Sucre

Sucre, city (1992 pop. 131,769), S central Bolivia, constitutional capital of Bolivia and capital of Chuquisaca dept. Since 1898, La Paz has been the administrative capital of Bolivia. Sucre was founded in 1538 and called La Plata; the city was also called Chuquisaca and Charcas. It was given its present name in 1839 in honor of the revolutionary leader Antonio José de Sucre. The city lies in a mountain valley on the eastern slope of the Andes at an altitude of c.8,500 ft (2,590 m). The climate is moderate. Sucre is a major agricultural center and supplies the mining communities of the barren altiplano. It also has an oil refinery and a cement plant. The city is the seat of the archbishopric, the supreme court, and the national university, San Francisco Xavier, which was founded c.1625 and specializes in law. The revolt against Spanish rule began in Sucre in 1809.

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Sucre

Judicial capital (pop., 2001: 193,873), Bolivia. Founded by the Spanish (c. 1539) on the site of a Charcas Indian village, it became the capital of the Charcas territory of Upper Peru in 1561 and in 1609 the seat of an archdiocese. Many of its colonial churches survive. It was an early scene (1809) of the revolt against Spain. The Bolivian declaration of independence was signed there in 1825, and it became the capital in 1839. An effort to move the capital to La Paz in 1898 precipitated a civil war, which left the two cities sharing capital status. Sucre is also the seat of the national supreme court. It is a growing commercial centre. The University of San Francisco Xavier, one of the oldest universities in South America, was founded there in 1624.

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Sucre¹

Antonio José de . 1795--1830, South American liberator, born in Venezuela, who assisted Bolivar in the colonial revolt against Spain; first president of Bolivia (1826--28)

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Sucre²

the legal capital of Bolivia, in the south central part of the country in the E Andes: university (1624). Pop.: 231 000 (2005 est.)

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Sucre 

the legal capital of Bolivia and capital of the department of Chuquisaca. Situated in the valley of the Pilcomayo River, on the slopes of the Cordillera Central, at an elevation of 2,700 m. Population, 85,000 (1970). Sucre has a tropical climate; the average January temperature is 12°C, and the average July temperature 9°C. Annual precipitation is 706 mm. Sucre, a highway junction, has a railroad station and an airport. The city has enterprises of the oil-refining, cement, woodworking, and food industries. There is a thermal power plant in the city.

Sucre was founded in 1538 by the Spanish conquistador Pedro de Anzurez, who named the city La Plata (Spanish, “silver”) because of silver deposits found in the area. Later the city was named Chuquisaca (Indian, choque-chaca [”silver mountain”]). On May 25,1809, an uprising in the city marked the beginning of the war for independence from Spain in Upper Peru (Bolivia’s name in the colonial period). In 1839 the city was named after A. J. de Sucre.

In the center of Sucre is the triangular Square of May 25, which includes a park, the Basilica Metropolitana (foundation laid 1571; structure completed 18th century), the Government Palace (1892), the Palace of the Legislative Assembly, various other government buildings, and a monument to A. J. de Sucre (1909). In the northern district, the Square of Liberty features the Obelisk of Liberty, a theater, and the Hospital of Santa Barbara. Colonial-period houses and 16th- and 17th-century churches have also been preserved.

Educational institutions in Sucre include a university, a higher pedagogical school, a polytechnic institute, an institute of oncology, a smallpox vaccination institute, the Sucre Medical Institute, and an institute of sociology. Prominent cultural institutions include the National Library and Archives of Bolivia, museums of anthropology and the fine arts, and the Charcas Colonial Museum.