List of wars involving Bolivia

This is a list of wars involving the Plurinational State of Bolivia and its predecessor states from 1809 to the present.

Conflict	Combatant 1	Combatant 2	Results
Spanish American wars of independence (1808–1833)	Patriots Supported by: United Kingdom (1815–1819)^{[Note I]} United States (1810–1819)^[1] Haiti^[2] Indigenous allies	Royalists Spain Supported by: Russian Empire^[3] Indigenous allies	Patriot victory Disintegration of Spanish America^{[Note C]} Diplomatic recognition in 1821 (Portugal), 1822 (US), and 1825 (UK). Spain retained the islands of Cuba and Puerto Rico until the Spanish–American War of 1898. Banda Oriental and Spanish Texas become part of the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves and First Mexican Empire respectively.
Bolivian War of Independence (1809–1825)	Patriots: Bolivia Republiquetas Gran Colombia Peru United Provinces	Royalists: Spain Viceroyalty of Peru	Patriot victory Independence of Bolivia
Invasion of Chiquitos (1825)	Bolivia Gran Colombia Supported by: United Provinces	Empire of Brazil Mato Grosso	Defeat Brazilian troops temporarily occupy the region of Chiquitos and Moxos. Simón Bolívar pledged not to support the Argentines on the issue of Cisplatina.
Bolivian–Peruvian territorial dispute (1825–1909)	Bolivia	Peru	Inconclusive Polo–Bustamante Treaty is signed in 1909
Peruvian intervention of Bolivia (1828)	Bolivia Gran Colombia British legion	Peru Alto Perú	Peruvian victory^[4]^[5] Establishment of the Second Republic of Alto Peru. End of Gran Colombian influence in Bolivia. Start the Gran Colombian-Peruvian War. More of 65% of Bolivia occupied by the Peruvian Army
Salaverry-Santa Cruz War (1835–1836)	Pro-Confederation: (Liberals) Orbegosistas Crucistas Supported by: France Republic of Iquicha Pipiolos	Anti-Confederation: (Conservatives) Salaverristas Gamarristas Supported by: Argentina Chile Spain Limeños and Arequipeños	Pro-Confederate victory Execution of Felipe Santiago Salaverry Creation of a confederate state Start of the War of the Confederation
War of the Confederation (1836–1839)	Peru–Bolivian Confederation Orbegoso government (only in 1838)	United Restoration: Chile Peruvian restorers La Fuente government (1837) Gamarra government (1838–1839) Argentine Confederation (since 1837)	Chilean–Peruvian restorationist victory Fall and dissolution of the Peruvian-Bolivian Confederation Peruvian reunification and restoration of the republics of Peru and Bolivia Exile of Andrés de Santa Cruz Iquicha War of 1839 Through negotiations with Bolivia, Argentina recovers the territories of the provinces of Jujuy and Salta that were occupied during the war^[6]
War between Argentina and Peru–Bolivian Confederation (1837–1839)	Peru–Bolivian Confederation	Argentine Confederation	Inconclusive Subsequent peace between the Argentine Confederation and Bolivia after the dissolution of the Peru–Bolivian Confederation Through negotiations with Bolivia, Argentina recovers the territories of the provinces of Jujuy and Salta that were occupied during the war^[7]
Peruvian-Bolivian War of 1841-1842 (1841–1842)	Bolivia	Peru	Treaty of Puno^[8]^[9]^[10] Peruvian invasion repelled by Bolivian troops Bolivian invasion repelled by Peruvian troops Status quo ante bellum
Pérez Rebellion (1862)	Bolivia	General Gregorio Pérez's Rebels	Victory Government victory
Constitutional Revolution of Sucre (1865–1866)	Bolivia	Constitutional Rebels	Victory Government victory
Chincha Islands War (1865–1871)	Chile Peru (since 1866) Nominal participation: Ecuador (since 1866) Bolivia (since 1866)	Spain	Indecisive, both sides claimed victory Indefinite armistice of 1871 Peace treaties between Spain and Peru (1879), Bolivia (1879), Chile (1883) and Ecuador (1885).
Bolivian Civil War of 1870 (1870–1871)	Bolivia	Rebels	Victory Government victory
War of the Pacific (1879–1883)	Bolivia Peru	Chile	Chilean Forces victory Bolivia becomes a landlocked country. The Peruvian Civil War started a year later due to the Treaty of Ancon Chilean influence increased until 1885, when Cáceres won the Peruvian civil war. Litoral Department (Antofagasta) occupied by Chile since 1879, ceded by Bolivia to Chile in 1904. Tarapacá Department occupied by Chile since 1879, ceded by Peru to Chile in 1884. Puna de Atacama ceded by Bolivia to Chile and Argentina in 1889 and 1899. Tacna Region occupied by Chile since 1880, returned to Peru in 1929. Arica Province occupied by Chile since 1880, ceded to Chile in 1929.
Chiriguano War (1892)	Bolivia	Chiriguano	Victory Subjugation of the Chiriguano people
Bolivian Civil War (1898–1899)	Conservatives	Liberals	Liberal victory Creation of the Federal Government Junta La Paz becomes de facto seat of government
Acre War (1899–1903)	{ Bolivia Supported by: United States	Republic of Acre Supported by: Brazil	Brazilian victory Treaty of Petrópolis (between Bolivia and Brazil) Valerde-Río Branco Treaty (between Brazil and Peru) Polo-Bustamante Treaty (between Peru and Bolivia) Brazilian annexation of Acre
Campaign of the Manuripi Region (1910)	Bolivia	Peru	Peruvian Forces victory Withdrawal of the Bolivian Army. Mandatory recognition by Bolivia of the Polo-Bustamente treaty given in 1909. Peruvian Republic obtains 250,000 km² recognises by Bolivia in the treaty and cedes 400km² to Peru
Chaco War (1932–1935)	Bolivia	Paraguay	Paraguayan victory^[11] Most of the disputed area awarded to Paraguay^[12]
World War II (1943–1945)	Allies United States Soviet Union United Kingdom China France Poland Canada Australia New Zealand India South Africa Yugoslavia Greece Denmark Norway Netherlands Belgium Luxembourg Czechoslovakia Brazil Mexico Chile Bolivia Colombia Ecuador Paraguay Peru Venezuela Uruguay Argentina	Axis Germany Japan Italy Hungary Romania Bulgaria Croatia Slovakia Finland Thailand Manchukuo Mengjiang	Allied victory Collapse of the German Reich Fall of Japanese and Italian Empires Creation of the United Nations Emergence of the United States and the Soviet Union as superpowers Beginning of the Cold War
Bolivian National Revolution of 1952 (1952)	Bolivian Government Republican Socialist Unity Party	Revolutionary Nationalist Movement	Defeat Resignation of President Mamerto Urriolagoitía Replacement of the oligarchic political order The Revolutionary Nationalist Movement's recognition during elections.
Ñancahuazú Guerrilla (1966–1967)	Bolivia United States	ELN Cuba	Bolivian government victory Che Guevara executed
Teoponte Guerrilla (1970)	Bolivia	ELN (Teoponte)	Bolivian government victory

