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South America South America is a Continent of the Americas , situated entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere . It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east by the Atlantic Ocean ; North America and the Caribbean Sea lie to the northwest. South America was named in 1507 by cartographers Martin Waldseemüller and Matthias Ringmann after Amerigo Vespucci , who was the first European to suggest that the Americas were not the East Indies , but a New World unknown to Europeans. South America has an Area of 17,840,000 Square Kilometre s (6,890,000 Sq Mi ), or almost 3.5% of the Earth 's surface. As of 2005, its Population was estimated at more than 371,000,000. South America Ranks Fourth in area (after Asia , Africa , and North America ) and fifth in population (after Asia , Africa , Europe , and North America ). GEOGRAPHY See Also: Geography of South America South America comprises the major southern portion of the ).1 It is south and east of the Panama Canal , which transects the Isthmus Of Panama . Geologically, almost all of mainland South America sits on the South American Plate . Geopolitically , all of Panama – including the segment east of the Panama Canal in the isthmus – is often considered a part of North America alone and among the Countries Of Central America . Geologically, the continent became attached to North America only recently with the formation of the Isthmus of Panama approximately 3 million years ago, resulting in the Great American Interchange . The Andes , likewise a comparatively young and seismically restless mountain range, run down the western edge of the continent; the land to the east of the Andes is largely Tropical Rainforest , the vast Amazon River basin. The continent also contains drier regions such as East Patagonia and the extremely arid Atacama Desert . The South American continent also includes various , Venezuela , Guyana , Suriname , and French Guiana – are also known as Caribbean South America . Other islands are the Galápagos , Easter Island (in Oceania but belongs to Chile), Robinson Crusoe Island , Chiloé Island , Tierra Del Fuego and the Falkland Islands . .]] .]] South America is home to the world's highest waterfall, Angel Falls in Venezuela, the largest river (by volume), the Amazon River , the longest mountain range, the Andes , the driest desert, the Atacama Desert , the largest rainforest, the Amazon Rainforest , the highest railroad, Ticlio Peru , the highest capital city, La Paz, Bolivia , the highest commercially navigable lake in the world, Lake Titicaca , and the world's southernmost town, Puerto Toro , Chile . South America's major mineral resources are Gold , Silver , Copper , Iron Ore , Tin , and Oil . The many resources of South America have brought high income to its countries especially in times of war or of rapid economic growth by industrialized countries elsewhere. However, the concentration in producing one major export Commodity often has hindered the development of diversified economies. The inevitable fluctuation in the price of commodities in the international markets has led historically to major highs and lows in the economies of South American states, often also causing extreme political instability. This is leading to efforts to diversify their production to drive them away from staying as economies dedicated to one major export. South America is home to many interesting and unique species of animals including the Llama , Anaconda , Piranha , Jaguar , Vicuña , and Tapir . The Amazon rainforests possess high Biodiversity , containing a major proportion of the Earth 's Species . The largest country in South America by far, in both area and population, is Brazil , followed by Argentina . Regions in South America include the Andean States , the Guiana s, the Southern Cone , and Brazil . Usage Among people in some , some Central America n and Caribbean territories, despite their location in North America , are mistakenly included in South America. The term Latin America is correctly used when referring to those territories whose official or national languages come from Latin (namely Portuguese , Spanish , and French ). Conversely, Anglo-America is used to refer to areas whose major languages are Germanic , Belize , and much of the West Indies . Similarly, areas where English is prominent are considered part of the Anglosphere . HISTORY See Also: History of South America The rise of agriculture and domestication of animals near an Inca burial site in Peru .]] South America is thought to have been first inhabited by people crossing the Bering Land Bridge , which is now the Bering Strait . Some archaeological finds do not fit this theory, and have led to an alternative theory Pre-Siberian American Aborigines . The first evidence for the existence of agricultural practices in South America date back to circa 6500 BCE, when Potatoes , Chillies and Beans began to be cultivated for food in the highlands of the Amazon Basin . Pottery evidence further suggests that Manioc , which remains a staple foodstuff today, was being cultivated as early as 2000 BCE.O'Brien, Patrick. (General Editor). Oxford Atlas of World History. New York: Oxford University Press, 2005. pp. 25 By 2000 BCE many agrarian village communities had been settled throughout the Andes and the surrounding regions. Fishing became a widespread practice along the coast which helped to establish fish as a primary source of food. Irrigation systems were also developed at this time, which aided in the rise of an agrarian society. South American cultures began domesticating Llamas , Vicuñas , Guanacos , and Alpacas in the highlands of the Andes circa 3500 BCE. Besides their use as sources of meat, and wool, these animals were used for transportation of goods (maximum load for a llama is typically 40 kg). Pre-Columbian civilizations .]] The rise of agriculture and the subsequent appearance of permanent human settlements allowed for the multiple and overlapping beginnings of civilizations in South America. The earliest known settlements, and culture in South America, and the Americas altogether, are the Valdivia on the south east coast of Ecuador . The earliest known South American civilization was at Norte Chico , on the central Peru vian coast. Though a pre-ceramic culture, the monumental architecture of Norte Chico is contemporaneous with the pyramids of Ancient Egypt . The Chavín established a trade network and developed agriculture by 900 BCE, according to some estimates and archaeological finds. Artifacts were found at a site called Chavín De Huantar in modern Peru at an elevation of 3,177 meters. Chavín civilization spanned 900 BCE to 300 BCE. The Muisca were the main indigenous civilization in what is now modern Colombia. They established a confederation of many clans, or