Bolivia proclaimed independence from Spain in 1809, but 16 years of struggle followed before the establishment of the republic. The fight for independence culminated in the battle of Ayacucho, on December 9, 1824, as part of Bolívar's War in the Republican Campaign when Antonio José de Sucre's republican army of 7,000 defeated José de La Serna's Spanish army of 10,000. The republicans suffered more than 1,000 casualties to more than 2,000 Spanish casualties and more than 2,000 captured, among them La Serna. The Spanish surrender came the next day. It was Sucre who made the Declaration of Independence in the city which to this day bears his name. The country was named Bolivia, after Simón Bolívar, on August 6, 1825.
