Oruro Department, Bolivia Genealogy

Guide to Oruro Department family history and genealogy: birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, family history, and military records.



History
The city was founded on November 1, 1606, by Don Manuel Castro de Padilla. as a silver-mining center in the Urus region. At the time it was named Real Villa de San Felipe de Austria, after the Spanish monarch Philip III. It thrived for a while, but it was eventually abandoned as the silver mines became exhausted. Oruro was reestablished by European Bolivians in the late nineteenth century as a tin mining center. For a time, the La Salvadora tin mine was the most important source of tin in the world. Gradually, as this resource became less plentiful, Oruro again went into a decline. Its economy is still based on the mining industry. 

Provinces
Oruro Department is divided into the following provinces: