South America: from the wars of independence to today, 1808–2026

Timeline

Layers

Spanish Empire (royalist-held) · Portuguese Brazil · Empire of Brazil → Brazil (republic 1889) · United Provinces of the Río de la Plata → Argentina · State of Buenos Aires (1852–61) · Federal League of Artigas (1814–20) · Uruguay · Paraguay · Chile · Peru · Bolivia · Peru–Bolivian Confederation (1836–39) · Gran Colombia (1819–30) → New Granada → Colombia · Venezuela · Quito and Guayaquil juntas → Ecuador · Panama · Riograndense Republic (1836–45) · British Guiana and the Falkland Islands · Guyana · Dutch Guiana · Suriname · French Guiana · Indigenous land beyond state control

Events

• 7 Mar 1808, Portuguese court arrives in Rio de Janeiro: Prince Regent João and the court flee Napoleon; Rio becomes the seat of the Portuguese empire.
• 25 May 1809, Chuquisaca revolt: Creoles depose the Audiencia president; first revolt against Spanish rule in Spanish America.
• 19 Apr 1810, Caracas junta deposes Captain-General Emparán: The Caracas cabildo removes Emparán and forms a junta that rules in the name of Ferdinand VII; the Venezuelan revolution begins.
• 25 May 1810, May Revolution in Buenos Aires: A cabildo abierto deposes Viceroy Cisneros and installs the Primera Junta.
• 14 May 1811, Paraguay declares independence: Creoles depose Governor Velasco in Asunción and break with both Spain and Buenos Aires.
• 20 Jun 1811, Battle of Huaqui: Goyeneche's royalists rout the Buenos Aires army and retake Upper Peru.
• 5 Jul 1811, Venezuela declares independence: The Congress of Venezuela proclaims absolute independence from Spain, founding the First Republic.
• 6 Aug 1813, Bolívar enters Caracas: Second Republic: The Admirable Campaign ends with Bolívar entering Caracas; he declares the Second Republic the next day.
• 1 Oct 1814, Battle of Rancagua: Osorio defeats O'Higgins and Carrera; the Patria Vieja ends.
• 6 Dec 1815, Cartagena falls to Morillo after siege: After a 106-day siege the last major patriot stronghold on the New Granada coast falls to the Spanish expeditionary army.
• 6 May 1816, Morillo's army takes Bogotá: Spanish forces enter Santafé de Bogotá, completing the reconquest of New Granada; patriot leaders are tried and shot.
• 9 Jul 1816, Argentine independence declared at Tucumán: The Congress of Tucumán declares the United Provinces independent of Spain.
• 12 Feb 1817, Battle of Chacabuco: San Martin's Army of the Andes beats the royalists and opens Santiago.
• 17 Jul 1817, Patriots take Angostura: Patriot forces capture Angostura on the Orinoco and by 3 August clear the royalists from Guayana, giving Bolívar a base.
• 5 Apr 1818, Battle of Maipú: San Martin destroys Ordonez's army and secures Chilean independence.
• 7 Aug 1819, Battle of Boyacá: Bolívar and Santander defeat the royalist army near Tunja; Viceroy Sámano flees Bogotá and the interior of New Granada is free.
• 17 Dec 1819, Gran Colombia founded at Angostura: The Congress of Angostura passes the Fundamental Law uniting Venezuela and New Granada (later Quito) into the Republic of Colombia.
• 8 Sep 1820, Liberating Expedition lands at Pisco: San Martin's 4,000 men land in Peru from Chilean ships under Cochrane.
• 24 Jun 1821, Battle of Carabobo: Bolívar defeats La Torre's royalists and opens Caracas; only Puerto Cabello and parts of the west stay Spanish.
• 28 Jul 1821, Peru declares independence in Lima: San Martin proclaims independence in the Plaza Mayor after the royalists leave Lima.
• 24 May 1822, Battle of Pichincha: Sucre defeats Aymerich on the slopes above Quito; the Audiencia of Quito is liberated and joins Gran Colombia.
• 7 Sep 1822, Brazil declares independence: Prince Pedro proclaims independence on the banks of the Ipiranga; he is crowned Emperor in December.
• 24 Jul 1823, Battle of Lake Maracaibo: Admiral Padilla destroys Laborde's Spanish squadron; Morales capitulates and the last Spanish forces leave Venezuela in August.
• 9 Dec 1824, Battle of Ayacucho: Sucre defeats Viceroy La Serna; end of Spanish rule on the continent.