Notes

^
First invasion of the Banda Oriental by the Portuguese army led by Diogo de Sousa in 1811 to annex the territory, which during the colonial period was disputed between Spain and Portugal. Not to destroy the independent government of Buenos Aires. In 1816 he invaded the Banda Oriental again and conquered it after a military campaign that lasted until 1820.
^
Consolidation stage is a broad, diffuse, confusing and different period for each independent country. Various states were formed at the beginning of the war, went through different processes that changed them politically. This was due to reasons such as the overthrow of the government by the royalists and their subsequent restoration (for example, Chile and Venezuela), and also by the union of independent states that came to form a new political entity (Gran Colombia and the Mexican Empire).
^
Seven resulted non-recognized states emerged at the moment of the war of independence: Chile, Gran Colombia (Venezuela and New Granada), México, Paraguay, and Bolivia, with self-determination from the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata and Peru.
^
Mexico in its consolidation stage was organized as an empire from 1821 to 1823. When the empire was dissolved, Mexico was reorganized as a republic and the Central American territories that were part of the empire were reorganized into a new political entity called the United Provinces of Central America.
^
Spain's Royal Army also was in the Mexican side, because the royalist criollo Colonel Agustín de Iturbide that joined the pro-independence side.
^
During the course of the war, the United Provinces organized three land forces that fought on different fronts and periods: the army that confronted the royalists of Montevideo, the Army of the North and the Army of the Andes. In the maritime area, the government organized a naval force in 1811, which was destroyed in battle in that same year, so in 1813 it organized a second naval force that was operative until the decisive victory obtained in 1814. It then used corsairs in the sea until the end of the war.
^
In 1817, after the triumph of the independents in Chacabuco and the subsequent restoration of the Chilean government, the Chilean Army was again organized, which fought along with the Army of the Andes in the center-south zone of Chile. Later, both armies would form the Liberating Expedition of Peru, although a part of the Chilean force remained fighting in the country until its territorial consolidation. As for the maritime area, between 1817 and 1818 the Chilean Navy (First Chilean Navy Squadron) was founded and would operate until the end of the war. Between 1817 and 1820, Chile also used corsairs in the sea.
^
In its consolidation phase, the Mexican government had as a land force the so-called Army of the Three Guarantees, while to fight in the sea it founded the Mexican Navy.
^
Sailors and combatants recruited in United Kingdom. Sales of warships, weapons and ammunition.^[13]^[14]
^
guerrillas or violent rebellions in many countries
^
under flags of many belligerents
^
The First Texas Independence, 1813. The green flag is the first flag of Texas independence.^[15]
^
Republic of West Florida annexation (1810) and Rebellion of Republic of East Florida (1812).^[16]
^
Insurgent privateers using many flags.
^
diplomatic declaration exclusively.

