Phoebe Hannah

MGP 335

October 9th, 2015

Content Outline
I.

History of South America

A. Civilization and Government
1. Incan Empire (1200-1532)
a. Controlled most of western South America
b. Conquered by Spanish in 1532
c. Machu Pichu abandoned city built by the Incas that was
forgotten about until American explorer Hiram Bingham found it
in 1911
2. Columbus landed in Venezuela in 1498
3. Spain colonized South America in 1532
a. Francisco Pizarro Spanish explorer who landed on the coast of
what is now Ecuador
i. Founded Lima, Peru (1535)
b. Pedro de Valdivia sent by Pizarro into what is now Chile to
establish Spanish settlements
c. Buenos Aires was settled in 1580 by Juan de Garay
4. In the early 1800s South American countries gained independence from
Spain
a. Venezuela and Columbia gained independence from Spain in 1811
b. Paraguay gained independence from Spain in 1811
i. Citizens overthrew the Spanish governor
c. Argentina gained independence from Spain in 1816
i. May of 1810- revolution freed Argentina
ii. Constitution was adopted in 1853
d. Gran Columbia gained independence from Spain in 1819
i. Simon Bolivar- first president of Gran Columbia (1819)
i. Fought the Spanish for 6 years and succeeded in
gaining independence for South American countries
ii. Planned for a United States of South America failed
e. Chile gained independence from Spain in 1818
i. San Martin and Chilean leader Bernardo OHiggins freed
their followers from Spain
ii. Declaration of Independence (February 12th, 1818)
recognized by Spain in 1844
f. Brazil gained independence from Spain in 1822
i. Peacefully because Prince Pedro, the son of the king of
Portugal, ruled the colony and listened to the Brazilians
demand for freedom and granted them independence
g. Ecuador gained independence from Spain in 1822
i. After the Ecuadorian War of Independence (1820-1822)
h. Peru gained independence from Spain in 1824

Phoebe Hannah

MGP 335

i.

October 9th, 2015

Jose San Martin (of Argentina) declared Peruvian

independence in 1821, but the Spanish continued to fight
until 1824
ii. Last constitution was adopted in 1979 and went into place
in 1980
i. Bolivia gained independence from Spain in 1825
i. Named after Simon Bolivar
j. Venezuela separated from Colombia and became an independent
republic in 1830
5. Brazil freed the last slaves in the Americas in 1888
6. Venezuela became a democratic country January 23, 1958
a. The present constitution was ratified in 1961
b. 26 constitutions since declaring its independence
7. Chile democratically elected government took power (1990)
a. Dictator General Augusto Pinochet ruled in the 1970s and 1980s
i. Ordered many of his opponents to be arrested and
imprisoned
ii. Arrested in Great Britain in 2000
B. War/Conflict
1. Pizarro (Spanish explorer) conquered South America from the Incas in
1532
a. Pizarros crew consisted of less than 200 men
b. Used guns and horses to their advantage
c. Pizarro was assassinated in 1541
d. In 1571, Spanish gained full control of the Incas
2. In 1780, the last great Incan leader, Tupac Amaru, led a widespread revolt
a. The uprising was diminished and Amaru was captured and
executed
3. Spanish American Wars of Independence (1808-1833)
a. Result: End of Spanish rule
b. Simon Bolivar
i. Led a march over the Andes in 1819 won
ii. Known as the Great Liberator of Latin America
iii.
Fought for each country to be independent of Spain
c. Chilean War of Independence (1810-1821)
i. Chileans seeking political and economic independence
from Spain
ii. Result: Chilean victory, emancipation from Spanish
colonial rule
iii.
Ended in 1821, when Spain left Chile or in 1826, when
Spanish troops surrendered
4. After gaining independence, new nations set up republics so they could
elect their leaders. However, the leaders were inexperienced and struggles
over authority broke out
a. In many countries, dictators and their juntas seized control,
supported by the armies that helped win independence

Phoebe Hannah

MGP 335

5.

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October 9th, 2015

b. In other countries, the aristocracy took over

Struggles over national boundaries after new countries gained
independence
a. Argentina and Brazil (1825)
i. Over the area between their borders
ii. Ended in a treaty that established the area as the
independent nation of Uruguay (1828)
b. War of the Pacific
i. Between Peru & Bolivia and Chile
ii. Peru and Bolivia lost to Chile in 1884
iii.
Chilean troops occupied Lima and seized three of Perus
nitrate-rich southern provinces
iv. Left Bolivia landlocked
Buenos Aires seceded from the national group in 1853
a. Other provinces fought this
b. Buenos Aires lost a battle to the other provinces in 1859
c. Joined the national group again in 1861
d. Became a capital city in 1880
Spanish-American War (1898)
OAS Organization of American States (1948)
a. To promote cooperation and the peaceful settlement of disputes
b. South America, Central America, and North America
c. Stopped disputes between countries that were keeping South
America from being united