Latin American History
This timeline traces the major historical developments from the earliest human settlements to the complex political landscapes of today, encompassing Mesoamerica, South America, and the Caribbean.
This timeline traces the major historical developments from the earliest human settlements to the complex political landscapes of today, encompassing Mesoamerica, South America, and the Caribbean.
This long period saw the rise and fall of sophisticated and diverse civilizations long before the arrival of Europeans.
Earliest Peoples (c. 15,000 BCE - 2500 BCE)
c. 14,500 BCE: Some of the earliest confirmed human settlements in the Americas appear, such as the Monte Verde site in Chile. These first inhabitants were highly adaptable hunter-gatherers.
c. 5000 BCE: The agricultural revolution begins independently in multiple regions. In Mesoamerica, the domestication of maize (corn) becomes the foundation of civilization. In the Andes, people cultivate potatoes and quinoa and domesticate llamas and alpacas.
Mesoamerica: Empires of Mexico & Central America
c. 2000 BCE – 900 CE: The Maya Civilization. Flourishing in modern-day southern Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, and Honduras, the Maya were not a single, unified empire but a collection of powerful city-states like Tikal and Calakmul. They were renowned for:
Developing the only known fully developed writing system in the pre-Columbian Americas.
Creating a highly accurate and complex calendar system.
Building monumental temple-pyramids and palaces without the use of metal tools.
c. 1300 – 1521 CE: The Aztec Empire. The Mexica people, the core of the Aztec empire, settled on an island in Lake Texcoco and founded their magnificent capital, Tenochtitlán (the site of modern Mexico City), around 1325.
They formed the Triple Alliance with two other city-states, which grew into a tributary empire that dominated central Mexico.
Their society was highly stratified, with a powerful military class and an intricate religious system that included ritual human sacrifice.
Andean Civilizations: Empires of the Mountains
c. 3000 – 1800 BCE: Norte Chico (Caral) Civilization. Located on the coast of Peru, this is one of the oldest complex societies in the Americas. They built monumental stone pyramids and complex irrigation systems, all without developing pottery or writing.
c. 900 – 200 BCE: The Chavín Culture. Centered at the temple complex of Chavín de Huántar in the Peruvian highlands, its religious iconography and art style exerted a powerful influence over a wide region, creating a shared cultural horizon.
c. 100 – 750 CE: The Moche Civilization. On the northern coast of Peru, the Moche were master artisans, known for their realistic portrait pottery and massive adobe structures like the Huaca del Sol.
c. 500 – 1000 CE: The Tiwanaku and Wari Empires. These two powerful states dominated the central Andes. Tiwanaku, near Lake Titicaca, was a major spiritual center, while the Wari built a vast network of provincial centers connected by an impressive road system—a direct precursor to the Inca network.
c. 1438 – 1533 CE: The Inca Empire (Tawantinsuyu). From their capital in Cuzco, the Incas forged the largest empire in the pre-Columbian Americas in just over a century.
Under visionary rulers like Pachacuti, the empire expanded to stretch from modern Colombia to Chile.
It was administered through a vast road network (Qhapaq Ñan), a labor tax system (mita), and kept records using knotted strings called quipu. The mountain estate of Machu Picchu remains a stunning example of their engineering skill.
The arrival of Europeans triggered a dramatic and often brutal transformation of the continent, creating new societies based on extraction and forced labor.
1494: The Treaty of Tordesillas. Pope Alexander VI draws a line on the map, dividing the "New World" between Spain and Portugal. This treaty explains why Brazil speaks Portuguese while most of the rest of the region speaks Spanish.
1519 – 1521: Conquest of the Aztec Empire. The Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés, with a small force and crucial alliances with the Aztecs' local enemies, captures and destroys Tenochtitlán.
1532 – 1533: Conquest of the Inca Empire. Francisco Pizarro captures the Inca emperor Atahualpa at Cajamarca, ransoms him for a room full of gold, and then executes him anyway, leading to the swift collapse of the empire.
1542 – 18th Century: Establishment of Spanish Colonial Rule. Spain organizes its vast territories into viceroyalties, beginning with the Viceroyalty of Peru (capital at Lima) and New Spain (capital at Mexico City).
