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ENCYCLOPAEDIA of Rebellions

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Comuneros of Socorro insurrection 1781

Synopsis
This insurrection was the culmination of a whole series of riots and rebellions that had broken out in the region at the time of the Bourbon reforms, particularly due to fiscal reasons. The discontent had been produced by the implementation of monopolies, new taxes as well as repartimientos and forced sales. In this region social upheavals were known in 1752, 1764, 1767, 1779, 1780 and 1781. On March 16, 1781 a woman named Manuela Beltrán broke publicly in the main square of El Socorro the edict that announced the required contributions. At the cry of "Long live the king and the bad government dies, we do not want to pay for the Armada", some people call to revolt, achieving the adhesion of numerous people of low status, indigenous and commoners, but also shopkeepers, and some prominent personalities, indigenous caciques and municipal councilors. This participation was also adding people and demands to the movement, incorporating anti-fiscal claims for indigenous and freemen, as well as other criollo claims of greater participation in the administration and government. From an insurgent nucleus of a few hundred in the initial phase more than three thousand were grouped fast and at the end of the conflict there was a participation of about 20,000 insurgents who clashed with the forces of the militia sent from Bogotá. In the last phases of the insurrection, freedom had been proclaimed for forced slaves in mining sites such as Tolima.
Additional info

Starting date: . Ending: . Duration: 11 months. Name in sources: Insurrección de los Comuneros del Socorro. Location: El Socorro, Deparment of Santander, New Granada Vice-Royalty) Country (current): Colombia. Monarchy: Spanish. Main participants: Indigenous, Local elites, Settlers/Colonists. Number of participants: >500. Main reasons & motivations: Economic, Fiscal, Political. Leadership: Manuela Beltran, Ambrosio Pisco, Juan Francisco Berbeo, Salvador Plata, Antonio Monsalve, Francisco Rosillo, José Antonio Galán. Relevance: high.

Further reading
LOY, Jane M. (1981). “Forgotten Comuneros: the 1781 revolt in the Llanos of Casanare”, The Hispanic American Historical Review, 61 (2): 235-257. McFARLANE, Anthony (1995). “Rebellions in late colonial Spanish America: a comparative perspective”, Bulletin of Latin American Research, 14 (3): 313-338. SAFFORD, Frank (1991). “Race, integration and progress: elite attitudes and the Indian in Colombia, 1750-1870”, The Hispanic American Historical Review, 71 (1): 1-33.
Cite this entry

Mantecón, Tomás A. (2020). "Comuneros of Socorro insurrection 1781", in J. V. Serrão and M. S. Cunha (coord), Encyclopaedia of Rebellions in the Early Modern Iberian World. https://mappingrebellions.com/revolt/comuneros-of-socorro-insurrection-1781/ (accessed on 12 March 2026).