• Comuneros refers to citizens in Spain or Latin America who organize and participate in an armed uprising against the authorities whose actions are deemed unjust.

• The leader of this rebellious act was José de Antequera y Castro.

• It was in response to new tobacco and polling taxes imposed in 1780 by the Spanish government, insurgents led by Manuela Beltrán in Socorro, Colombia, sparked a revolt that soon spread to neighbouring towns north of Bogotá.

• Underlying causes were economic, but also issues of freedom and self-government. It is one of the first uprisings against Spanish colonial rule.

• These uprisings preceded the fight for liberation against Spanish colonialism that took place in the 19th century and ended when, in 1724, Viceroy José de Armendáriz sent in troops, who defeated the Comuneros.

...Execution of the Comuneros of Castile (some of the oppression endured)