On This Day
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La Paz, Bolivia, is founded

La Paz, officially Nuestra Señora de La Paz, is the seat of government of Bolivia. With 755,732 residents as of 2024, it is the third-most populous city in Bolivia.

La Paz, officially Nuestra Señora de La Paz, is the seat of government of Bolivia. With 755,732 residents as of 2024, it is the third-most populous city in Bolivia. Its metropolitan area, which includes the neighboring city of El Alto, and other smaller towns, is the second most populous urban area in Bolivia, with a population of 2.2 million, after Santa Cruz de la Sierra with a population of 2.3 million. The city is also the capital of the department of the same name.

Located in west-central Bolivia 68 km (42 mi) southeast of Lake Titicaca, La Paz is set in a canyon created by the Choqueyapu River. It is in a bowl-like depression, part of the Amazon basin, surrounded by the high mountains of the Altiplano. Overlooking the city is the triple-peaked Illimani.

Historical Significance

La Paz, officially Nuestra Señora de La Paz, is the seat of government of Bolivia.

Events Before

  1. Ivan the Terrible, aged 17, crowns himself the first Tsar of Russia

    Ivan IV Vasilyevich, commonly known as Ivan the Terrible, was Grand Prince of Moscow and all Russia from 1533 to 1547, and the first Tsar and Grand Prince of all Russia from 1547 until his death in…

  2. Russian Tsar Ivan IV [Ivan the Terrible] (17) marries Anastasia Romanova (17)

    Russian Tsar Ivan IV [Ivan the Terrible] (17) marries Anastasia Romanova (17)

  3. Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey, is executed in the Tower of London for treason

    Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey,, was an English nobleman, politician and poet. He was one of the founders of English Renaissance poetry and was the last known person to have been executed at the...

  4. Capitulation of Wittenberg: John Frederick I, Protestant Elector of Saxony, resigns after his capture by Catholic Hapsbu

    Capitulation of Wittenberg: John Frederick I, Protestant Elector of Saxony, resigns after his capture by Catholic Hapsburg forces of Charles V at the Battle of Mühlberg,

  5. Great fire in Moscow, a third of the largely wooden city destroyed and 2-3,000 killed

    Ivan IV Vasilyevich, commonly known as Ivan the Terrible, was Grand Prince of Moscow and all Russia from 1533 to 1547, and the first Tsar and Grand Prince of all Russia from 1547 until his death in...

Events After

  1. The city of Salvador da Bahia, the first capital of Brazil, is founded

    Salvador], formerly known as Cidade do São Salvador da Bahia de Todos os Santos, literally "City of the Holy Savior of the Bay of All the Saints") is a Brazilian municipality and capital city of the…

  2. Book of Common Prayer is adopted by the Church of England

    The Book of Common Prayer (BCP) is the title of a number of related prayer books used in the Anglican Communion and by other Christian churches historically related to Anglicanism.

  3. Tomé de Sousa appointed as the 1st Governor-General of Brazil

    Tomé de Sousa (1503–1579) was the first governor-general of the Portuguese colony of Brazil from 1549 until 1553. He was a nobleman and soldier born in Rates, Póvoa de Varzim.

  4. Kett's uprising occupies Norwich, England

    Kett's Rebellion was a revolt in the English county of Norfolk during the reign of Edward VI, largely in response to the enclosure of land.

  5. Jews are expelled from Ghent, Belgium

    Jews are expelled from Ghent, Belgium

More from the 1540s

Ivan the Terrible, aged 17, crowns himself the first Tsar of Russia

Ivan IV Vasilyevich, commonly known as Ivan the Terrible, was Grand Prince of Moscow and all Russia from 1533 to 1547, and the first Tsar and Grand Prince of all Russia from 1547 until his death in…

Russian Tsar Ivan IV [Ivan the Terrible] (17) marries Anastasia Romanova (17)

Russian Tsar Ivan IV [Ivan the Terrible] (17) marries Anastasia Romanova (17)

The first recorded horse race meeting in England is held at Roodee Fields in Chester

Chester is a cathedral city in Cheshire, England, on the River Dee, close to the England–Wales border.

Francisco Vázquez de Coronado's expedition sets off from Mexico in search of the Seven Cities of Gold (Cibola)

Francisco Vázquez de Coronado was a Spanish conquistador and explorer who led a large expedition from what is now Mexico to present-day Kansas through what is now parts of the southwestern United...

Frequently Asked Questions

What happened on July 16, 1548?
La Paz, officially Nuestra Señora de La Paz, is the seat of government of Bolivia. With 755,732 residents as of 2024, it is the third-most populous city in Bolivia. Its metropolitan area, which includes the neighboring city of El Alto, and other smaller towns, is the second most populous urban area in Bolivia, with a population of 2.2 million, after Santa Cruz de la Sierra with a population of 2.3 million.
Why is La Paz, Bolivia, is founded significant?
La Paz, officially Nuestra Señora de La Paz, is the seat of government of Bolivia.

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July 16 in HistoryYear 1548