The crown implements the encomienda system, a brutal form of forced labor.
The silver mines of Potosí (in modern Bolivia) become a primary engine of the Spanish Empire's wealth, financing its wars in Europe.
Jesuit missions establish semi-autonomous theocratic states in regions like Paraguay, aiming to convert and protect Indigenous peoples, until the Jesuits are expelled in 1767.
Inspired by the American and French Revolutions and enabled by Napoleon's invasion of Spain, Latin American colonies fought for their independence, though the aftermath was often marked by instability.
1808 – 1826: The Wars of Independence. With the Spanish king deposed by Napoleon, creole elites (American-born people of Spanish descent) begin to push for self-rule.
In the north, Simón Bolívar, "The Liberator," leads military campaigns that free Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia.
In the south, José de San Martín secures the independence of Argentina and Chile and begins the liberation of Peru.
1825 – 1900: Fragmentation and Conflict. Bolívar's dream of a unified South American republic (Gran Colombia) shatters. The new nations fall into civil wars and the rule of caudillos (charismatic military strongmen).
1864 – 1870: War of the Triple Alliance. The deadliest war in South American history pits Paraguay against Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay, resulting in the near-total destruction of Paraguay.
1879 – 1884: War of the Pacific. Chile defeats an alliance of Peru and Bolivia over control of valuable nitrate deposits in the Atacama Desert, leaving Bolivia landlocked.
This century was defined by economic dependency, the rise of populism, the ideological battles of the Cold War, and a painful, uneven return to democracy.
1900 – 1950s: Rise of Populism. The Great Depression devastates Latin American economies, which are dependent on exporting raw materials. This crisis gives rise to charismatic populist leaders like Juan Perón in Argentina, who champion workers' rights and industrialization.
1950s – 1980s: The Cold War and Military Dictatorships. Fearing the spread of communism (especially after the Cuban Revolution of 1959), the United States supports a series of brutal right-wing military coups across the continent.
1973: In Chile, the democratically elected socialist president Salvador Allende is overthrown and dies in a U.S.-backed coup led by General Augusto Pinochet.
Military juntas also take power in Brazil (1964), Argentina (1976), and Uruguay (1973).
Operation Condor is a secret, coordinated campaign by these regimes to hunt down, torture, and execute political dissidents across borders.
1980s – 1990s: The Return to Democracy & Neoliberalism. A massive debt crisis in the 1980s weakens the military governments.
The defeat of the Argentine junta in the Falklands War (1982) hastens the return to democracy there.
Most other nations transition to civilian rule by the early 1990s.
Many new democratic governments adopt neoliberal ("free-market") economic reforms, often at the urging of the IMF, which lead to privatization and reduced social spending, increasing inequality.
The 21st century has been characterized by a reaction against neoliberalism, new political alignments, persistent social challenges, and a growing environmental consciousness.
Early 2000s: The "Pink Tide". A wave of left-wing and center-left governments comes to power, rejecting the neoliberal policies of the 1990s. Leaders like Hugo Chávez in Venezuela, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva ("Lula") in Brazil, and Evo Morales in Bolivia use revenue from a global commodities boom to fund expansive social programs, lifting millions out of poverty.
2010s: Economic Crisis and Political Polarization. The end of the commodities boom around 2014 triggers economic recessions and political instability.
Venezuela descends into a profound economic and humanitarian crisis under Nicolás Maduro.
Corruption scandals and economic stagnation lead to a rightward shift in several countries, including the election of Jair Bolsonaro in Brazil (2018).
2019: Massive protests erupt in Chile, Colombia, and Ecuador against inequality and austerity.
2020s: A New Political Landscape & Lingering Challenges.
The COVID-19 pandemic hits the region exceptionally hard, exacerbating existing inequalities and straining healthcare systems.
A new wave of leftist leaders wins elections, including Gustavo Petro in Colombia (2022) and Gabriel Boric in Chile (2022).
2023: Lula da Silva returns to power in Brazil, defeating Bolsonaro and signaling a renewed focus on social welfare and protecting the Amazon rainforest, a critical global issue.
Today, the region continues to confront deep-seated issues of inequality, political instability, and environmental degradation while navigating a multipolar world.