From Cuzco, Bolívar went to La Paz, and there he was received in like manner. The assembly of Alto Perù sent representatives to meet him. The country had received the name of República Bolívar (now Bolivia). From there he went to Potosí, where he remained several weeks, accepting the homage and gratitude of the people. There he received several members of the diplomatic corps and a committee sent by the government of Buenos Aires with the purpose of complimenting him for the services he had rendered to the cause of South American independence which, as they said, Bolívar had made secure forever. He gave Bolivia its first political organization, applying his favorite ideas about the distribution of powers. Here he repeated what he had done everywhere when in command. He established educational institutions; ordered that the rivers be examined in order to study the feasibility of changing their courses so as to furnish water to arid and sterile areas; distributed land among the Indians; suppressed the duties on mining machinery; ordered the planting of trees, and showed in a thousand ways his untiring energy, all the while keeping in active diplomatic correspondence and in constant communication with his friends and civil officers, in order to give instructions in detail. He issued orders from Chuquisaca to have the Venezuelan soldiers sent back to their country from Perú. He even went so far as to entertain thoughts of the independence of Cuba and Porto Rico. In January, 1826, he left Chuquisaca for the coast and from there he sailed for Perú, and a month later reached Lima, where he rendered an account of what he had done in Upper Perú and in the South. By that time the last stronghold of the Spaniards, Callao, had fallen into the hands of the Venezuelan general, Bartolomé Salom, a very distinguished officer who had played a remarkable rôle under Bolívar during the War of Independence. The resistance of Rodil in Callao is one of the best examples of Spanish bravery. Rodil was a rough soldier, and often harsh and cruel in his measures. In spite of hunger, illness and losses, he remained in Callao for almost eleven months, not surrendering until January 23, 1826; he and his men were the last representatives of the Spanish power to leave the continent. As soon as everything was well organized in Perú, Bolívar made ready to return to Colombia. At that time some imprudent friends tried to convince him that it was to the best interest of the now independent countries that he should be made emperor of the Andes, which covered Colombia, Perú and Bolivia. From Caracas, Páez proposed that he should return to Colombia and set up a monarchy. Bolívar steadfastly refused to listen to any of these seductions. To Páez he wrote: