TO ALL OUR STUDENTS AND FRIENDS ON FACE A SHORT HISTORY ABOUT BOLIVIA 189TH ANNIVERSARY (Adapted and compiled by A.C.M) Our country Boliva was civilized for hundreds of years before the Spaniards conquered the area. They founded cities such as Chuquisaca (1538), La Paz (1548), Cochabamba (1571) and Oruro (1606). In 1545 silver was discovered in Potosi and the Spanish used forced labor to mine the Silver. Many of the Indians who were forced to work in mines died there and others died of European diseases. Not surprisingly the Bolivian Indians were resentful and in 1780 their anger boiled over into rebellion. They believed they to revamp the old Inca Empire and replace the unjust and oppressive Spanish rule. However, the Indians were disunited and they failed to capture La Paz. By 1782 the Great Rebellion was crushed. The Independence of Bolivia In 1809 another rebellion began. Napoleons army occupied Spain and he deposed the Spanish king and made his brother Joseph king of Spain. For many South Americans dissatisfied the Spanish rule that was the last straw. In 1809 La Paz declared independence. The rebellion was quickly crushed but the movement for our independence became unstoppable. Fighting continued across the continent and the Spanish armies were gradually defeated. More and more regions of South America became independent until on 6 August 1825 Bolivia finally joined them and became independent from Spain. The new nation was named Bolivia in honor of Simon Bolivar the hero of the independence movement. However, the new Republic faced an economic depression and many silver mines were abandoned. Bolivia became a backward and impoverished state. The first president was General Sucre. He was followed by Marshal Andres de Santa Cruz who was president from 1829 to 1839. In 1836 he tried to unite Bolivia with Peru but the Chileans felt threatened and they fought the War of the Confederation in 1836-39 to break up the union. In 1879 Bolivia increased taxation on Chilean owned nitrate companies. As a result, Chile invaded our territory and in May 1880 crushed the Bolivians and their Peruvian allies at the battle of Tacna. As a result of the war, which ended in 1884, Bolivia lost the coast and became a landlocked country. However in the late 19th century the silver industry in revived helped by capital from Britain and Chile and by new technology. Economically Bolivia prospered. Tin mining boomed and it replaced silver mining as the main industry. Meanwhile railways were built in to link parts of the country. However, politically it was split between Conservatives and Liberals. 20th Century Bolivia Then in 1899 Bolivian Liberals rose in rebellion. The so-called Federal Revolution ended with the Liberals seizing power. Then in 1900 rubber tappers in the Acre region rebelled demanding independence. They were supported by the Brazilians and in 1903 the Bolivian government decided to sell Acre to Brazil. In 1920 the Conservatives staged a coup and regained power. In the 1920s mining flourished but after the Wall Street Crash in 1929 the Bolivian economy suffered severely. In July 1932 border disputes led to the Chaco War between Bolivia and Paraguay. The war went very badly and many men died in the conflict. The war ended in 1935 but in 1936 army officers staged a coup. They introduced a regime called military socialism and they nationalized the holdings of the American Standard Oil Company. During this time radical ideas were spreading and the Movimiento Nacionalista Revolucionario or MNR was formed. In 1943 the MNR formed an alliance with some army officers and they staged a coup. Gualberto Villaroel led the new government. However, he was overthrown by a revolution in 1946 and hanged outside the presidential palace. Bolivia was then ruled by a coalition of traditional parties until 1951 when the army took control. However in 1952 the MNR launched a revolution and returned to power. They then embarked on a program of reform. The three biggest tin companies were nationalized and universal suffrage was introduced (everybody was given the vote). However, in the mid-1950s Bolivia suffered from high inflation. Faced with economic troubles the government turned to the USA for help. The USA gave loans and the economy stabilized but in 1964 the army staged another coup. For most of the next 18 years Bolivia endured military dictatorship. Despite the repression our economy boomed and the population grew rapidly. However in the early 1980s the economy took a downturn. Faced with mass demonstrations and international condemnation the last junta stepped down and congress was restored. In 1982 Hernando Siles Zuazo became president of Bolivia. However during his reign Bolivia suffered major economic problems including raging inflation and he stepped won in 1985. His successor Paz Estenssoro managed to curb inflation but in 1989 he was replaced by Paz Zamora. Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada replaced him in 1993. He undertook a privatization campaign and under him the economy grew. 21st Century Bolivia However, the economy flagged from 1999 but it began to grow again in 2003. Then in 2005 left-wing Evo Morales was elected president with plans to nationalize industry. Morales was re-elected president of Bolivia in 2009. Today it is officially known as the Plurinational State of Bolivia . It remains a poor country but it is rich in resources and tourism with such beautiful scenery and wildlife. Despite the recession of 2009 the economy of Bolivia is growing rapidly. Bolivia is becoming more prosperous and the population is about 10.5 million.
Posted on: Wed, 06 Aug 2014 16:21:26 +0000