Bolivia - History
 |
|
Statue of Simon Bolivar in downtown La Paz |
|
Photo: Sean Sprague/Oxfam |
|
Bolivia was still part of the magnificent Inca empire when the
first Europeans arrived in 1532. These were Spanish adventurers
– conquistadores – who soon found out about the
region’s vast deposits of silver. The indigenous peoples were
treated very brutally, and thousands died in the silver mines of
the conquistadores.
Bolivia remained a Spanish colony until 1825, when the Venezuelan
rebel, Simon Bolivar, gave the country its independence (and its
modern name).
Independence did not bring lasting peace. Since 1825, Bolivia has
seen many revolutions and coups, averaging one a year up until 1982,
when matters improved dramatically and military dictatorship gave
way to democracy.
Bolivia’s current president, Evo Morales, was elected in December 2005. Though Bolivia’s indigenous groups make up two-thirds of the population, Evo Morales is the first of the country’s presidents to have come from these groups.
|
