Colonial period

The Spanish conquest began in 1524 and was mostly completed by 1533. The territory now called Bolivia was then known as "Upper Peru" and was under the authority of the Viceroy of Lima. Local government came from the Audiencia de Charcas located in Chuquisaca (La Plata—modern Sucre). Founded in 1545 as a mining town, Potosí soon produced fabulous wealth, becoming the largest city in the New World with a population exceeding 150,000 people.[20]

By the late 16th century Bolivian silver was an important source of revenue for the Spanish Empire.[21] A steady stream of natives served as labor force (the Spanish employed the pre-Columbian draft system called the mita).[22] Upper Peru was bounded to Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata in 1776. Túpac Katari led the indigenous rebellion that laid siege to La Paz in March 1781, during which 20,000 people died.[23] As Spanish royal authority weakened during the Napoleonic wars, sentiment against colonial rule grew.

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