References

^ Owsley, Frank L.; Smith, Gene A. (1997). Filibusters and Expansionists: Jeffersonian Manifest Destiny, 1800–1821. This study examines American attempts to take Florida and Texas away from Spain during the administrations of Jefferson, Madison, and Monroe. Admitting that their subject has been covered in various works, the authors promise to provide a comprehensive account of Gulf Coast expansionism and show that it is essentially the same as the later phenomenon known as Manifest Destiny. One can learn much from this description of events and episodes hitherto not well known. For example, there is the attempt of the Mexican patriot Jose Bernardo Maxililiano de Lara Gutierrez to liberate Texas from Spain in the wake of the failed Hidalgo Revolution. Secretary of State James Monroe supported Gutierrez's invasion of Mexico in 1812. West Point-trained former U.S. Army officer Augustus William Magee led the small insurgent army; and a significant number of its troops were American citizens. At about the same time, President Madison was instructing former governor of Georgia George Mathews to negotiate with Spanish officials in Florida about turning that colony over to the United States. When diplomacy failed, in a move that foreshadowed Andrew...
^ Meade, Teresa (2016). A History of Modern Latin America 1800 To The Present. Wiley. p. 78.
^ Robertson, William Spence (1941). Russia and the Emancipation of Spanish America, 1816–1826.
^ "PERÚ INVADE TERRITORIO BOLIVIANO PARA EXPULSAR A LAS TROPAS BOLIVARIANAS". History (American TV network). 2021-09-12. Retrieved 2021-10-27.
^ Ávila Castellanos, Ricardo (2018-11-18). "El drama histórico". El País. Retrieved 2021-10-27.
^ Musicó Aschiero 2013, pp. 5–6.
^ Musicó Aschiero, Ana María (2013). "Guerra de la Confederación Argentina con la Confederación Perú - Boliviana 1835 -1839". Revista Digital Universitaria del Colegio Militar de la Nación (in Spanish). Buenos Aires, Argentina: 5–6.
^ Porras Barrenechea, Raúl (1926). Historia de los Límites del Perú. Lima, Peru: Librería Francesa y Casa Editorial E. Rosay.
^ "La guerra entre Perú y Bolivia de 1841 y 1842". Chilean Society of History and Geography. 2018-10-03.
^ The history of the latest time, Ernst Wernicke vol. 1, Berlín, 4.a edición aumentada y mejorada.1872, p. 280.; Gebrüder Paetel
^ Hughes, Matthew (2005). "Logistics and the Chaco War Bolivia versus Paraguay 1932–1935". The Journal of Military History. 69 (2): 411–437. doi:10.1353/jmh.2005.0104. S2CID 163055852.
^ Glassner, Martin Ira (1983). "The Transit Problems of Landlocked States: The Cases of Bolivia and Paraguay". In Borghese, E.M.; Ginsburg, M. (eds.). Ocean Yearbook. Vol. 4. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. pp. 366–389.
^ Blaufarb, Rafe (2016). "Arms for Revolutions: Military Demobilization after the Napoleonic Wars and Latin American Independence".
^ Waddell, D. A. G. (1987). "British Neutrality and Spanish—American Independence: The Problem of Foreign Enlistment".
^ López, José Antonio (22 April 2013). The First Texas Independence, 1813. Lopez 2013. Xlibris. Xlibris Corporation. ISBN 978-1-4836-2406-8. Archived from the original on 1 February 2024. Retrieved 28 March 2023.
^ Frank L. Owsley, Gene A. Smith (1997). Filibusters and Expansionists: Jeffersonian Manifest Destiny, 1800–1821.

