History of Latin America, 8000 B.C.E.

-Present Day

CLASSICAL

c. 5000 B.C.E. – Domestication of maize in Mesoamerica; corn becomes the staple food
for the native diet and the basis of agricultural economies in early civilizations; beginning
of the formation of agriculture in South America, which led to the formation of civilized
societies due to division of labor, etc.,

c. 1400-400 B.C.E. – Spread of the Olmec culture in Mexico; advances in agriculture and
domestication of animals; lack of writing, but large religious structures and icons;
manipulation of stone and gems, calendar system, art; disappeared mysteriously c. 400
B.C.E.; later societies build on these developments, especially religiously and artistically

c. 900-200 B.C.E.- Chavin culture in Andean Peru; architectural and artistic

understanding; metallurgy; domestication of the llama; influenced later Peruvian
societies, such as Inca

c. 400-900 C.E. – Classic Mayan culture in southern Mexico and Central America;
developed written language, monumental architecture, calendars and mathematics, and an
elaborate and detailed religion; heavily religious warfare; human/slave labor due to
absence of large animals; Mayan people and languages were never displaced by
European conquerors remain in Mexico and Central America today

POST-CLASSICAL

c. 1200-1533 C.E. – Inca civilization rises to power in Andean Peru in the Cuzco area;
later spreads and develops to control more than 2,000 miles of South American coastline;
complex road systems and infrastructure; architectural achievements; no writing; lack of
large animals; Incan socialism and religious sacrifice; split-inheritance system (cult of
mummification); leader Atahuallpa captured after long and devastating pandemic disease
– Pizarro topples Incas; language Quechua and Incan culture still exist in the area
presently as a part of South America’s ethnic diversity

c. 1325-1522 C.E. – Aztecs occupy island called Tenochtitlan and build an advanced
civilization built on ritualized religious warfare and expansion, infrastructure, and a
system of tributary states owing heavy taxes and captives for labor or sacrifice; Aztec
leader Montezuma II defeated by Cortés in 1522 by exploiting native dislike for Aztec
expansionism; much of South American written culture lost during the fall, necessitating
a later ‘rediscovery’; Aztec language Nahuatl and artistic traditions remain in the area
today
EARLY MODERN

1492 C.E. – Genoese explorer Christopher Columbus makes landfall in the Bahamas
under the Spanish flag; beginning of European colonization; beginning of Catholic
missionary movement, native labor, and transplantation of Latin culture to the Americas.
The Columbian exchange begins, including the exchange of goods, animals, diseases, and
ideas.

1494 C.E. – Treaty of Tordesillas signed, divvying up New World territories between
Spain and Portugal after the return of Columbus. Negotiated by papal bull because of
contention between the two countries; unintentionally gave Portugal the ‘hump’ of
Brazil; served as a basis for colonial empires in the New World

Era of Colonization 1500-1800 C.E.

• Characterized by loss of native autonomy and exploitation of natural resources by
Europeans (search for gold, sugar plantations, etc.,)
• Catholic religion largely supplants native traditions (limited, but present
syncretism)
• Transplantation of European policies, but with some uniquely Latin American
traits (rise of audiencias, etc.,)
• Natives as labor force (rise of encomienda, hacienda, repartamiento, etc.,)
• Decimation of native population due to overwork, disease epidemics
• Influx of slave trade to New World colonies
• Increasing and still present Latin American economic dependency on European
market for raw materials and on Europe as a supply of manufactured items
(limited industrialization due to cash crop restriction)
• European ideals influence Latin American movements (Englightenment)

1500s C.E. –
• Continuing expeditions are made by Spanish and Portuguese explorers, resulting
in Spain’s claim to the bulk of the Americas by the end of the sixteenth century.
Spain backed up these claims with military expeditions to Mexico and South
America, often enslaving or murdering the indigenous population. This leads to
both an increasing permanence of Spanish culture, religion, and language, as well
as the establishment of long-standing colonial boundaries.
• Spain begins to slow down after their naval defeat in 1588 and the task of
organizing their gains. Northern European Protestants in England and Holland are
eager to compete with Catholic Spain’s gains. France also gets in on the scramble.
This marks the beginning of English, French, and Dutch expansion into colonial
powers.
• Huge deaths of native populations due to the Columbian Exchange. Over half of
the native population died due to disease from 1500-1650. This led to an
increased need for African slave labor in the emerging colonial economies.
1500 C.E.- Pedro Álvares Cabral discovers the ‘hump’ of Brazil and claims it for the
Portuguese; he purportedly got lost on the way to India; beginning of Brazil’s and
Portugal’s long colonial relationship.

1524 C.E.- Founding of the Council of the Indies; most important administrative council
of the Spanish Empire; laid foundacions for the colonial bureaucracy, such as the
formation of audiencias; experienced corruption that was criticized principally by
Bartolome de Las Casas.

c.1538 C.E.- Probable date of first shipment of African slaves to Brazil; indicated
growing need for African slave labor due to dwindling native populations and the
development of the sugar cane industry in Brazil.

