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THE EMERGENCE OF RefrdUt "Bolivia CHARLES W. ARNADE THE EMERGENCE OF COPYBJGHT, 1957, UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA ALL RIGHTS RESERVED LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGUE CARD No. 57-12879 PRINTED BY THE ROSE PRINTING COMPANY, TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA CONTENTS PREFACE vii FOREWORD ix 1-THETWO SYLLOGISMS 1 2-THE ARMIES OF THE PARTISANS 32 3 -THE ARMIES OF DOOM 57 4-DOSCARAS 80 5-THE GREAT INTRIGUE 100 6- A HOUSE DIVIDED 116 7 -"LIBERATOR" AND TRAITOR 139 8-FROM PUNO TO CHEQUELTE 161 9 - THE TURNCOAT ASSEMBLY 183 NOTES 207 ABBREVIATIONS 243 BIBLIOGRAPHY 247 LIST OF ABCHIVES 251 LIST OF REFERENCES 252 INDEX 263 PREFACE FAR AS I CAN ASCERTAIN, THIS STUDY IS the first attempt in English to present a section of Bolivian history with the help of primary sources. It is obvious that in such a task I had to rely on the help of many people. Without their and enthusiasm this cooperation book would have never seen print. To the L. Henry and Grace Doherty Foundation I owe a special word of thanks for awarding me a substantial grant which enabled my family and me to go to Bolivia in search of sources. I was able to remain for fourteen months in that fascinating country, where I already had spent six years in my teens. A small grant from the Florida State University Research Council with provided me student help in the final preparation of the manuscript. All the Bolivian scholars I met received me with great enthusi- asm. Don Gunnar Mendoza, the energetic director of the Archive Biblioteca Nacional y de Bolivia, was a constant source of help. He provided me with a great deal of material with which I was unac- Mr. Mendoza quainted. spent innumerable hours aiding me in my research and in discussing the many phases of Bolivian history. He is a good scholar and a splendid friend. To all other employees of the Archive y Biblioteca Nacional I am very grateful for their patient help and their many attentions and courtesies. Don Jorge Urioste, past president of the Sociedad Geogrdfica de also dedicated hours Sucre, long to aiding me. Without any quali- he the rich collection of fications, put the society at my disposal. There are many more Bolivians in Sucre, La Paz, Cochabamba, vii viii THE EMERGENCE OF THE REPUBLIC OF BOLIVIA Potosi, and Oruro who gave me valuable assistance at one time or another. The list is long and space does not permit me to mention them. I will always remember them all with pleasant memories. But I cannot fail to mention the dynamic Bolivian historian, Dr. Humberto Vdzquez-Machicado, of La Paz. His great generosity in making available his rare collections which took years to gather was a most unexpected and welcome gesture. An equal number of people helped me in this country. Mrs. Margot de la Cruz, an instructor at the University of Puerto Rico, was helpful in pointing out many defects in grammar and style. To Dr. Donald E. Worcester of the University of Florida I owe equal thanks for his valuable comments and criticism. Drs. A. Curtis Wilgus, Raymond E. Crist, and Lyle N. McAlister of the University of Florida and Dr. Harris G. Warren of the University of Missis- sippi gave many suggestions. The reference staff of the University of Florida Library was extremely helpful in locating and providing me with printed sources that were unavailable in Bolivia. Pro- fessor Charles B. Varney of the University of Florida prepared the maps. His expert geographical knowledge was of great assistance. It is no exaggeration to say that my wife, Marjorie, has spent as much time as I on this work. She checked and rechecked the manuscript, which she typed twice, and was my most severe critic. To her I owe more than to anyone else and she is as much the author of this book as I. A last word of sincere appreciation goes to my four little boys, Frank, Carlos, Stephen, and Timothy, who have done the impossible, for in the three years of my preparing this book they have never destroyed a single page. Neither have they used pages of the manuscript as their scrap paper or scattered them in all directions. is I But I am sure this is just a coincidence. It to Carlos that dedi- cate this book because he was born in old Chuquisaca (today Sucre) while we were in Bolivia. The many events discussed in this book are part of the very history of his native town. For errors of fact and interpretation I assume full responsibility. Unquestionably their number has been reduced by the helpful hands of my friends who showed a lively interest in this study. To all of them goes a most modest and simple muchas gracias. CHARLES W. ABNADE