cacicazgos, that had a free trade network among themselves. They were goldsmiths and farmers. Other important Pre-Columbian cultures include: Moche (100 BCE – 700 CE, at the northern coast of Peru); Tiuahuanaco or Tiwanaku (100 BCE – 1200 BCE, Bolivia); the Cañaris (in south central Ecuador), Paracas and Nazca (400 BCE – 800 CE, Peru); Wari or Huari Empire (600 – 1200, Central and northern Peru); Chimu Empire (1300 – 1470, Peruvian northern coast); Chachapoyas ; and the Aymaran kingdoms (1000 – 1450, Bolivia and southern Peru). European colonization .]] In 1494, Portugal and Spain, the two great maritime powers of that time, on the expectation of new lands being discovered in the west, signed the Treaty Of Tordesillas , by which they agreed that all the land outside Europe should be an exclusive Duopoly between the two countries. The Treaty established an imaginary line along a north-south Meridian 370 League s west of Cape Verde Islands , roughly 46° 37' W. In terms of the treaty, all land to the west of the line (which is now known to comprehend most of the South American soil), would belong to Spain, and all land to the east, to Portugal. As accurate measurements of Longitude were impossible at that time, the line was not strictly enforced, resulting in a Portuguese Expansion Of Brazil across the meridian. Beginning in the 1530s, the people and natural resources of South America were repeatedly exploited by foreign Conquistadors , first from Spain and later from Portugal . These competing colonial nations claimed the land and resources as their own and divided it into colonies. European infectious diseases ( Smallpox , Influenza , Measles , and Typhus ) to which the Native Populations had no immune resistance, and systems of forced labor, such as the Hacienda s and mining industry's Mita , decimated the native population under Spanish control. After this, African Slave s, who had developed immunities to these diseases, were quickly brought in to replace them. The Spaniards were committed to converting their native subjects to Christianity, and were quick to purge any native cultural practices that hindered this end. However, most initial attempts at this were only partially successful, as native groups simply blended Catholicism with traditional idolatry and their polytheistic beliefs. Furthermore, the Spaniards did impose their language to the degree they did their religion, although the Roman Catholic Church 's evangelization in Quechua , Aymara and Guaraní actually contributed to the continuous use of these native languages albeit only in the oral form. Eventually the Natives and the Spaniards interbred, forming a Mestizo class. Essentially all of the mestizos of the Andean region were offspring of an amerindian mothers and Spanish fathers. Mestizos and the Indian natives were often forced to pay extraordinary taxes to the Spanish government and were punished harshly for disobeying their laws. Many native artworks were considered pagan idols and destroyed by Spanish explorers. This included the many gold and silver sculptures and artifacts found in South America, which were melted down before their transport to Spain or Portugal. Independence The Spanish colonies won their independence between 1804 and 1824 in the South American Wars Of Independence . Simón Bolívar of Venezuela and José De San Martín of Argentina led the independence struggle. Bolívar led a great army southward while San Martín led an army across the Andes Mountains, meeting up with General Bernardo O'Higgins in Chile, and marched northward. The two armies finally met in Guayaquil, Ecuador, where they cornered the royal army of Spain and forced its surrender. In Brazil, a Portuguese colony, Dom Pedro I (also Pedro IV of Portugal), son of the Portuguese King Dom João VI , proclaimed the country's independence in 1822 and became Brazil's first Emperor . This was peacefully accepted by the crown in Portugal. Although Bolivar attempted to keep the Spanish-speaking parts of the continent politically unified, they rapidly became independent of one another as well, and several further wars were fought, such as the War Of The Triple Alliance and the War Of The Pacific . A few countries did not gain independence until the 20th century:
French Guiana remains part of France as of 2007, and hosts the European Space Agency 's principal Spaceport , the Guiana Space Center . Recent history The continent, like many others, became a battlefield of the Cold War in the late 20th century. Some governments of Argentina, Brazil, Chile, and Uruguay were overthrown or displaced by U.S.-aligned military dictatorships in the 1960s and 1970s. To curtail opposition, their governments detained tens of thousands of Political Prisoner s, many of whom were tortured and/or killed (on inter-state collaboration, see Operation Condor ). Economically, they began a transition to Neoliberal economic policies. They placed their own actions within the U.S. Cold War doctrine of "National Security" against internal subversion. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, Peru suffered from An Internal Conflict (see Túpac Amaru Revolutionary A Sa Movement and Shining Path ). Revolutionary movements and right-wing military dictatorships have been common, but starting in the 1980s a wave of democratization came through the continent, and democratic rule is widespread now. Nonetheless, allegations of corruption remain common, and several nations have developed crises which forced the resignation of their presidents, although in general normal civilian succession has continued. International Indebtedness became a notable problem, as most recently illustrated by Argentina 's Default in the early 21st century. In the first decade of the 21st century, South American governments have drifted to the political left, with Socialist leaders being elected in Chile , Bolivia , Brazil , Venezuela and leftist presidents in Argentina , Ecuador , Peru , and Uruguay . Despite the tendency to move to the left of the political spectrum, most of South America's governments are in practical terms societies embracing free-market Capitalism . With the founding of the Union Of South American Nations , South America will intend to start down the road of economic, social and political integration, with plans for European Union -style integration in the non-distant future. TERRITORIES The countries in this table are categorised according to the Scheme For Geographic Regions And Subregions used by the United Nations, and data included are per sources in cross-referenced articles. Where they differ, provisos are clearly indicated. > member states.]]
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| Style | "text-align:left" La Paz , Sucre La Paz is the administrative capital of Bolivia Sucre is the judicial seat<br> |
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