1542 C.E.- Passage of the New Laws by Bartolome de Las Casas. Established the
humanitarian rights of natives and attempted to abolish encomiendas. Las Casas’ reforms
were both indicative of the new ideals of international law and the increasing
evangelization of Latin America.

1549 C.E.- Royal government established in Brazil

1600s C.E.-
• Colonizing governments increasingly extract labor and wealth from native
peoples
• Forced labor (mita) in Peru
• Rise and development of silver trade out of Latin America – trade centers and
factories such as Potosi in Peru (now Bolivia) flourish
• Rise of sugar cane market in Brazil (African slaves, triangle trade)
• Spain falls behind due to mass influx of raw bullion and inadequate banking
systems (has global effects due to increasingly interconnected trade routes)

1630-1654 C.E. – Dutch seize a portion of northeastern Brazil and controlled its sugar
production. Though they were expelled in 1654 by the Spanish, this conflict indicated a
greater global struggle for colonial dominance and opened the way for French, English,
and Dutch entry into the sugar cane industry, undercutting Brazil’s economy.

1681 C.E.- The Recopilacion codifies laws into the basis for official and direct colonial
government. An entire body of laws that defines social, political, and economic
relationships between colonizers and colonized. Indicates increasing colonial
organization and direct control, whereas in the 1500s much had relied on individual
conquistadors.

1695 C.E. – Gold discovered in Brazil; one of the driving causes for colonial expansion
and exploration was the desire for precious metals; gold, silver, and sugar cane would
become the basis of Brazil’s colonial economy; mining centers would arise throughout
the colony.
1700s C.E.-
• Spain’s colonial monopoly begins to break up through legal means. Their loss in
the War of Spanish Succession leads to increased English and French trading
rights in Spanish America and the weakening of the Spanish commercial
economy.
• The Bourbon Reforms remove groups that oppose the “enlightened despotism” of
Bourbon monarchs, including the Jesuits. The reforms also include the formation
of Creole militias.
• The Marquis of Pombal also expells Jesuits from the Portuguese Empire.
• Rapid population growth – American colonial boom in late 1700s
• Beginnings of social revolt
1767 C.E. – Society of Jesuits expelled from Latin America; removal of challenges to the
crown’s authority during Bourbon Reforms; Bourbon Reforms pushed for centralized
power

1780-1781 C.E.- Comuero Revolt in Upper Peru. A series of uprisings by local rebels
against Spanish authorities. Preceded nationalist movements of later centuries; first of
many revolts against colonialism

1781 C.E. – Tupac Amaru uprisings. A mestizo named Tupac Amaru led rebellions
against colonial government; failed because of Creoles’ fear of social revolution and loss
of political power; indicative of increasing nationalist feeling in Latin America

1792 C.E.- Slave uprising on French colonial island of St. Domingue; rising feelings of
nationalism and rebellion against the institution of slavery

1800s C.E.-
• Rising feelings of rebellion and nationalism in the face of continued European
colonialism
• Limited industrialization – continued dependance on European markets and
imports
• Resistance to slavery, except in Brazil in which the continuing monarchical
system did not disrupt social structure
• Influence of Enlightenment ideals on educated Creoles
• Oldest colonies have the hardest time breaking ties with mother countries –
peripheral colonies such as Argentina and Venezuela were among the first and
most successful to vie for independence
• Rise of caudillos in late 1800s due to new, unstable governments and loyalties
to regional commanders
• Evolution of feminist movements

1808 C.E.- Portuguese monarchy flees Portugal due to Napoleonic invasion, establishes
monarchy in Brazil
1810 C.E.- Padre Hidalgo leads a rebellion against Spanish rule; rebellion itself failed
due to Creole fears of social upturning, but the point is made: there is no longer support
for Spanish colonization.

1821-1823 C.E.- Mexico declares independence as an Empire under Emperor Augustin

d’Iturbide; becomes a republic in 1824

1822 C.E. – Brazil declares independece under Dom Pedro I; Brazil remains a monarchy
amidst emerging republic nations

1823 C.E. – Monroe Doctrine indicates U.S. intentions in Latin America; U.S. oppposes
further or reattempted European influence on emerging Latin American states, largely in
a desire to capitalize on Latin American markets

1825 C.E. – Bolivia declares independence after Simon Bolivar’s success in leading
liberation movements in Venezuela, Colombia, and Ecuador; Gran Colombia attempts to
form in 1830, but fails

1842 C.E.- Mexico requires both boys and girls aged 7-15 to attend school; indicates new
and increasing awareness of women’s rights after independence movements

1846-1848 C.E.- Mexican-American War; the United States defeats Mexico and annexes
the north half of the country after the Treaty of Guadelupe Hidalgo; U.S. asserts influence
in Latin America

