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Cultural Analysis History Civilization in the Bolivian Andes is thought to stretch back some 21,000 years. The most influential Pre-Columbian cultures were the Tiahuanaco, who were based around Lake Titicaca and who ruled the region between 600-1200 AD, and the Incas, who headed a vast empire comprising most of Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador and northern Chile. The Spanish conquest of the country began in 1531 under Francisco Pizarro. In 1544, deposits of silver were discovered at Potosí. The wealth generated by this find underwrote the Spanish economy (and the extravagance of its monarchs) for more than two centuries. Independence was finally declared in 1825 by an assembly which met in Chuquisaca (Sucre). General Antonio Jose de Sucre, was elected as the first president. The land of Alto Peru was then renamed Bolivar, later changed to Bolivia, in honor of its liberator Simon Bolivar. At the time of its birth, Bolivia extended to the Pacific and included most of the coast of the Atacama desert and the port of Antofagasta. However, the discovery of rich nitrate deposits in the Atacama desert and rising border tensions led the outbreak of a war between Chile and Bolivia (1879-1883). Chile's victory in this war resulted in Bolivia's