean highlands of Colombia before the arrival of the Spanish conquistadors. They were organised in a loose confederation of diff ...
*Muisca rulers
When the Spanish arrived in the central Colombian highlands, the region was organized into the Muisca Confederation, which had two rulers; the ''zipa'' was the ruler of the southern part and based in Muyquytá. The ''hoa'' was the ruler of the ...
, history of Colombia
The history of Colombia includes the settlements and society by indigenous peoples, most notably, the Muisca Confederation, Quimbaya Civilization, and Tairona Chiefdoms; the Spanish arrived in 1492 and initiated a period of annexation and coloni ...
References
External links
*
Animated video about Aquiminzaque
{{Muisca navbox, Caciques and neighbours, state=expanded
Muisca rulers
History of Colombia
Murdered royalty
1540 deaths
16th-century South American people
16th century in Colombia
Executed monarchs
16th-century executions by Spain
People executed by Spain by decapitation
Warriors of Central and South America
People from Tunja
Muysccubun