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People have been living in present day Bolivia for several thousand years. In the earliest days of the country Bolivia was inhabited by a number of different people groups, the descendants of which still remain to this day. Some of these groups, especially the Tiwanaku culture, were extremely advanced for their period. Their culture formed at one end of Lake Titicaca. There are a number of theories as to why this advanced culture ultimately disappeared completely, including disease, flood, drought, and simply being conquered by attackers. Bolivia became part of the Incan Empire during the mid 1400s and remained there until it was conquered by the Spanish in 1538.

Bolivia remained as a Spanish colony for nearly 300 years before they declared their independence, mainly because of the toll the Napoleonic wars had taken on the Spanish throne. A very long war ensued after their declaration of independence until the republic was finally established in 1925. The general who led the successful army in the last battle became the first president of Bolivia, but the country’s strongest days came a few years later, under the leadership of Mariscal Andres de Santa Cruz. During his tenure, Bolivia fought a number of wars and won decisive victories in each, including a famous battle in which both the Peruvian and Chilean armies were defeated. Santa Cruz signed a peace treaty at the conclusion of this war, allowing these armies to return to their respective homes with their weaponry intact. Soon thereafter, the Chileans denounced the treaty and used the aforementioned intact weaponry to bring another war against Bolivia, and this time the Chileans came out on top. The years beginning in 1951 and leading up to the present day have been marked with numerous different governments, some successful and some not, as well as general political and economic turmoil.

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