Sicasica

Sicasica lies on the high plateau south of La Paz, in the Aymara country of the Bolivian Andes. The settlement and its surrounding valleys belonged to a wider landscape of communities organised under local authorities. Spanish rule brought tribute and labour obligations, while the highland routes connected Sicasica to neighbouring towns and colonial centres across the broad plateau south of Lake Titicaca.

In 1781 the district became a major centre of the uprising associated with Túpac Katari. The rebellion continued in the surrounding mountain valleys even after his execution, as local leaders and their families maintained resistance into 1782. Colonial legal proceedings against a leader’s widow and son preserve evidence of the persistence of the revolt beyond the siege of La Paz.