One of the two inland Republics of South America, Bolivia has an enormous area, a section of which is still unexplored in detail. Its chief towns situated on the lofty Andean plateau or a little over its eastern edge, it seems wonderful indeed that here in the 16th century, prior to the existence of New York or Boston, were populous, wealthy cities, hundreds of miles from the coast and from the seat of the Viceroy at Lima. In the present day, such a horseback ride across country as was then and till within a half century common, would by most persons be considered quite a feat, while a similar descent to the Atlantic port of Buenos Aires, then not unusual, is an expedition that would commend itself to few; though this crossing were to the Paraguay River only, where a steamboat would be available for the remainder of the journey. AREA, POPULATION, BOUNDARY =Area.= Bolivia, with an area variously given as 515,000 to 708,000 square miles, is generally counted third in size of the Republics. Pending the settlement of the boundary dispute with Paraguay and more accurate surveys, probably at least 600,000 may be conceded, a larger territory than the entire Atlantic slope of the United States. Once possessing a small coast line which included the port of Antofagasta, Bolivia was deprived of this in 1883 at the close of the war with Chile. =Population.= The number of inhabitants, mainly an estimate, has been recently given as nearly 3,000,000. With about four persons to a square mile, it is the most sparsely peopled of American Republics. =Boundary.= At the north and east the country borders on Brazil. Paraguay is at the southeast, Argentina directly south, and Chile and Peru west. HISTORY Known by the name of Alto Peru, the country was ruled for nearly three centuries by the Viceroy at Lima, and by a Royal Audience of four men at Chuquisaca, now Sucre, the nominal capital of the Republic. La Paz is noted as the seat of the earliest effort (July, 1809) in South America for democratic government. Though abortive, it was the inspiration of later struggles. The battle of Ayacucho in 1824, which ended Spanish dominion over the continent, was followed by the entrance into La Paz of General Sucre with his victorious army, February 7, 1825. The Act of Independence is dated August 6, 1825. The Republic was named for Bolívar, who was elected President, while Chuquisaca was made the capital with the name of Sucre. General Bolívar, inaugurated in November, resigned in January, 1826, and was succeeded by General Sucre, the first President who really served. More or less troublous times followed until a war with Chile broke out in 1879 over the export nitrate tax. At the conclusion of peace Bolivia lost the small coast section of nitrate land, Antofagasta, which she previously possessed. Since that time several revolutions have occurred, one in 1920, but none affecting her credit, her foreign contracts, or the lives of the people generally. GOVERNMENT