The territory of Abancay was settled long time before the inca’s expansion. The city was founded as a Spanish colony in 1574 by Ruiz de Estrada, under the name of Amancay (or Villa de Santiago de los Reyes). The origin of the name comes from the adaptation of Amankay, a native flower of the region. In the colonial period it was an important commercial exchange center due to its location between the mountains and the coast. It was also the scene of the uprising of Micaela Bastidas and her husband Tupac Amaru II in 1781, who looked for releasing Peru from the Spanish oppression without success; however, they made history as predecessors of the American Independence. For long time Abancay was part of the Cusco department until the creation of the Apurimac department in 1873. During the republican period Abancay achieved the category of city. Due to the attendance of foreign families and families from other territories in Peru, the city had a urban, social and cultural configuration, rich in diversity, what made of Abancay a modern metropolis in constant development. Nowadays Abancay is one of the most settled cities of the Apurimac department.