Abstract

BRIDIKHINA, Evgenia. History Told from Sucre: Envisaging the Colonial Past. Rev Cien Cult [online]. 2019, vol.23, n.42, pp.53-73. ISSN 2077-3323.

The dominant historiographical discourse in 19th century Bolivia was -as in other Latin American countries- based on glorification of the War of Independence, considered to be the foundational milestone of the Republic, and on rejection and disdain for the Colonial past. The cities of Sucre and La Paz competed for the leading protagonist role during the events of 1809, called the "first cry of Independence". And at the end of the 19th century, this contention -which in fact reflected continuous political and economic tension which developed not only between these two cities, but between the regions of the North and the South of the country- became enriched with new elements of discourse. In the regions of the South (Chuquisaca and Potosi) there emerged and increasingly became strengthened a discourse of intellectuals characterized by marked ambiguity: on the one hand, a regional history was being written based on glorifying Independence, with its respective heroic accounts; and on the other, was the revaluing and redemption of the Colonial period and its institutions. This article analyzes the historiographic production of Sucre at the end of the 19th century and during the early decades of the 20th century, identifying three historical moments in which references to the Colonial past once again emerge: the debate on which city which was to be the seat of government in the latter decades of the 19th century, the celebration of the centennial of the "first cry for freedom" of 1809 and the commemoration of the 400 years of the founding of Sucre, in 1939.

Keywords : Historiography; debates; colonial history; seat of government; celebration; commemoration.

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