Bolivia+-+History

• Constantly occupied since then • People of Aymaran ancestry associate themselves with Tiwanaku, a former advanced civilization. • It grew to an urban scale around 700 A.D. • Ruins still remain • Covered approx. 6.5 sq. kilometers, 15,000 residents • Famous for mineral wealth since Spanish colonization •Formerly part of the Inca Empire. • Many lived in the Andes, which was a remote area, thus protecting them from European diseases. • Large portion of the population reduced to slaves. • Discontent was fueled by the slavery, lasting to the present. • Income Inequality exists today between the Europeans and natives. • Mined dry by the 17th century • Independence won in 1825• Named after Simon Bolivar, famed liberator.• Lost a large amount of land to other countries. • Several sq. miles were taken by Chile, along with their Pacific coastline access. (War of the Pacific (1879-1884)) • Marshal Andres de Santa Cruz gave the country a prosperous time under his lead. • He helped create the Peru-Bolivia confederation • Declared the Inca Empire was a predecessor of his state; war broke out due to people taking this as a threat • In the 20th century, the Chaco War (1932-1935) began, and Bolivia lost to Paraguay. Gran Chaco was mostly surrendered. • Bolivia, in turn, received access to the Paraguay River • Puerto Busch was founded there• Revolutionary Nationalist Movement (RNM) begins in 1941 – It is a group of people who believe Marxism is the best Bolivian way. • 1964, Paz Estenssoro was overthrown by a military junta. • Bolivia was put in militaristic rule for 20~ years. Originally thought to be a coup by the CIA, disproven. • Garcia Meza ran the country after Paz Estenssoro, but he was kicked out by a military rebellion, when a transition to democracy began. During his reign, ties to the U.S. were severed due to narcotic trafficking. • Hernan Silez Zuazo succeeded him in 1982, began dramatic social and economic changes. • This includes the reduction of coca, used to produce cocaine• In the 1997 election, Hugo Banzer became President. • Financial crisises in Brazil and Argentina helped depress the Bolivian economy in the mid 1990s, along with reduced employment in the coca sector. Banzer ended up cracking down on illegal coca exporters with a police force. • Hugo Banzer resigned in 2001, having been diagnosed with cancer. He died within the year. • Jorge Fernando Quiroga Ramírez succeeded him, being his Vice President. • Gonzalo Sánchez de Lozada won the 2002 national elections • In 2003, the Bolivian gas conflict occurred – policemen escorting an oil tanker shot sixteen people, thus getting martial law imposed upon them. • In 2005, another Presidential Election began. • Juan Evo Morales won the election, and is currently president • Re-nationalized Bolivian hydrocarbon assets.  Largest consumer is Brazil • He succeeded, and decided to help rewrite the Constitution, to give the indigenous majority more power. This has sparked much controversy.
 * __Bolivian History__** • “Original” inhabitants were the Aymara 2000 years ago.