BOLIVIA: Republic up in the Air

Way back in 1868, so the story goes, Queen Victoria settled the Bolivia problem in her own imperious way. General Mariano Melgarejo, the Bolivian dictator of the day, had urgently invited the British Minister to attend a reception in honor of the general's new mistress. When the diplomat frostily declined, the affronted dictator had him tied aboard a donkey, facing aft, and trotted him three times around the main square of La Paz. The minister fled home and told Queen Victoria of the outrage. "Where is Bolivia?" the Queen demanded. A map...

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