Indian auxiliaries, also known in the sources as Indios amigos (lit. 'friendly Indians'), were those indigenous peoples of the Americas who allied with Spain and fought alongside the conquistadors during the Spanish colonization of the Americas. These auxiliaries acted as guides, translators and porters, and as warriors often outnumbered peninsular Spaniards by immense degrees. In these roles were also referred to as yanakuna, particularly during the Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire.
The term was also used for formations composed of indigenous warriors which were used by the Spanish for reconnaissance and combat duties. Indian auxiliaries continued to be used by the Spanish to maintain control over their colonies in the Americas; frequently stationed on the frontier, they were often used to suppress anti-colonial revolts such as Arauco War. Their important role in achieving the conquests of Spain gave birth to a modern Spanish-speaking idiom, la conquista la hicieron los indios ("the Indians did the conquest").[1]
- ^ Maganda 1963, p. 68