South America

The Andes cradled Chavín, Moche, Wari and finally the Inca, whose empire ran from Ecuador to Chile.

12 countries·1 civilizations·3 major empires

Overview

For three thousand years Andean societies engineered terraces, roads and cities at altitudes no other civilization matched. Bolívar and San Martín's revolutions produced the modern republics.

Historical timeline

c. 900 – 200 BCEChavín culture
100 – 700 CEMoche
1438 – 1533Inca Empire
1810 – 1830Wars of independence

Civilizations

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Inca Empire

1438 – 1533

The largest pre-Columbian empire in the Americas, stretching 4,000 km along the Andes.

Countries in this region

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Peru

Lima · 34 million

Home of Norte Chico, Chavín, Moche, Wari and the Inca Empire — the largest in pre-Columbian America.

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Brazil

Brasília · 216 million

Portuguese colony, seat of the Portuguese Empire and the only monarchy in the Americas.

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Argentina

Buenos Aires · 46 million

Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata; independent republic since 1816.

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Chile

Santiago · 20 million

Mapuche homeland, Spanish captaincy and the Pinochet-era transition to democracy.

Muisca goldsmith culture, Bolívar's Gran Colombia and modern conflict and peace.

Homeland of Bolívar; 20th-century oil boom and 21st-century collapse.

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Bolivia

Sucre / La Paz · 12 million

Tiwanaku, Potosí silver and Bolívar's namesake nation.

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