Chumbivilcas

Chumbivilcas lies in the high Andean country south of Cusco, where deep valleys interrupt broad upland pastures. Before Spanish rule the Chumpiwillka and neighboring peoples inhabited this part of the Inca realm. Colonial authorities later regrouped the inhabitants into new settlements and recruited men for forced labor in the mercury mines of Huancavelica. The mining mita and the demands it placed on households contributed to severe depopulation over the following centuries.