[cnote_Note_A] 
First invasion of the Banda Oriental by the Portuguese army led by Diogo de Sousa in 1811 to annex the territory, which during the colonial period was disputed between Spain and Portugal. Not to destroy the independent government of Buenos Aires. In 1816 he invaded the Banda Oriental again and conquered it after a military campaign that lasted until 1820.

[cnote_Note_B] 
Consolidation stage is a broad, diffuse, confusing and different period for each independent country. Various states were formed at the beginning of the war, went through different processes that changed them politically. This was due to reasons such as the overthrow of the government by the royalists and their subsequent restoration (for example, Chile and Venezuela), and also by the union of independent states that came to form a new political entity (Gran Colombia and the Mexican Empire).

[cnote_Note_C] 
Seven resulted non-recognized states emerged at the moment of the war of independence: Chile, Gran Colombia (Venezuela and New Granada), México, Paraguay, and Bolivia, with self-determination from the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata and Peru.

[cnote_Note_D] 
Mexico in its consolidation stage was organized as an empire from 1821 to 1823. When the empire was dissolved, Mexico was reorganized as a republic and the Central American territories that were part of the empire were reorganized into a new political entity called the United Provinces of Central America.

[cnote_Note_E] 
Spain's Royal Army also was in the Mexican side, because the royalist criollo Colonel Agustín de Iturbide that joined the pro-independence side.

[cnote_Note_F] 
During the course of the war, the United Provinces organized three land forces that fought on different fronts and periods: the army that confronted the royalists of Montevideo, the Army of the North and the Army of the Andes. In the maritime area, the government organized a naval force in 1811, which was destroyed in battle in that same year, so in 1813 it organized a second naval force that was operative until the decisive victory obtained in 1814. It then used corsairs in the sea until the end of the war.

[cnote_Note_G] 
In 1817, after the triumph of the independents in Chacabuco and the subsequent restoration of the Chilean government, the Chilean Army was again organized, which fought along with the Army of the Andes in the center-south zone of Chile. Later, both armies would form the Liberating Expedition of Peru, although a part of the Chilean force remained fighting in the country until its territorial consolidation. As for the maritime area, between 1817 and 1818 the Chilean Navy (First Chilean Navy Squadron) was founded and would operate until the end of the war. Between 1817 and 1820, Chile also used corsairs in the sea.

[cnote_Note_H] 
In its consolidation phase, the Mexican government had as a land force the so-called Army of the Three Guarantees, while to fight in the sea it founded the Mexican Navy.

[cnote_Note_I] 
Sailors and combatants recruited in United Kingdom. Sales of warships, weapons and ammunition.^[13]^[14]

[cnote_Note_J] 
guerrillas or violent rebellions in many countries

[cnote_Note_K] 
under flags of many belligerents

[cnote_Note_L] 
The First Texas Independence, 1813. The green flag is the first flag of Texas independence.^[15]

[cnote_Note_M] 
Republic of West Florida annexation (1810) and Rebellion of Republic of East Florida (1812).^[16]

[cnote_Note_N] 
Insurgent privateers using many flags.

[cnote_Note_O] 
diplomatic declaration exclusively.

