History of Bolivia

Pre-Conquest

The first sign of settlement in Bolivia was in 1500 BC by an indigenous group known as the Tiahuanaco culture. They came from the Andes Mountains in present day Peru to occupy the region of Bolivia around Lake Titicaca and the Altiplano (one of the highest mountain plains in the world).

Around 900 AD, the power and influence of the Tiahuanaco culture declined. The reason for this loss of power is not known. Many people believe it is because of the drop in the water level of Lake Titicaca. The Altiplano of Bolivia and the region around Lake Titicaca were incorporated into the Inca Empire before the Spanish arrived in the 1500s.

Spanish Conquest

The Spaniards, led by Francisco Pizarro, arrived to finish off an already weakened Inca Empire and set up a tight control over the indigenous communities in the Andes Mountains. Bolivia, then called Alto Peru, briefly fell under control of a conquistador named Diego de Amagro, who was looking to establish his own territory. Pizarro sent his brother Gonzalo to remove Diego and restore Spanish rule.

Gonzalo Pizarro set up Spanish administration in central Bolivia, which led to founding of La Plata (present day Sucre) by Pedro Anzures in 1538. Potosí was established shortly after because of the huge silver deposits found in the area. Millions of indigenous and African slaves died under Spanish control in the mines of Potosi. La Paz was founded in 1548 as a stage post on the silver trail to the Pacific Ocean.

Independence

The first attempt at independence in 1781 was unsuccessful. This movement was geared towards reestablishing the collapsed Inca Empire. In 1809, a local government was set up in Sucre, which was one of the most liberal thinking centers in South America. Neighboring Peru finally won independence from Spain in 1824 after 15 years of war. The Spaniards held onto Alto Peru (Bolivia) until it was liberated from Spain by a military force under the command of General Antonio Jose de Sucre. The Republic of Bolivia was formed on August 6, 1825. The nation’s first president was Simon Bolivar and Antonio Jose de Sucre was the second.

A long period of political instability followed, characterized by civilian uprisings, coup d’etats and military interventions. These sudden complete changes in the government continued until the 1980s. By 1992 Bolivia had experienced 188 changes in government in 167 years as a republic.

Modern Times

The Atacama Desert became a strategic economic resource when guano and nitrates were found there. Bolivia did not have the resources to extract the minerals and contracted Chilean companies to do the work. Chile took over the land when Bolivia wanted to tax the Chilean companies. To this day Chile occupies the Atacama and Bolivia still insists that the land belongs to Bolivia.

The next territorial loss was a sizable region of the Amazon rainforest seized by Brazil in the early 1900s. The motivation behind this aggressive action by Brazil was again triggered by a natural resource: rubber.

In the 1930s, American oil companies speculated over the possibility of oil deposits in the Chaco region on the border with Paraguay. The American oil companies took sides in an attempt to gain favor with Standard Oil supporting Bolivia and Shell supporting Paraguay. The two countries fought over the region and over 80,000 people died between both countries. Paraguay won in the end and Bolivia lost another sizable chunk of land. Ironically, oil reserves were never found in the Chaco region.

Bolivia has been beaten around by stronger and more developed countries in South America for at least 100 years and has seen as much political instability as any other country in the region. Still it has managed to keep its head up, looking to the future. For the past 10 years, the Bolivian government has been one of the most stable in all of South America. Bolivia has great potential to grow economically from its vast natural resources and has been successful in attracting more and more tourism in recent years.