• 6 Aug 1825, Bolivia declares independence: Assembly in Chuquisaca founds the Republic of Bolivar, later Bolivia.
• 25 Aug 1825, Congress of Florida unites the Banda Oriental with the Provinces: After the landing of the Thirty-Three Orientals the provincial congress declares independence from Brazil.
• 27 Aug 1828, Preliminary Peace Convention creates Uruguay: Brazil and the United Provinces, under British mediation, agree to an independent Oriental State.
• 17 Dec 1830, Death of Bolívar: Simón Bolívar dies near Santa Marta as Gran Colombia breaks into Venezuela, New Granada and Ecuador.
• 3 Jan 1833, Britain retakes the Falkland Islands: HMS Clio expels the Argentine garrison at Port Louis and the islands become British.
• 1 May 1837, Peru-Bolivian Confederation founded: Santa Cruz unites North and South Peru and Bolivia; Chile declares war.
• 20 Jan 1839, Battle of Yungay: Chile and Peruvian exiles destroy the Confederation's army.
• 18 Nov 1841, Battle of Ingavi: Ballivian beats Peruvian invaders; Gamarra killed.
• 3 Feb 1852, Battle of Caseros: Urquiza, with Brazil and Uruguay, defeats Rosas; Buenos Aires then secedes in September.
• 11 Jun 1865, Battle of Riachuelo: The Brazilian fleet destroys the Paraguayan navy on the Paraná.
• 1 Mar 1870, Solano López killed at Cerro Corá: The last Paraguayan force is destroyed; Paraguay loses about 40% of its claimed territory.
• 14 Feb 1879, Chile occupies Antofagasta: Chilean troops land unopposed; start of the War of the Pacific.
• 25 May 1879, Roca's campaign reaches the Río Negro: Roca's columns clear the pampa; the Conquest of the Desert opens Patagonia to Argentina.
• 26 May 1880, Battle of Tacna: Chile defeats the Peruvian-Bolivian allied army; Bolivia leaves the war.
• 17 Jan 1881, Chile occupies Lima: After Chorrillos and Miraflores Chilean troops enter the Peruvian capital.
• 23 Jul 1881, Argentina and Chile sign the boundary treaty: The Andes and the Strait of Magellan divide the two countries; Tierra del Fuego is split.
• 20 Oct 1883, Treaty of Ancón: Peru cedes Tarapaca to Chile; Tacna and Arica occupied for ten years.
• 15 Nov 1889, Brazil becomes a republic: Marshal Deodoro da Fonseca deposes Pedro II.
• 3 Oct 1899, Paris Arbitral Award on the Venezuela boundary: The tribunal fixes the Venezuela–British Guiana boundary from Punta Barima, giving Britain most of the Essequibo; Venezuela later contests it.
• 3 Nov 1903, Panama declares independence from Colombia: With US naval backing Panama separates from Colombia; the Hay-Bunau-Varilla Treaty granting the Canal Zone follows on 18 November.
• 15 Aug 1914, Panama Canal opens: The steamer Ancon makes the first official transit. The United States runs the canal and a zone on both banks until the handover of 1979–99.
• 3 Jun 1929, Treaty of Lima: Chile keeps Arica, Peru regains Tacna (28 Aug 1929).
• 29 Sep 1932, Fall of Fortín Boquerón: Paraguay captures the Bolivian fort after a three-week siege, the first big success of the Chaco War.
• 5 Jul 1941, Peru invades Ecuador: War of 1941: Peruvian forces cross the Zarumilla and occupy El Oro and parts of Loja and the Amazon until the 1942 Rio Protocol.
• 21 Apr 1960, Brasília inaugurated: Brazil's capital moves from Rio to the new inland city.
• 11 Sep 1973, Coup against Allende: The military bombs La Moneda; Pinochet's dictatorship begins.
• 24 Mar 1976, Argentine military coup: A junta under Videla overthrows Isabel Perón and begins the dictatorship.
• 2 Apr 1982, Argentina invades the Falklands: Operation Rosario takes Port Stanley; Britain retakes the islands by 14 June.
• 26 Mar 1991, Treaty of Asunción founds Mercosur: Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay create a common market.
• 24 Nov 2016, FARC peace agreement signed: The revised accord between the Colombian government and the FARC, signed in Bogotá, ends a conflict dating from 1964.
• 3 Jan 2026, US forces seize Maduro in Caracas: US forces capture President Maduro; Delcy Rodríguez is sworn in as interim leader on 5 January.