history of Latin America

Introduction
The background
- The indigenous world and the word “Indian”
- Types of Western Hemisphere societies
  - Sedentary peoples
  - Semisedentary peoples
  - Nonsedentary peoples
- The Iberians
  - Cities
  - Family
  - Ethnic diversity and its results
  - The overseas tradition
Early Latin America
- Spanish America
  - The Caribbean phase
    - The city
    - Indians and Spaniards
    - A new Spanish subculture
  - Conquest in the central mainland areas
    - Conquest of Mexico
    - Conquest of Peru
  - Conquest society in the central mainland areas
    - The central-area encomienda
    - Artisans
    - Spanish women
    - Africans
    - Indians among Spaniards
    - Commerce
    - Mining
    - Institutional, legal, and intellectual developments
    - Trunk lines
  - Postconquest indigenous society
  - The central areas in the mature period
  - The Spanish fringe
- Brazil
  - The early period
  - The sugar age
  - The south
- Spanish America in the age of the Bourbons
  - Economy and society
  - Transformation of the east coast
    - Argentina
    - Venezuela
    - The Caribbean islands
  - The Bourbon reforms
- Brazil after 1700
- Preindependence phenomena
The independence of Latin America
The wars of independence, 1808–26
- Spanish America
  - The southern movement in South America
  - The north and the culmination of independence
  - Mexico and Central America
- Brazil
Building new nations, 1826–50
- Political models and the search for authority
  - Constitutions
  - Disorder and caudillismo
- Economic obstacles
- Social change
  - Mobility and hierarchy
  - Social institutions
The new order, 1850–1910
- Political and economic transitions, 1850–70
- The liberal oligarchic age, 1870–1910
  - Export economies
  - Capitalism and social transitions
  - Oligarchies in power
New order emerging, 1910–45
- Economic and social developments
  - World war and world trade
  - The emerging force of nationalism
  - Population and social change
- Challenges to the political order
  - The Mexican Revolution
  - Broadening of political participation
  - Expanding role of the state
  - Socialism, communism, fascism
  - Good Neighbor Policy and World War II
Latin America since the mid-20th century
- The postwar world, 1945–80
  - Economic agenda and patterns of growth
  - Developments in social policy
  - The United States and Latin America in the Cold War era
  - Impact of the Cuban Revolution
  - Political alternatives
    - Movement toward democracy
    - The advent of populism
    - Christian Democracy
    - Bureaucratic authoritarianism
- Latin America at the end of the 20th century
  - Debt crisis
  - Return to democracy
  - A shift to neoliberalism
  - Religious trends
  - A changing society

References & Edit History Related Topics

Images

Map of Latin America showing countries, major cities, and key physical features such as mountain ranges, highlands, and rivers. The map includes Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean, and South America, with labeled regions like the Andes, Brazilian Highlands, and Gran Chaco, as well as an inset highlighting the West Indies. Surrounding bodies of water, including the Pacific Ocean, Atlantic Ocean, Gulf of Mexico, and Caribbean Sea, are also labeled.

Battle of Tenochtitlán

Map of the Americas in 1780 showing the Spanish and Portuguese viceroyalties. Spanish territories are shaded in green, including the Viceroyalty of New Spain, Viceroyalty of Peru, Viceroyalty of New Granada, and Viceroyalty of the Rio de la Plata. Portuguese territory, labeled as the Viceroyalty of Brazil, is shaded in purple. Borders between Spanish and Portuguese lands are marked, with amendments from 1750 and 1778 indicated. British territory is shown in the northern part of North America. Ma

Bronze equestrian statue of General Simon Bolivar on a stone pedestal labeled Bolivar in Bolivar Square, Tunja, Colombia, with the Cathedral Basilica of St. James the Apostle behind.

Historical map showing the division of Gran Colombia in 1830, with the territory divided into three color-coded departments: Cundinamarca in yellow, Quito in pink, and Venezuela in green. Dashed lines indicate disputed areas, and major cities such as Bogota, Quito, and Caracas are labeled. The map covers the region of northern South America, including present-day Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, and parts of Peru.

Map of Latin America highlighting countries from Mexico through Central America, the Caribbean, and South America, with country names labeled and major surrounding oceans indicated. A compass rose and scale are shown in the lower left corner.

At a Glance

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Latin America summary

Related Questions

history of Latin America

Also known as: Hispanic America, Iberoamerica

Written by

David BushnellAll

Fact-checked by

Britannica Editors

Last updated

Nov. 13, 2026 •History

history of Latin America, history of the region from the pre-Columbian period and including colonization by the Spanish and Portuguese beginning in the 15th century, the 19th-century wars of independence, and developments to the end of the 20th century. Latin America is generally understood to consist of the entire continent of South America in addition to Mexico, Central America, and the islands of the Caribbean whose inhabitants speak a Romance language. The peoples of this...

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