Tallahassee, Florida FOREWORD BEFORE COLUMBUS sailed from the port of Palos, there dwelt in the central part of South America, high in the mountains, a people who worshiped the sun and revered Mother Earth, and who gradually extended their cul- tural and political influence from the shores of Lake Titicaca. They had developed a civilization which had managed to solve many of the problems that confound us today. They lived mostly by agricul- ture and they learned how to share production for the benefit of all; there was, therefore, little strife over what they had. It was enough, and almost everyone had a fair share. These people had their problems, of course. The high altitude in which they lived made the raising and harvesting of crops diffi- cult; they had problems about water. Yet they were energetic and resourceful. Since war was almost unknown, their energies could be devoted to the task of cultivating the soil. They knew that there was great mineral wealth around them. A large part of their economy was based on copper which they used for tools and utensils. Gold and silver had been discovered, but to them these metals did not mean wealth. They were symbols of the sun and the moon and were used for ornaments. They were pretty metals and were valued, but their possession did not give any individual power over his fellow man. These same people were discovered by men from other con- tinents who brought another civilization with them, a civilization that was harsh and powerful and which used weapons of iron and steel. However, while the real strength of such a civilization lay in 2x x THE EMERGENCE OF THE REPUBLIC OF BOLIVIA iron, it used gold and silver as money. These were the media of exchange, and they gave their fortunate possessor great power which was often used to acquire still more power; The agricultural civilization fell before the weapons of iron and steel, and peace vanished from the country of which I speak. The conquerors concentrated on the production of gold and silver. Farming was neglected. Shafts were sunk in the earth and the native population was forced to work in the mines. Billions of dollars' worth of gold and silver were sent overseas. The peoples were driven like animals to find and dig still more metal to be sent out of the country. Other minerals and metals were found. The con- querors discovered new uses for these minerals and metals. They searched for and mined them with the same feverish energy and greed which had distinguished the search for gold and silver. Power and wealth mounted but nothing remained in the hands of the natives. The people as a whole had only the privilege of working ceaselessly, living on little and dying at an early age, worn out and old before their time. One day the imperial power that had been supporting such colonial domination crumbled under the impact of new spiritual and material forces: the North American and the French revolu- tions, the former based on the principle of self-determination, and the latter on the abolition of power based on privilege and class distinction. Was the spreading of ideas of democracy, liberty, and self- government the main factor involved in the revolutionary move- ments among the Spanish Colonies? Did Great Britian expect to reconstruct its Colonial Empire in America at the expense of the Spanish Colonies? Was the invasion of the Iberic Peninsula by the Napoleonic forces the determining factor for the disintegration of the Spanish Colonial Empire? Was the independence won by the former colonies a complete or partial restoration of power to the descendants of the peoples of the ancient American culture? Why were the former provinces of the Spanish Colonial Empire unable to form a single Federation, similar to that of the United States of America? These questions are being answered by history. Dr. Charles W. Arnade has worked on a very important chapter of the history of Bolivia and he finds the answers to some of the above-mentioned questions. His book is written with the precision of a true academic work of art, and to introduce it is not only an honor but a source of deep satisfaction. FOREWORD xi Shakespeare saw the march of men as actors in this tremendous drama of life. It is possible to elaborate on that concept and see the immense theater, the earth; the eternal actor, man; the argument, and as history; spectators, the eternal things of the cosmos. Charac- ters will change with the ages and the heroes will succeed each the other, leading chorus and the retinue. The scenery will also change from one point to another on the face of the earth, and in that drama the scenes, if repeated, are never with the same actors this and the same setting.