Bolivia: The central highway of South America, a land of rich resources and varied interest

"Bolivia" by Marie Robinson Wright is a historical and cultural survey written in the early 20th century. The work presents the country’s geography, history, society, economy, and arts with an illustrated, nation‑spanning portrait meant to correct foreign misconceptions and invite interest and enterprise. It ranges from pre‑Columbian civilizations and the Spanish conquest through the colonial and republican eras, profiling cities, infrastructure, mining, education, and indigenous cultures.

The opening of the volume presents ornate front matter and an Introduction that argues Bolivia is widely misunderstood, stresses its strategic central position and vast resources, and recounts the author’s thousand‑mile muleback journey and cordial official support. Chapter I surveys the pre‑Columbian world around Lake Titicaca and Tiahuanaco, reviews competing theories about Aymará and Quichua origins, recounts myths of creation and the Inca origin legend, and then traces Inca rule in Collasuyo and the Spaniards’ advance. It relates Almagro’s route and the Pizarros’ consolidation in Charcas, the founding of Chuquisaca (later Sucre), Potosí, and La Paz, and underscores the plateau’s symbolic role from Inca splendor to future independence. Chapter II outlines colonial structures under the viceroyalties and the powerful Audiencia of Charcas, the harsh mita and tribute systems, and the spread of missions, alongside the founding of Cochabamba, Tarija, and Oruro, the mining boom of Potosí, and the wealth of colonial churches. It closes with factional strife (Basques vs. Vicuñas) and a chain of uprisings—from Ibáñez and Gallardo to Calatayud, Vela de Córdova, the Catari leaders, Tupac‑Amaru’s movement, and Tupac‑Catari’s siege of La Paz—foreshadowing the prolonged struggle toward independence.