1854 C.E.- Benito Juarez leads La Reforma in Mexico; radical changes including
curtailing of Church and military power led to a strong backlash, which caused riled
conservatives to appeal to Europe for help. They installed Maximilian von Hapsburg,
who, when French troops left Mexico, was promptly murdered. Juarez returned to power
and became increasingly auocratic, although he installed some positive liberal reforms;
indicative of radical governmental control and tendency towards autocracy in emerging
Latin American nations

1886-1888 C.E.- Cuba and Brazil finally abolish slavery, long after other nations; Cuba
had been controlled by Spain and Brazil had a monarchy, so their social reforms were
slower in coming than other Latin American countries

1895-1898 C.E.- Cuban Spanish-American War; the U.S. acquires Puerto Rico and the
Philippines from Spain; U.S. expansionism and annexation increase its involvement in
Latin American affairs

1914-PRESENT
• Increased and continuing U.S. influence in Latin America
• U.S. attempts to contain communism and leftist policies
• Formation of dictatorships and communist governments in some revolutionary
Latin American nations
 • Continued dependence on European and American markets
• Progressions in women’s rights

1914 C.E.- The U.S. opens the Panama Canal in Latin America with extensive rights and
control. American expansionism spreads into the Latin American economy.

1933 C.E.- Introduction of the ‘Good Neighbor’ policy by American President Franklin
Roosevelt; promised to deal more fairly with Latin American countries, but was
disregarded in American push for containment of communism and an advantage in Latin
American markets

1942 C.E. – Brazil joins Allies in WWII, sends troops to Europe; increasing global
influence of Latin American nations politically and economically

1947 C.E.- Juan Peron is elected the president of Argentina. His dynamic reforms and
rapid movements towards change are characteristic of leaders of this time; a strong
central government appealed to the masses through both political means and the
manipulation of a ‘liberator’ image, as well as by forming a popular culture around a
leader (in Argentina’s case, mostly focusing on his wife, Eva); his leftism caused
discomfort in America’s political circles, but Peronism still remains in Argentina today

1952-1964 C.E.- Bolivian Revolution; an unsuccessful guerrilla-style coup lead by such

revolutionary leaders as El Che; revolution against established culture and government in
favor of the lower, poverty-stricken classes. Indicates prevalence of Soviet influence and
increasingly militant movements for reform.

1959 C.E.- Cuban Revolution; revolution in favor of Fidel Castro after toppling of hated
dicator Fulgencio Batista; Castro, in coalition with Ernesto “Che” Guevara, used ever
more prevalent guerrilla tactics to achieve his goals.

1961 C.E.- Bay of Pigs incident; U.S. backed invasion of Cuba fails; prompts Castro to
go to the U.S. enemy, the Soviet Union, for help. Spurred by legacy of U.S. involvement
in Latin American affairs and their effort to contain communism (Castro was leftist)

Soviets placed missiles in Cuba, in direct firing range of the continental United States.
Led to a nuclear standoff that was the focal point of many Cold War tensions; indicative
of ideological tensions between capitalist West and the communist U.S.S.R. and Cuba

1983 C.E.- U.S. invades Grenada; in a controversial move, the U.S. attempted to contain
communist influence in Grenada as well as to quell unrest there; further U.S. intervention
in Latin America, even in violation of international law

1990 C.E.- Sandanista government is removed in Nicaragua; indicative of the movement

away from the trends of militant governance that had been so prevalent in the mid
twentieth century; Latin Americans were moving toward populism and the influence of
U.S.-backed dictators was waning.
1994 C.E.- Brazil stabilizes its government and economy through the introduction of a
new currency, the real; many Latin American countries were moving to significant
economic and political reform towards the turn of the twenty-first century; influence of
Western capitalism is apparent and Latin American countries have, on the whole,
developed some form of industrialization

1998 C.E.- Colombian officials attempt to negotiate with FARC guerrilla militants, but
rampant drug trade and trafficking continue; consistent with many situations of illicit
Latin American drug trade and destabilizing crime.

Hugo Chavez elected president of Venezuela; continues a ‘democratic’ and restricted

one-party rule with adamant defamation of the U.S. ; has become a key player in the
world oil industry as a notable member of OPEC

2000 C.E.- The PRI (Institutional Revolutionary Party) falls in Mexico; the party’s
decades-long dominance is broken, leaving a void to be filled by reformer Vincente Fox
as president; enacted crackdowns on Mexico’s rampant drug trade, which continue to be
an issue today; enacted thorough political and social reforms, indicative of the Latin
American move away from previous governing habits and the move towards populism

2001 C.E.- Argentina’s economy collapses; the effects of unstable military dictatorships,
international conflicts such as the Falklands War, nationalization of private debt,
inflation, and soaring unenployment served to cripple the Argentinian economy; effects
of movements in 1940s and 1950s had a clear repercussion in Argentina’s case.