The Tiahuancu civilization used to live near the lake Titticaca from the years 1500 before Christ up to the years 1200 AD. This tribe is said to be one of the most ancient civilization of South America. They have disappeared, we still don’t know how.
The Aymara population and the other groups were taken over by the Inca armies in the 1400’s. They are the ones that have set the Quechua langage as well as a new social order.
The Spanish empire started its conquest in the region in 1532. As soon as 1538 all the territories that now belong to Bolivia were under Spanish domination.
Bolivia at that time was known as High-Peru and was one of the first areas to rebel itself. Protests and riots were frequent in the 1700’s but didn’t last long.
After a movement of independence in 1809, the country started to meet success. After a war of independence of 16 years, the 6t of August 1825, the country finally took the name of its saviour: Simon Bolivar.
The first president was pushed over in 1828. Then followed civil wars, revolutions, military dictatorship,… Most of the originial territory was lost between 1879 and 1935 to the neighbouring countries: Chile, Brazil and Paraguay. In 1884 the country lost its sea for good. This great disadvantage stopped the country’s development up to today and leaves Bolivia dependant of its Peruvian and Chilean neighbours. In 1992, Peru accepted to let through Bolivia through the port of Llo, but that is insuffisant. Bolivians talk of the impossible dream of digging a canal via Brazil and Paraguay to the Atlantic ocean…
The bolivian government has rarely know such a stable and good conditions. A set of “coup d’etat” led to power various dictators, oppressing the people one after the other, to their own benefit, leaving the country poor. There were extreme abuse of human rights; the indigenous population was badly treated. The economy of Bolivia therefore didn’t stop declining in the 80’s with an unstoppable inflation rate.
A democracy finally made its way through in 1985.
The first Aymara vice-president was Victor Hugo Cardenas in 1993. That moment is memorable in indigenous history, for it is the first time ever in the world. He struggled to integrate the indigenes in the workplace, but his plans of exportation of natural gas made him resign, due to people’s protests.
Evo Morales is the first Aymara president and does a lot for his country by encouraging the growth of their social system. Representants of American tribes all over America came to shake his hand in content. It was another memorable moment for the Aymara, here representing all indigenous nations.
