The reaction of the Wayuus is unexpected.…

The reaction of the Wayuus is unexpected.

They set their village afire on May 2, 1769, at El Rincón, near Río de la Hacha, burning the church and two Spaniards who had taken refuge in it.

They also capture the priest.

The Spanish immediately dispatch an expedition from El Rincón to capture the Wayuus.

At the head of this force is José Antonio de Sierra, a mestizo who had also headed the party that had taken the twenty-two Guajiro captives.

The Guajiros recognize him and force his party to take refuge in the house of the curate, which they then set afire.

Sierra and eight of his men are killed.

This success is soon known in other Guajiro areas, and more men join the revolt.

According to Pedro Messía de la Cerda, Viceroy of New Granada, at the peak there are 20,000 Wayuus under arms.

Many have firearms acquired from English and Dutch smugglers, sometimes even from the Spanish.

This enables the rebels to take nearly all the settlements of the region, which they burn.

According to the authorities, more than one hundred Spaniards are killed and many others taken prisoner.

Many cattle are also taken by the rebels.