Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, and
Panama. In August 1819 Bolivar’s men
defeated a much larger Spanish army.
Then he announced that New Granada
had become a new republic called Gran
Colombia. He was its president. By
1822 all of Gran Colombia was free
from Spain.
Bolivar next went to Peru. There he
continued the work of Jose de San
Martin. Martin had earlier begun a
fight for independence. In 1824 his
forces defeated the Spanish there. In the
next year one of Bolivar’s officers freed
Upper Peru, the last part of South
America under Spanish rule. To honor
Bolivar, its name was changed to
Bolivia.
At the height of his power, between
1825 and 1828, Bolivar ruled Gran
Colombia, Peru, and Bolivia. He wanted
the new countries to be allies, but they
started fighting among themselves. Venezuela
broke away from Gran Colombia
in 1829, and Ecuador left in 1830.
Deeply disappointed, Bolivar resigned as
president. He died near Santa Marta,
Colombia, on December 17, 1830.
#More to explore
Bolivia • Colombia • Ecuador • Panama
Simon Bolivar • Peru • Venezuela
Venezuela
named its unit
of money the
bolivar to
honor Simon
Bolivar.
BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA Bolivar, Simon 101
Bolivia
A country in South America, Bolivia has
breathtaking scenery, including deserts,
jungles, and snow-covered peaks. Bolivia’s
culture blends American Indian and
Spanish influences. Its judicial, or legal,
capital is Sucre. However, the president
and the legislature are based in La Paz.
Geography
Bolivia is bordered by Brazil, Paraguay,
Argentina, Chile, and Peru. In the west
the Andes Mountains stretch from north
to south in two parallel ranges. The
cool, dry Altiplano (High Plateau) lies
between the two ranges. Tropical lowlands
cover the east. Amazon rain forest
covers the far north. The Bolivian Chaco
region in the south is swampy in the
rainy season but hot and desertlike for
the rest of the year.
Plants and Animals
Coarse grass is common in the northern
Altiplano, but much of that region is
bare. Heavy forests of pines, laurels, and
cedars cover the mountain slopes.
Grasses, shrubs, and small trees that do
not need a lot of water grow in the
south. Mahogany and rubber trees grow
in the northern rain forests.
The wildlife in Bolivia includes members
of the camel family—llamas,
alpacas, guanacos, and vicunas. The
Andean condor roosts in the mountains.
In the northern forests are jaguars,
sloths, monkeys, and tapirs. Parrots and
toucans also live in the rain forests.
People
About 65 percent of Bolivians are
American Indians, including the Aymara
and the Quechua peoples. The Quechua
are descendants of the Inca. About 30
percent of the population is mestizo, a
mixture of Indian and European. The
rest of the people are white, mainly
descendants of Spanish conquerors.
Aymara, Quechua, and Spanish are
Aymara Indian women take part in a festival
in La Paz.
102 Bolivia BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA
Bolivia’s official languages. Roman
Catholicism is the main religion. More
than half of the people live in cities.
Economy
Bolivia is one of the poorest countries in
South America. However, it has large
amounts of natural gas and is a major
producer of zinc and tin. Most of the
people work in agriculture, manufacturing,
and trade. Many farmers raise sugarcane,
soybeans, sheep, and cattle.
History
People have lived in what is now Bolivia
for thousands of years. An advanced
people lived in the area around Lake
Titicaca (in western Bolivia) about
1,000 years ago. The region was later
part of the powerful Inca Empire.
The Spanish conquered the area in the
early 1500s. They ruled Bolivia as part
of a larger region that included what is
now Peru. Silver mines brought great
wealth to the region. By the end of the
1700s, however, there was little silver
left. The Bolivians won their
independence from Spain in 1825.
They named the new republic after
Simon Bolivar, who helped free the
region from Spain.
After gaining independence, Bolivia
fought several battles with neighboring
countries. In the War of the Pacific,
from 1879 to 1883, Bolivia lost
territory along the Pacific Ocean to
Chile. In the Chaco War, from 1932 to
1935, Bolivia lost most of the Chaco
region to Paraguay. Bolivia also had
trouble forming a stable government.
The military ruled several times during
the 1900s. But in 2005 the country
elected its first Indian president. He
promised to give the Indians of Bolivia
a greater voice in the country’s affairs.
..More to explore
Andes • Bolivar, Simon • Inca • La Paz
• Sucre
Llamas stand on the shore of a lake in southwestern Bolivia.
Facts About
BOLIVIA
Population
(2008 estimate)
9,694,000
Area
424,164 sq mi
(1,098,581 sq
km)
Capitals
La Paz (administrative)
and Sucre
(judicial)
Form of
government
Republic
Major cities
Santa Cruz, La
Paz, El Alto,
Cochabamba
BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA Bolivia 103
Bomb
Bombs are weapons that people use to
kill others and to damage property.
Bombs are designed to explode. They
may be dropped from aircraft, delivered
by rockets, thrown by hand, or placed
next to a target and blown up later.
Parts of a Bomb
A bomb is basically a container filled
