Bolivia (bolŒv'ˆa), officially Republic of Bolivia, republic (1994 est. pop. 7,719,000), 424,162 sq mi (1,098,581 sq km), W South America. One of the two inland countries of the continent, it is bordered by Chile and Peru (W), Brazil (E, N), Paraguay (SE), and Argentina (S). SUCRE is the legal capital, but LA PAZ is the administrative capital and seat of government. Bolivia's topography is one of sharp contrasts. In the west are the ANDES, whose snow-capped peak of Illamp£ reaches 21,276 ft (6,485 m), and a high plateau (ALTIPLANO), 12,000 ft (3,660 m) above sea level, which is the population center of the country. The east is dominated by tropical rain forests, which, in the southeast, merge into the plains of the GRAN CHACO. In the north, on the border with Peru, is Lake TITICACA, the largest freshwater lake in South America; this region, with its ruins of TIAHUANACO, was the home of one of the great pre-Columbian civilizations. Bolivia has some of the richest mineral resources in the world. It is one of the leading producers of tin, and silver, copper, tungsten, bismuth, antimony, and zinc are also mined. Natural gas is exported, and there are major petroleum deposits. Despite these mineral riches, most Bolivians are subsistence farmers, raising sugarcane, potatoes, corn, wheat, and rice; cotton and soybeans are the major cash crops. The illegal trade in coca leaf, the source of cocaine, and processed cocaine is a major source of foreign exchange. More than half the population is pure Aymar or Quechua, but Bolivia's politics and economy are dominated by persons of European and mixed descent. Spanish is the official language; Aymar and Quechua are widely spoken. Most of the people are Roman Catholic.
Bolivia (History)
The Aymar of Bolivia had been absorbed into the INCA empire long before the Spanish conquest of Bolivia (1538) by Gonzalo and Hernando PIZARRO. Attracted by Bolivia's mineral wealth, Spanish exploiters poured into the area, developing mines, textile mills, and great estates-all with forced native labor. Bolivia was attached to the viceroyalty of Peru until 1776 and later to that of La Plata. Revolt against Spanish rule first erupted in 1809, but Bolivia remained Spanish until the campaigns of Jos‚ de SAN MARTIN and Simon BOLIVAR and the victory by Antonio Jos‚ de SUCRE at AYACUCHO in 1824. Independence was formally proclaimed in 1825. Political instability became a hallmark of independent Bolivia, with coups and revolutions occurring, on average, more than once a year. A series of disastrous border wars, including the War of the Pacific (1879-84) against Chile and the Chaco War (1932-35) against Paraguay, cost Bolivia valuable territory, including its outlet to the sea. In 1952 the nationalistic, pro-miner Nationalist Revolutionary Movement (MNR) won control of the government, nationalizing the tin mines and launching a program of agrarian reform. They were overthrown by the military in 1964, and Bolivia resumed its history of political strife and instability, marked by recurring military coups until a civilian government assumed leadership in 1982. In 1993 Gonzalo S nchez de Lozada, a mining entrepreneur and former planning minister, was elected president.
The Concise Columbia Encyclopedia is licensed from Columbia University Press. Copyright c 1995 by Columbia University Press. All rights reserved. |
