Bolivia History

History of Bolivia began 21,000 years ago. The powerful of Pre-Columbian cultures of Incas ruled Bolivia in the earliest.  It was in the year 1531 that the Spanish conquered the country of Bolivia under the leadership of Francisco Pizarro. In 1544, deposits of silver were first discovered at Potosí. This brought wealth into the country and was lived off by the monarchs and ruler for more than two centuries. Since mineworkers were exploited their condition was becoming worse to worst. This agitated the movement of Independence that was led by Simón Bolívar's lieutenant Antonio José de Sucre. He fought the Battle of Ayacucho in 1824 with his troops and Bolivia was officially affirmed a republic the subsequent year.Bolivia fought the War of the Pacific against Chile between 1879 and 1884 for the latter intrusion. Chile won the war and secured 850km of coastline and raiding Bolivia of the port of Antofagasta, leaving the country landlocked.

In the year 1932, a border dispute with Paraguay over oil deposits in the region of Chaco further lessened the land of Bolivia. The Chaco War (1932-35) led to civil unrest within the country, thereby forming reformist associations and leading to a sequence of coups by reform-minded military leaders. The most important development during this time was the formation of the populist Movimiento Nacionalista Revolucionario (MNR).

 In 1951, the MNR, under the headship of Víctor Paz Estenssoro, triumphed in the general elections but was hindered by a coup. According to Bolivian History, this incited a notorious armed revolt known as the April Revolution of 1952. The military rule was subsequently overpowered and Paz Estenssoro was brought back.

Later in the year 1964, a military group headed by General René Barrientos brought down the MNR. Subsequently, a long period of volatility followed, characterized by constantly changing regimes and a brief moment in the world spotlight when Ernesto 'Che' Guevara mounted an ineffective revolt in 1966-67. This phase ended with the election of the leftist civilian Movimiento de la Izquierda Revolucionaria (MIR), under the leadership of Dr Hernán Siles Zuazo, in 1982. Three years later, Zuazo was defeated by the long-lived Paz Estenssoro, who instantly sought to curb the stratospheric inflation levels.