Bolivia
Bolivia is a country that has been through it all. This country is a republic nation with a current president named Evo Morales. Bolivia history traces the country back to the Inca empire. The countries natives are of Indian decent, and were taken over by Spanish influence. During the sixteenth century, the Spanish came in a swooped the nation. Much like the Europeans did to America, the Indians land was taken from underneath them. Unlike in American history where the Native American population was killed off, the Indian population was forced into slavery. This enslavement caused the Indian population to fall into the shadows of their Spanish colonizers. Bolivia history mirrors American history in the African Americans were disadvantaged by the Europeans or white people when they were forced to give up land and work under people for no pay at all. In Bolivia, the Indians were forced to work under the Spanish for no pay, hence keeping them from ever gaining wealth. The status of the natives dropped, and so didn’t the education as well. Many times when a race or population is kept from growth, while the world around them is flourishing, when they are finally let free, they are then dependent on the system that they just left. Never can the natives of Bolivia gain back their time or try to catch up to the Spanish who started advancing way before they could. Currently, this reality has caused an inequality in the country that is very obvious and unfair. The Spanish are the elite and the Indian natives are the poor class, creating an income gap that hurts the country as a whole because the Indians make up two thirds of the country.
Much of the early wealth to come out of the sixteenth century was credited to the mineral industry. Much like American coal mines, the mineral industry only survived for so long before it dried up and was replaced by more efficient means. Bolivia history indicates that the country gained independence in eighteen twenty five, and was named after Simon Bolivar. Much of the territory in Bolivia was lost to other countries like Brazil, Paraguay, and Chile. A revolutionary war between Bolivia and Cuba irrupted and added to Bolivia history. The cocoa crop, was a major resource in Bolivia that was taken and washed out by the United States and other countries. This country is one of the poorest in all of South America. The government could use the natural gas reserves, and the oil that the country has, instead they use these much needed worldly resources to their disadvantage. Bolivia history shows a reacquiring problem with the gas reserves in the country. Instead of making a decision to more readily use these reserves for wealth in the country, the presidents extorted the resource. This left farmers and miners broke and in rebellion toward Bolivia for the constant economic downturns. Bolivia history has not changed much since the time of the Inca. The country has yet to profit off of the oil and gas reserves and civil rights within the country are in turmoil. The class structure remains the same with the wealth Spanish ruling and oppressing the Indian natives.