BobRingReflections

This is Part 3 of my history of South America.  Part 1 covered the continent’s geologic evolution through pre-Columbian civilizations.  Part 2 covered European colonization.  Part 3 covers the independence period through today. My primary resource for this article is TimeMaps at https://www.timemaps.com/history/south-america . Much of what follows was combed from this fabulous website.    South America in 1800, just before independence efforts.   In the early 1500s, the Spanish and Portuguese started exploring and colonizing newly discovered South America, and by 1800, ruled over extensive empires.  Also, by 1800, after many failures, the British, the Dutch, and the French had finally established stable colonies in the Guianas on the northcentral coast of South America. But, late in the 18th century, several factors - economic rigidities in the Spanish colonial system, lack of political freedom, and the example, first of the American Revolution and then of the French Revolution