Bolivia Essay Research Paper If you don

Bolivia Essay, Research Paper

If you don t know anything about Bolivia don t be alarmed, you are not the only one. In my paper I will tell you a lot more than you need to know. Bolivia is actually an interesting country that was the last country in South America to get its independence from Spain. Bolivia has been through many reformations and has been lead by many leaders. It is not an economically stable country and does not have the best living conditions. But Bolivia does supply the world with important minerals, and is a trading partner with the United States. Now that you know a little something about Bolivia,2 and now that you are interested, go on, read the rest of my report, you ll find it interesting and informative. 1.PRE-COLUMBIAN HISTORYBy 600 B.C., a great Andaen Empire had been established between the mountains in Bolivia. The ancient city was called Tiwanaku. Tiwanaku was a great center of trade and religion. The Tiwanaku civilization was established through colonization instead of conquest. The civilization expanded rather quickly after the year 1000 and collapsed around 1200. The Tiwanaku influenced other civilizations as the Aymara and the Quechua. The Aymara were the dominant people of the time until the Quechua came along. The Aymara were not able to stop the expansion of the Quechua. The Quechua which later became the Incas after the name of their ruler got stronger by the end of the 15 century and conquered the Aymara. Even though the Incas conquered the Aymara they were able to keep their culture, their religion and their language. The Incas also offered the Aymara people jobs in the mines or in the army and fully compensated them for their labor. In 1470 several Aymara kindoms rebelled againstthe Inca rule. The Incas completly defeated them. By the beginning of the 16th century, the Incas had fully established their rule over South America. The Incas failed to conquer nomadic tribes in the eastern Bolivian lowlands. The Incas could only defeat the cultures that were based on agriculture. 2.COLONIAL HISTORYFrancisco Pizarro, Diego de Almargo, and Hernando de Luque were the leaders of the discovery of the Inca Empire. In 1524 they sailed south down the Pacific coast of Panama looking for the land of gold. The Spaniards conquered the Inca Empire, which they thought was the land of gold. Many Indian revolts continued afterward but they never regained power. In 1559 Bolivia (Upper Peru at the time) became an important judicial district for the Spanish conquistadors. It was known as the Chacas district. Bolivia became famous in the 16th century because of its rich silver deposits. One deposit in the city of Potosi was so large that slaves and extra mining equipment had to be shipped in from Africa. By 1650 Potosi was the largest city in both North and South America with over 150,000 people. By the end of the century silver production had decreased and people decided to move out of Potosi to other cities like Oruro and La Paz, which became major trading centers. In 1780 Indian leaders in La Paz revolted. The revolts led to Guerrilla warfare in the highlands. The Indians were defeated and the leaders of the groups were executed. This was the last time the Indians tried to gang up and fight for their freedom. Bolivia s first independence movement was in 1809. Pedro Domingo Murillo with help from civilians took over control of La Paz. Murillo s forces were defeated in 1810 and Murillo himself was hung in the middle of La Paz. Bolivia was the last country in South America to escape from Spanish rule. Simon Boliviar, Antonio Jose de Sucre, and Andres Santa Cruz were key figures in the independence. In 1823 Cruz rallied a force together and attacked Spanish troops near La Paz, but they were defeated. In 1824 Boliviar s army defeated the Spanish forces in Peru and decided to do the same in New Peru (Bolivia). The figures rallied a group of soldiers and freed the country in 1825. The country was named Bolivia after Simon Boliviar and Cities were named after Sucre and Santa Cruz. A constitution was made in 1826. After Boliviar did his work he left the country. Santa Cruz reighned as president for the next 10 years. 3.MODERN HISTORYThe Republic of Bolivia is located in central South America. Brazil borders the north and east sides, Paraguay is on the southeast, Argentina borders the south, and it is bordered on the west by Chile and Peru. Bolivia does not have direct access to the sea. The area of Bolivia is 424,165 square miles, making it fifth in size of South American countries. The main land feature of Bolivia is the Andes Mountains, which run north to south across the western part of the country. The highest Andean peaks are Ancohuma at 21,489 feet and Illampu at 21,276 feet. Bolivia is entirely within the Tropics, but because of its varied elevation, it has a wide range of temperatures. In the higher regions the climate is cold and dry with strong winds. In the lower regions the climate is warmer. The average annual temperature in the highlands is about 47. F, in the lower regions the climate is warmer at about 79. F. The population of Bolivia (by the 1989 estimate) was 7,193,000. The population density was about 17 per square mile, which is one of the lowest in South America. About 55% of all the people in Bolivia are Native American, about 30% are mestizo, and the rest are white, from of Spanish descent. About 51% of the people live in rural areas.The official language