Bolivia: History

Bolivia's high plateau, the Altiplano, was home to sophisticated indigenous civilizations for millennia, most notably the Tiwanaku culture that flourished near Lake Titicaca before its decline around the 12th century. The region was later incorporated into the Inca Empire, which organized the highlands into agricultural terraces and administrative centers before Spanish arrival in the 16th century.

Spanish colonizers established control after 1532, exploiting the silver deposits of Potosi, which became one of the richest mining centers in the Spanish Empire and financed much of colonial Spain's wealth. Independence movements gathered strength in the early 19th century, and the republic was founded in 1825, named in honor of Simon Bolivar, following campaigns led by Antonio Jose de Sucre.

The 20th century brought territorial losses following wars with neighboring states, the 1952 National Revolution that nationalized the tin mining industry and extended suffrage, and later decades of political instability. Since the early 2000s, Bolivia has undergone significant constitutional change, including the 2009 adoption of a new constitution recognizing the country's plurinational and multiethnic character.