Who they were
He led the small holdout Inca state that survived in the remote Vilcabamba mountains after the Spanish conquest. When Spain resolved to end it, a military expedition invaded the region in 1572.
What they did
Túpac Amaru was captured, taken to Cusco, and publicly executed despite pleas for mercy. His death extinguished the last line of Inca sovereigns.
Legacy
He became a symbol of Indigenous resistance, and his name was later taken by the rebel Túpac Amaru II. He remains an icon of Andean and Indigenous identity.