The city of

La Paz La Paz, officially Nuestra Señora de La Paz (Aymara language, Aymara: Chuqi Yapu ), is the seat of government of the Bolivia, Plurinational State of Bolivia. With 755,732 residents as of 2024, La Paz is the List of Bolivian cities by populati ...

, in the region of

Upper Peru Upper Peru (; ) is a name for the land that was governed by the Real Audiencia of Charcas. The name originated in Buenos Aires towards the end of the 18th century after the Audiencia of Charcas was transferred from the Viceroyalty of Peru to th ...

(now in

Bolivia Bolivia, officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is a landlocked country located in central South America. The country features diverse geography, including vast Amazonian plains, tropical lowlands, mountains, the Gran Chaco Province, w ...

but then in the

Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata The Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata or Viceroyalty of Buenos Aires ( or Virreinato de Buenos Aires or ) meaning "River of the Silver", also called the "Viceroyalty of River Plate" in some scholarly writings, in southern South America, was ...

), experienced a

revolution In political science, a revolution (, 'a turn around') is a rapid, fundamental transformation of a society's class, state, ethnic or religious structures. According to sociologist Jack Goldstone, all revolutions contain "a common set of elements ...

in 1809 that deposed Spanish authorities and declared independence. The revolution is considered one of the early steps of the

Spanish American Wars of Independence The Spanish American wars of independence () took place across the Spanish Empire during the early 19th century. The struggles in both hemispheres began shortly after the outbreak of the Peninsular War, forming part of the broader context of the ...

and a predecessor of the

Bolivian War of Independence The Bolivian War of Independence (, 1809–1825) began with the establishment of Junta (Spanish American Independence), government juntas in Sucre and La Paz, after the Chuquisaca Revolution and La Paz revolution. These Juntas were defeated sho ...

. However, the revolution was defeated shortly it had started, and the city returned to Spanish rule.

Background

In 1781, for a total of six months, a group of

Aymara people The Aymara or Aimara (, ) people are an Indigenous people in the Andes and Altiplano regions of South America. Approximately 2.3 million Aymara live in northwest Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, and Peru. The ancestors of the Aymara lived in the reg ...

laid siege to La Paz. Under the leadership of Túpac Katari, they destroyed churches and government property. Despite the failure of the indigenous people, who were eventually crushed by the military alliance of Spanish and Creoles, thoughts of independence continued flourishing. Thirty years later, indigenous people laid a two-month siege on La Paz, and the legend of the Ekeko is set there. It was not until fall 1807, when

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

moved French troops through Spain to invade Portugal, and Spanish authority had been fatally weakened, that the prospect of independence re-emerged in the native imagination. The 1776

United States Declaration of Independence The Declaration of Independence, formally The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen States of America in the original printing, is the founding document of the United States. On July 4, 1776, it was adopted unanimously by the Second Continen ...

certainly an inspirational example of empowered colonists deposing unpopular foreign rule. With Spanish authority deteriorating, as

Charles IV of Spain Charles IV (; 11 November 1748 – 20 January 1819) was King of Spain and ruler of the Spanish Empire from 1788 to 1808. The Spain inherited by Charles IV gave few indications of instability, but during his reign, Spain entered a series of disa ...

renounced the throne in favor of

Ferdinand VII Ferdinand VII (; 14 October 1784 – 29 September 1833) was King of Spain during the early 19th century. He reigned briefly in 1808 and then again from 1813 to his death in 1833. Before 1813 he was known as ''el Deseado'' (the Desired), and af ...

, who did the same in favor of

Joseph Bonaparte Joseph Bonaparte (born Giuseppe di Buonaparte, ; ; ; 7 January 176828 July 1844) was a French statesman, lawyer, diplomat and older brother of Napoleon Bonaparte. During the Napoleonic Wars, the latter made him King of Naples (1806–1808), an ...

, Napoleon's brother, La Paz felt that the time was ripe for revolution.

Development

On July 16, in the city of

, as celebrations for the Virgin of Carmen were unfolding, a group of revolutionaries, led by Colonel Pedro Domingo Murillo, and other individuals besieged the city barracks and forced Governor Tadeo Davila and the Bishop of La Paz, Remigio de la Santa y Ortega, to resign. On July 16, 1809, a

mestizo ( , ; fem. , literally 'mixed person') is a term primarily used to denote people of mixed European and Indigenous ancestry in the former Spanish Empire. In certain regions such as Latin America, it may also refer to people who are culturall ...

, Pedro Domingo Murillo, famously said that the Bolivian Revolution was igniting a lamp that nobody would be able to extinguish. Many historians agree that to mark the beginning of the independence of South America from Spain. Political power went to the local cabildo until the " Junta Tuitiva de los Derechos del Pueblo" ("Junta keeping the Rights of the People"), headed by Murillo, was formed. On July 27, the junta proclaimed colonial independence. José Manuel de Goyeneche, despite suspected of having Carlists sympathies, was called forward to lead royalist forces against the insurgents. While many revolutionaries enlisted and marched to Chacaltaya to await enemy troops, a counter-revolution, led by Pedro Indaburo, broiled in the capital. La Paz was defended by Murillo, who maintained a military force of approximately 800 men Viceroy José Fernando de Abascal sent troops from Lima to repress the revolt and seized the opportunity to decree the reannexation of Upper Peru to his jurisdiction of Peru. Royalists there formed a clear majority, even among those born in the Americas. In Lima, in particular, whose wealth and influence had declined since the Bourbon repartitioning of South America, people placed their hopes not in the seemingly-illusory promises of independence but rather in the rewards that could be secured by loyalty to the

Spanish Crown The monarchy of Spain or Spanish monarchy () is the constitutional form of government of Spain. It consists of a Hereditary monarchy, hereditary monarch who reigns as the head of state, being the highest office of the country. The Spanish ...

. Murillo and the other rebel leaders were beheaded, and their heads were exhibited to the people as deterrent.

References

{{Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata Colonial Bolivia 1800s conflicts Bolivian War of Independence 1800s in South America 19th-century revolutions 19th century in the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata 1809 in Bolivia July 1809 History of La Paz

Background

Development

See also

References