Bolivian society traces its origins to the advanced pre-Columbian civilizations of South America. The high Bolivian plateau known as the Altiplano was already densely populated several centuries before the Spanish conquest in the 16th century.

From the 7th century the Tiwanaku (Tiahuanaco) empire, the first of the great Andean empires to extend over both the Peruvian coast and highlands, had its center in the Altiplano region. By the 11th century it had reached its apogee and was replaced by simpler regional states.

In the centuries that followed the collapse of Tiwanaku, the Bolivian highland region maintained its dense populations with irrigation agriculture. By the 15th century the region was controlled largely by some 12 groups of Aymara-speaking Indians; they, in turn, fell under the control of the expanding Inca empire, which had its capital in Cuzco (now in Peru). Because the Aymara were the largest and most prominent non-Quechua-speaking group in the empire, they were allowed to retain their language and ethnic identity under Inca rule. However, large numbers of Quechua speakers were relocated to Aymara territories as part of a deliberate Incan policy of colonization. It was this early pattern of colonization and nonassimilation that gave Bolivia its current linguistic and ethnic makeup: Quechua and Aymara are still the two major Indian languages in Bolivia.

Soon after the Spanish conquest of the Inca empire in the early 16th century, much of the Indian population of Bolivia was forced to labor in mines established by the Spaniards. Notable among these were those exploiting the newly discovered (1545) silver deposits of Potosí—the largest silver mines then known in the Western world. The arid, high-altitude mines of Potosí, along with others discovered near the town of Oruro (founded in 1606), were supplied with food and other basic necessities by such towns as Chuquisaca (1538; now Sucre), La Paz (1548), and Cochabamba (1571). From the 16th to the 18th century this central Andean area, known then as Charcas or Upper Peru, was one of the wealthiest and most densely populated centers of the Spanish empire. Its mines were supplied with mitas (conscripted groups) of Indian laborers from throughout the Andes, and by the mid-17th century Potosí’s population had reached some 160,000—a size comparable to that of the largest cities of Europe. This region fell into decay by the last quarter of the 18th century, however, largely because the richest and most accessible veins were exhausted.

Although Potosí continued to be Upper Peru’s most important economic center, even after mining had declined, Chuquisaca was the intellectual and political focus of the area. Chuquisaca (also known, in the colonial period, as Charcas and La Plata and, since independence, as Sucre) served as the seat of Upper Peru’s government, which was known from its foundation in 1559 as the Audiencia of Charcas. The audiencia was first placed under the Viceroyalty of Peru at Lima, but in 1776 it was finally shifted to the new Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata established at Buenos Aires (now in Argentina). With its academies and universities, Chuquisaca was the major educational center for the entire Río de la Plata region.

In the late 1770s and early ’80s, Indians in the highlands took part in widespread uprisings, most notably the revolt of Túpac Amaru II, which was carried out in the hope of reestablishing the Inca empire. These actions caused many casualties, and La Paz was besieged twice for several months, but eventually the rebel leaders were defeated and executed.

In 1809 Chuquisaca and La Paz became two of the earliest cities to rebel against the colonial government appointed by the new Napoleonic ruler of Spain. Many historians have considered this action to be the beginning of the wars of independence in Latin America. Although viceregal authorities in Lima quickly put down the rebellions, similar uprisings were successful in the viceregal capital of Buenos Aires. From that city several revolutionary armies were dispatched without success to liberate Upper Peru; however, the guerrilla units formed in the rugged countryside of Upper Peru kept the revolutionary movements alive for some 16 years. In 1825 an army under the leadership of Marshal Antonio José de Sucre liberated Upper Peru with the aid of defecting royalists, who were mostly Creole elites. The defectors convinced Simón Bolívar and Sucre to allow autonomy for Upper Peru rather than union with either Peru or Argentina, and on August 6, 1825, an Upper Peruvian congress declared the country independent. Few of the guerrilla commanders, representing a more humble constituency, were able to become part of the Creole elite-led government.

Bolivia from 1825 to c. 1930

In recognition of Bolívar’s support, congressional leaders named the new republic Bolivia in his honor, and they invited Sucre, his chief aide, to be the first president.