tribal confederation · South America
Qaraqara-Charka Confederation
Origins
In the centuries after Tiwanaku's collapse, the Qaraqara and Charka formed a federation of peoples in the southern highlands of modern Bolivia, around Potosí and Chuquisaca, around 1200. The federation included groups such as the Chuy and Chicha.
Rule and society
The confederation was organised in two halves led by the Qaraqara in the south and the Charka in the north, each under hereditary lords. It is known chiefly from a memorial written by its lords in 1582, which describes their service as soldiers for the Incas. The peoples herded llamas, farmed tubers and maize, and worked silver and other metals.
Decline and legacy
The confederation came under Inca rule around 1460 and served the Incas in war. After the Spanish conquest, its lands formed the core of the Royal Audiencia of Charcas, and the silver mountain of Potosí, discovered in 1545, lay in Qaraqara territory.
Few sources survive for this state; details are uncertain.
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- Qaraqara-Charka Confederation was a vassal of Inca Empire1460 CE – 1533 CE
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Cite this page
- APA
- The Epoch Institute. (2026). Qaraqara-Charka Confederation. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/qaraqara-charka-confederation
- MLA
- “Qaraqara-Charka Confederation.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/qaraqara-charka-confederation. Accessed .
- Chicago
- The Epoch Institute. “Qaraqara-Charka Confederation.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/qaraqara-charka-confederation.
- Harvard
- The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Qaraqara-Charka Confederation’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/qaraqara-charka-confederation (Accessed: ).
Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