In a Little Country Far, Far, Away..But Not Too Far.

By John Petkus


I take it upon myself, Dear Readers, to attempt to bring to you knowledge, news, and other issues of cultural importance to the great and glorious institution of Lake Superior State University.   This missive is only the first of many which will be in the issues of the best paper on campus, concerning a small, yet hardly insignificant little country at the very center of South America, which I had the joy, the privilege and the pleasure to visit over Christmas Break.   The name of this country is Bolivia.
As some of you may know, I lived in Bolivia for six years during those good old days referred to in hushed and reverent tones as the high school years.   Ahh that golden era long gone!   As a result of my first experiences there, I was well prepared for what was to happen there, as you will no doubt hear about in future issues.
I feel, however, for the less fortunate of my readers who have never visited Bolivia and are quite sure that it is in Europe. Therefore, I must start with a little background information. Try not to fall asleep on me will you?   It will be well worth it I promise!
Bolivia is a land of conflict.   It has been fought over for the last 1000 years and more.   As I mentioned it is located in central South America, this makes it of prime strategic importance to anyone either wanting to escape the terrible heats of the Amazon River basin, and the largest jungle areas of the Western Hemisphere, or come down from the frigid heights of the Andes Mountains.   Bolivia is blessed with both of these extremes in its climate as well as a fertile, temperate region of foothills leading into the mountains.   
The mountainous western regions were inhabited by the Inca Empire, the largest empire in the Americas before the arrival of Europeans, spanning an incredible 772,204 square miles stretching from what is now Columbia all the way down the west coast of the continent, including Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador, Chili, and well in to modern day Argentina.   For comparison, today the state of Alaska with all of its uncharted forestland only contains 663,267 square miles.   The Incas had conquered all of their land, over 500 years ago, without even the help of a wheel!   
The eastern jungle and plains areas were the domain of many smaller tribes, the most prevalent of which was the Guaran.   They were a fiercely independent tribe, who waged war with the Inca before any written history existed in their lands.   Just before the Spanish conquest, the Guaran defeated the Incas and drove them to a point in the mountains known as Postrervalle, or the last valley of the Inca conquest.   What would have happened at this point, no one knows because the Spanish conquerors descended on South America in search of riches.   Within a very few years the Inca empire was no more.   The Guaran retreated to the jungle heats where the Spanish could not touch them, and resisted until the end of the Spanish occupation.   They hold the distinction of being the only native nation to never be defeated by the Spanish, a source of pride to every person of Guaran decent to this very day.  
The yoke of Spanish rule was thrown off in 1823 after sixteen years of bloody civil war and revolution.   Bolivia was formed, over the protest of the less populous eastern plains and jungle regions, as a union of the Highlands and the Lowlands into one single nation.   Thus the stage is set for conflicts for years to come.
Did you make it through all that history?   I hope so!   Just remember to take it all slow at first, you may even want to sit down and read this article!   I will leave you for now with the stage almost ready to plunge into what is going on now in Bolivia; almost but not quite!  Have a good one everybody and I will see you next issue.

