The battle of Ollantaytambo ( Spanish: Batalla de Ollantaytambo ) took place in January 1537 between the army of Manco Inca and the Spanish expedition led by Hernando Pizarro during the Spanish conquest of Peru . This battle is one of the few victories of the Indians during the Spanish colonization of America . A former ally of the Spaniards, Manco Inca rebelled in May 1536 and besieged the Spanish garrison in the city of Cuzco . The besieged Spaniards decided to organize a counterattack on the position of Manco Inca in the Ollantaytambo fortress. The expedition, commanded by Hernando Pizarro, included a hundred Spaniards and about 30,000 Indians against the 20,000 army of Manco Inca.
| Battle of Ollantaytambo |
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The battle between the Incas and the Spaniards. Drawing Guaman Poma |
| date | January 1537 |
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| A place | near Ollantaytambo , sovr. Peru |
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| Cause | Manco Inca rebellion against Allied Spaniards |
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| Total | Inca victory |
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Spanish empire | remnants of the Inca Empire |
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Hernando Pizarro | Manco Inca |
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100 Spaniards approx. 30,000 Indians | 20,000 |
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The exact location of the battle is still unknown. According to John Hamming, this happened in the settlement itself, while Jean-Pierre Protzen claims that the neighboring plain of Maskabamba on the outskirts of the fortress was more suitable for preparing for the defense of Ollantaytambo and conducting the battle. In any case, the army of Manco Inca won, and the Spaniards had to flee to Cuzco. Despite this victory, the arrival of Spanish reinforcements in Cuzco forced Manco Inca to leave Ollantaytambo and seek refuge in a wooded area in Vilcabamba , where the independent Inca state lasted until 1572.
