16th-century Indigenous leaders in the Americas

9th tlatoani of Tenochtitlan and ruler of the Aztec Triple Alliance (1466-1520)

Cuauhtémoc (, ), also known as Cuauhtemotzín, Guatimozín, or Guatémoc, was the Aztec ruler (tlatoani) of Tenochtitlan from 1520 to 1521, and the last Aztec Emperor. The name Cuauhtemōc means "one who has descended like an eagle", commonly rendered in English as "Descending Eagle", evoking a raptor diving toward its prey.

4th and last Inca Emperor of the Kingdom of Vilcabamba

Cuitláhuac (, ) (c. 1476 – 1520) (in Spanish orthography; , , honorific form: Cuitlahuatzin) was the 10th Huey Tlatoani (emperor) of the Aztec city of Tenochtitlan for 80 days during the year Two Flint (1520). He is credited with leading the resistance to the Spanish and Tlaxcalteca conquest of the Mexica Empire, following the death of his kinsman Moctezuma II.

Lautaro (Anglicized as 'Levtaru') ( "swift hawk") (; 1534 – April 29, 1557) was a young Mapuche toqui known for leading the indigenous resistance against Spanish conquest in Chile and developing the tactics that would continue to be employed by the Mapuche during the long-running Arauco War. Levtaru was captured by Spanish forces in his early youth, and he spent his teenage years as a personal servant of chief conquistador Pedro de Valdivia. He graduated from servant to stableman; in this job he saw that their horses were not godlike creatures like his people thought (the biggest animal they k

Lenca leader

Caupolicán (meaning 'polished flint' (queupu) or 'blue quartz stone' (Kallfulikan) in Mapudungun) was a toqui or war leader of the Mapuche people, who led the resistance of his people against the Spanish conquistadors who invaded the territory of today's Chile during the sixteenth century. His rule as Toqui lasted roughly from 1553–1558 AD.

great mayan emperor

Quizquiz or Quisquis was, along with Chalcuchimac and Rumiñawi, one of Inca emperor Atahualpa's leading generals. In April 1532, he and his companions led the armies of Atahualpa to victory in the battles of Mullihambato, Chimborazo and Quipaipan, where, along with Chalkuchimac, they defeated and captured Huáscar and promptly killed his family, seizing the capital, Cuzco. Quizquiz later commanded Atahualpa's troops in the battles of Vilcaconga, Cuzco (both 1533) and Maraycalla (1534), ultimately being bested by the Spanish forces in both accounts.

thumb|right|300px|Statue of Enriquillo in Independencia province, Dominican Republic Enrique (1498–1535), best known as Enriquillo, was a Taíno cacique who rebelled against the Spaniards between 1519 and 1533. Enriquillo's rebellion is the best known rebellion of the early Caribbean period. He was born on the shores of Lake Jaragua (today Lake Enriquillo) and was part of the royal family of Jaragua. Enriquillo's aunt Anacaona was Queen of Jaragua, and his father Magiocatex was the crown prince. He is considered a hero in the modern day Dominican Republic for his resistance in favor of the indi

ruler of Tenochtitlán

thumb|right|300px|Chalkuchímac, Inca general and companion of [[Atahualpa]]

16th century Mapuche leader and Chilean folk hero

Cacique Guaicaipuro was a native (indigenous) Venezuelan chief of both the Teques and Caracas tribes. Though known today as Guaicaipuro, in documents of the time his name was written Guacaipuro.

Cazonci of Tarascan

Tenochca tlatoque

Chief Donnacona (died 1539 in France) was the chief of the St. Lawrence Iroquois village of Stadacona, located at the present site of Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. French explorer Jacques Cartier, concluding his second voyage to what is now Canada, kidnapped Donnacona along with nine other Iroquois captives, and brought them to France, where Donnacona died. Later Cartier would make a third voyage to the same area.

Urracá or Ubarragá Maniá Tigrí (died 1531) was an Ngäbe chieftain or cacique in the region of present-day Panama who fought effectively against the Spanish conquistadors. The Spaniards captured Urracá when he met them to discuss a peace treaty, caged him, and sent him to the Caribbean port of Nombre de Dios, intending to send him to Spain. He escaped, and for "the next eleven years", with his band of men, conducted guerrilla warfare against the conquistadors, living and hiding in the hills, ultimately dying from natural causes in 1531. Urracá commenced one of the first "sustained guerrilla war

thumb|220px|Memorial Monument to Gaitana in Neiva, Colombia

thumb|Quoniambebe as depicted on the pages of The [[Revista do Instituto Histórico e Geográfico Brasileiro|Journal of the Brazilian Institute of History and Geography from André Thevet's La Cosmographie Universelle published thirty years before the example below.]]

Chief Tibiriçá (died 25 December 1562) baptized as Martim Afonso was an Amerindian leader who converted to Christianity under the auspices of José de Anchieta. He led the Tupiniquim people of Piratininga and other tribes. His daughter, Bartira, took the name Isabel and married a Portuguese man named João Ramalho. After his conversion to Christianity he became a strategic ally and protector of the Jesuits and the Portuguese; his name appears on letters to Saint Ignatius of Loyola and King João III of Portugal. Tibiriçá chose to side with the Jesuits and against his own brother Piquerobi with he

Puerto Rican cacique

Tenochca tlatoque

Inca queen who co-reigned with Huayna Capac (r. 1487–1525)

thumb|250px|Statue of Arariboia

Michima Lonco ( – ) (lonco meaning "head" or "chief" in Mapudungun) was a Mapuche chief who ruled as an independent sovereign over the territory of the Aconcagua, Mapocho and Maipo valleys. He freed the Picunche (northern mapuches) from Inca rule and he put up tenacious resistance to the conquest of their territories by the Spanish Empire. He presented himself to the Spaniards, naked and covered by a black pigmentation.

Pelantaro or Pelantarú (; from ) was one of the vice toquis of Paillamachu, the toqui or military leader of the Mapuche people during the Mapuche uprising in 1598. Pelantaro and his lieutenants Anganamon and Guaiquimilla were credited with the death of the second Spanish Governor of Chile, Martín García Óñez de Loyola, during the Battle of Curalaba on December 21, 1598.

Tlapalizquixochtzin was an Aztec noblewoman and Queen regnant of the Aztec city of Ecatepec. She was also a consort of Moctezuma II.