[1] Owsley, Frank L.; Smith, Gene A. (1997). Filibusters and Expansionists: Jeffersonian Manifest Destiny, 1800–1821. This study examines American attempts to take Florida and Texas away from Spain during the administrations of Jefferson, Madison, and Monroe. Admitting that their subject has been covered in various works, the authors promise to provide a comprehensive account of Gulf Coast expansionism and show that it is essentially the same as the later phenomenon known as Manifest Destiny. One can learn much from this description of events and episodes hitherto not well known. For example, there is the attempt of the Mexican patriot Jose Bernardo Maxililiano de Lara Gutierrez to liberate Texas from Spain in the wake of the failed Hidalgo Revolution. Secretary of State James Monroe supported Gutierrez's invasion of Mexico in 1812. West Point-trained former U.S. Army officer Augustus William Magee led the small insurgent army; and a significant number of its troops were American citizens. At about the same time, President Madison was instructing former governor of Georgia George Mathews to negotiate with Spanish officials in Florida about turning that colony over to the United States. When diplomacy failed, in a move that foreshadowed Andrew...

[2] Meade, Teresa (2016). A History of Modern Latin America 1800 To The Present. Wiley. p. 78.

[3] Robertson, William Spence (1941). Russia and the Emancipation of Spanish America, 1816–1826.

[4] "PERÚ INVADE TERRITORIO BOLIVIANO PARA EXPULSAR A LAS TROPAS BOLIVARIANAS". History (American TV network). 2021-09-12. Retrieved 2021-10-27.

[5] Ávila Castellanos, Ricardo (2018-11-18). "El drama histórico". El País. Retrieved 2021-10-27.

[FOOTNOTEMusicó_Aschiero20135–6-6] Musicó Aschiero 2013, pp. 5–6.

[7] Musicó Aschiero, Ana María (2013). "Guerra de la Confederación Argentina con la Confederación Perú - Boliviana 1835 -1839". Revista Digital Universitaria del Colegio Militar de la Nación (in Spanish). Buenos Aires, Argentina: 5–6.

[8] Porras Barrenechea, Raúl (1926). Historia de los Límites del Perú. Lima, Peru: Librería Francesa y Casa Editorial E. Rosay.

[9] "La guerra entre Perú y Bolivia de 1841 y 1842". Chilean Society of History and Geography. 2018-10-03.

[The_history_of_the_latest_time,_Ernst_Wernicke-10] The history of the latest time, Ernst Wernicke vol. 1, Berlín, 4.a edición aumentada y mejorada.1872, p. 280.; Gebrüder Paetel

[Hughes2005-11] Hughes, Matthew (2005). "Logistics and the Chaco War Bolivia versus Paraguay 1932–1935". The Journal of Military History. 69 (2): 411–437. doi:10.1353/jmh.2005.0104. S2CID 163055852.

[Glassner1983-12] Glassner, Martin Ira (1983). "The Transit Problems of Landlocked States: The Cases of Bolivia and Paraguay". In Borghese, E.M.; Ginsburg, M. (eds.). Ocean Yearbook. Vol. 4. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. pp. 366–389.

[13] Blaufarb, Rafe (2016). "Arms for Revolutions: Military Demobilization after the Napoleonic Wars and Latin American Independence".

[14] Waddell, D. A. G. (1987). "British Neutrality and Spanish—American Independence: The Problem of Foreign Enlistment".

[15] López, José Antonio (22 April 2013). The First Texas Independence, 1813. Lopez 2013. Xlibris. Xlibris Corporation. ISBN 978-1-4836-2406-8. Archived from the original on 1 February 2024. Retrieved 28 March 2023.

[16] Frank L. Owsley, Gene A. Smith (1997). Filibusters and Expansionists: Jeffersonian Manifest Destiny, 1800–1821.

[Note I]

[1]

[2]

[3]

[Note C]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]

[11]

[12]

[13]

[14]

[15]

[16]

Lists of wars involving South American countries
Sovereign states	Argentina Brazil Chile Colombia Ecuador Guyana Paraguay Peru Suriname Uruguay Venezuela
Dependencies and other territories	Falkland Islands French Guiana South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands

Years in Bolivia (1825–present)
19th century	1825 1826 1827 1828 1829 1830 1831 1832 1833 1834 1835 1836 1837 1838 1839 1840 1841 1842 1843 1844 1845 1846 1847 1848 1849 1850 1851 1852 1853 1854 1855 1856 1857 1858 1859 1860 1861 1862 1863 1864 1865 1866 1867 1868 1869 1870 1871 1872 1873 1874 1875 1876 1877 1878 1879 1880 1881 1882 1883 1884 1885 1886 1887 1888 1889 1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900
20th century	1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000
21st century	2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025

See also

Notes

References