COCHABAMBA  , a

city of Bolivia, capital of the department of the same name and of the province of Cercado, situated on the Rocha, a small tributary of the Guapay river, in lat . 17° 27' S. and long . 65° 46' W . Pop . (1900) 21,886, mostly Indians and mestizos . The city stands in a broad valley of the Bolivian plateau, 8400 ft. above sea-level, overshadowed by the snow-clad heights of Tunari and Larati, 291 M. north-north-west of Sucre and 132 M. east-north-east of Oruro, with both of which places it is connected by rough mountain roads . A subsidized stage-coach line runs to Oruro . A contract for a railway between the two cities was made in 1906, connecting with the Antofagasta and Arica lines . The climate is mild and temperate, and the surrounding country fertile and cultivated . Cochabamba is often described as the most progressive city of Bolivia, but it has been held back by its isolated situation . The warehouses of the city are well supplied with foreign goods, and trade is active in spite of high prices . The city is provided with telegraphic communication via Oruro, and enjoys a large part of the Amazon trade through some small river ports on tributaries of the Mamore .

The city is regularly laid out, and contains many attractive residences surrounded by gardens . It is an episcopal city (since 1847), containing many churches, four conventual establishments, and a missionary

college of the " Propaganda Fide " for the conversion of Indians . The city has a university and two colleges, but they are poorly equipped and receive very little support from the government . Cochabamba was founded in the 16th century, and for a time was called Oropesa . It took an active part in the " war of independence," the women distinguishing themselves in an attack on the Spanish camp in 1815, and some of them being put to death in 1818 by the Spanish forces . In 1874 the city was seized and partly destroyed by Miguel Aguirre, but in general its isolated situation has been a protection against the disorders which have convulsed Bolivia since her independence .