  We investigate a wide range of possible evolutionary histories for the
recently discovered Bootes dwarf spheroidal galaxy, a Milky Way satellite. By
means of N-body simulations we follow the evolution of possible progenitor
galaxies of Bootes for a variety of orbits in the gravitational potential of
the Milky Way. The progenitors considered cover the range from dark-matter-free
star clusters to massive, dark-matter dominated outcomes of cosmological
simulations. For each type of progenitor and orbit we compare the observable
properties of the remnant after 10 Gyr with those of Bootes observed today. Our
study suggests that the progenitor of Bootes must have been, and remains now,
dark matter dominated. In general our models are unable to reproduce the
observed high velocity dispersion in Bootes without dark matter. Our models do
not support time-dependent tidal effects as a mechanism able to inflate
significantly the internal velocity dispersion. As none of our initially
spherical models is able to reproduce the elongation of Bootes, our results
suggest that the progenitor of Bootes may have had some intrinsic flattening.
Although the focus of the present paper is the Bootes dwarf spheroidal, these
models may be of general relevance to understanding the structure, stability
and dark matter content of all dwarf spheroidal galaxies.
