Ñusta Huillac was a

Qulla The Qulla ( Quechuan for ''south'', Hispanicized and mixed spellings: ''Colla, Kolla'') are an Indigenous people of western Bolivia, northern Chile, and the western portions of Jujuy and Salta provinces in Argentina. The 2004 Complementary In ...

leader who rebelled against the Spanish in the Atacama Desert (present-day Tarapacá Region, Chile) in the 1780s. She was nicknamed La Tirana (Spanish for "the Tyrant") because of her alleged mistreatment of prisoners. The term ñusta comes from the

Quechuan languages Quechua (, ), also called (, 'people's language') in Southern Quechua, is an indigenous language family that originated in central Peru and thereafter spread to other countries of the Andes. Derived from a common ancestral " Proto-Quechua" ...

and (also spelled ''ñust'a'') was a name for princesses in the

Inca Empire The Inca Empire, officially known as the Realm of the Four Parts (, ), was the largest empire in pre-Columbian America. The administrative, political, and military center of the empire was in the city of Cusco. The History of the Incas, Inca ...

. According to legend, she fell in love with Vasco de Almeida, one of her prisoners, and pleaded with her people for him. After her father's death, she became the leader of a group of former Incas who were brought to Chile to mine the silver of Huantajaya.Ethnic Groups of the Americas: An Encyclopedia. By James Minahan 2013 p. 213 Numerous tribes pledged their alliance to her and she became a symbol of resistance against the Spanish rule.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Huillac, Nusta Year of death unknown Chilean women Chilean people of indigenous peoples descent 1540s in the Captaincy General of Chile 18th-century indigenous leaders of the Americas Indigenous military personnel of the Americas Chilean rebels Indigenous rebellions against the Spanish Empire Inca Empire people Women in 16th-century warfare 16th-century women rulers Women in war in South America Year of birth unknown Chilean legends 18th-century indigenous women of the Americas 16th-century rebels Qulla https://www.amexessentials.com/about-fiesta-de-la-tirana-chile/ Ñustas