Glossary · South America
Every South American territory on the map
Chimor, the Inca and the republics of independence.
- Entries
- 36
- Span
- AD 911 – today
- Eras
- 5
What this region covers
The Andes, the Southern Cone and the Guianas — Chimor and the Inca Tawantinsuyu, the Portuguese, French and Jesuit colonial ventures, the Bolívar and San Martín wars of independence and the short-lived unions they left behind, and the republics on the map today.
Nothing matches that.
Andean states before the conquest
AD 900 – 1500 4 entries- 900–1187 Chimor Coastal Peruvian kingdom of the early Chimu culture, ruled from the great adobe capital of Chan Chan near Trujillo.
- 1188–1470 Chimú Empire Imperial Peruvian state that grew from Chimor into the largest power of its era, ruled by semi-divine kings from Chan Chan.
- 1200–1438 Cuzco Small pre-imperial Andean kingdom around Cuzco, founded by legendary ruler Manco Capac, from which the Inca Empire later grew.
- 1438–1533 Inca Empire Tawantinsuyu, the largest empire of pre-Columbian America, founded by Pachacuti and stretching along the Andes from Cuzco.
Colonial empires and missions
1500 – 1810 4 entries- from 1500/1502 Portuguese Empire Portugal's claim to Brazil, begun by Cabral's coastal landing and set by treaty against Spain's rival American claims.
- 1555–1567 France Antarctique Short-lived French colony at Guanabara Bay, founded by Villegaignon as a refuge for persecuted Protestants near Rio de Janeiro.
- 1609–1768 Jesuit Reductions Jesuit mission settlements gathering the Guarani people into planned towns across Paraguay, Argentina and southern Brazil.
- 1791 French Colony of Guiana French plantation colony on the Wild Coast of Guiana, capital Cayenne, worked by enslaved Africans producing sugar and spices.
Independence and the wars of liberation
1810 – 1830 11 entries- 1811–present Paraguay Early South American republic that broke from Spain, sealed off from the world by dictator Jose Gaspar Rodriguez de Francia.
- 1810/1811–1831 Río de la Plata United Provinces born of Buenos Aires's May Revolution, riven by conflict between centralist Unitarians and federalist provinces.
- 1820–1822 Guayaquil Junta Ecuadorian port revolt proclaiming a free province at Guayaquil, appealing to Bolivar and San Martin to free the highlands.
- 1810/1818–present Republic of Chile Chilean republic born of a colonial governing junta, liberated from Spanish rule by Jose de San Martin and Bernardo O'Higgins.
- 1811–1816 Cundinamarca Early Colombian free state centered on Bogota, led by centralist Antonio Narino, extinguished by Spanish reconquest.
- 1815–1820 Federal League Federalist confederation of Rio de la Plata provinces led by Uruguayan hero Jose Gervasio Artigas against centralist Buenos Aires.
- 1822–1889 Empire of Brazil Independent monarchy founded by Pedro the First's Grito do Ipiranga, the only long-lasting monarchy in the Americas.
- 1819–1831 Gran Colombia Simon Bolivar's unified Andean republic joining Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador and Panama before centralist-federalist rupture.
- 1821/1822–present Republic of Peru Former seat of the Spanish viceroyalty in Peru, liberated by Jose de San Martin and completed by Bolivar and Sucre at Ayacucho.
- 1825–present Bolivia Andean republic carved from Upper Peru and named for Simon Bolivar, later losing its coastline to Chile and becoming landlocked.
- 1828–present Uruguay Buffer republic on the Uruguay River's eastern bank, created between Argentina and Brazil after Artigas's federalist struggle.
Successor states and civil wars
1830 – 1890 10 entries- 1831–1861 Argentine Confederation Loose federation of Argentine provinces dominated by caudillo Juan Manuel de Rosas, Federalist governor of Buenos Aires.
- 1830–present Ecuador Andean republic named for the equator, seceding from Gran Colombia under General Juan Jose Flores amid Quito-Guayaquil rivalry.
- 1831/1832–1858 Republic of New Granada Centralist successor state to Gran Colombia comprising Colombia and Panama, led by Francisco de Paula Santander.
- 1836–1839 Peru-Bolivian Confederation Short-lived union of Peru and Bolivia forged by marshal Andres de Santa Cruz as Supreme Protector, broken by Chile in war.
- 1836–1845 Riograndense Republic Separatist republic that broke from the Empire of Brazil during the Ragamuffin War, proclaimed by rebel gauchos of the south.
- 1852–1861 State of Buenos Aires Effectively independent Argentine state formed when Buenos Aires seceded rather than share its customs revenue with the interior.
- 1858–1863 Granadine Confederation Federalist Colombian-Panamanian state replacing the centralist Republic of New Granada under president Mariano Ospina Rodriguez.
- 1863–1886 United States of Colombia Radically federalist Colombian republic created by the Liberal Rionegro Convention, granting sovereign states wide autonomy.
- 1886–present Colombia Modern unitary Colombian republic established by Rafael Nunez's centralist Regeneration movement after federalist conflict.
- from 1889 Brazilian Republic Brazil's Old Republic, proclaimed by the coup deposing Emperor Pedro the Second, ruled by coffee and dairy oligarchies.
The modern republics
1890 – today 7 entries- 1930–2024 Argentina Modern Argentine state shaped above all by Peronism under Juan Domingo Peron, later ruled by a military junta's Dirty War.
- 1930s–1940s Vargas-era Brazil Corporatist Brazilian dictatorship built by Getulio Vargas after the revolution ending the Old Republic, known as the Estado Novo.
- 1964–1985 Federative Republic of Brazil Brazilian military dictatorship that deposed president Joao Goulart, ruling through repressive Institutional Acts and censorship.
- 1966/1970–present Guyana Only English-speaking country in South America, former British Guiana with a diverse Indo- and Afro-Guyanese population.
- 1975–present Suriname Former Dutch Guiana colony, ethnically diverse and culturally oriented toward the Caribbean, with Dutch as official language.
- 1987–2024 Republic of Brazil Brazil's current democratic era, the New Republic following military rule, with sweeping social rights under a new constitution.
- 2000–2024 British Overseas Territories British South Atlantic territories claimed in the South American sphere, chiefly the self-governing Falkland Islands.
Common questions
- How many South American states are in this glossary?
- 36 — every South American territory the atlas draws, from Chimor (900–1187) to the states on the map today. Each entry lists its dates, its peak extent and the sources it was written from.
- Which is the oldest South American state on the map?
- Chimor, 900–1187 — the first territory the atlas draws in South America. The most recent to appear is the British Overseas Territories (2000–2024).
- Which South American state covered the most ground?
- Of the territories mapped here, the Brazilian Republic reached the largest area — about 8.7M km² at its peak, as drawn by the border data.