History of South America in Timeline

South America is a continent located entirely in the Western Hemisphere and primarily in the Southern Hemisphere. It constitutes the southern portion of the Americas. Characterized by diverse geography, it encompasses the Andes Mountains, the Amazon rainforest, and extensive coastlines along the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. The continent is home to a rich tapestry of cultures and histories, influenced by indigenous civilizations, European colonization, and African heritage. It consists of twelve independent countries and several territories.

1900: Peaceful Continent

Relative to Africa, Asia, and Europe, post-1900 South America has been a peaceful continent with few wars, although high rates of violent crime remain a concern in some countries.

1902: Brazil Acquires Acre

In 1902, Brazil entered into a small conflict with Bolivia for the possession of the Acre, which was acquired by Brazil.

1913: Opening of the Buenos Aires subte

The Buenos Aires subte, the first metro and subway train system in South America, opened in 1913.

1916: First Copa América tournament

The Copa América, the longest-running international football tournament, has been contested since 1916.

1917: Brazil Declares War on Central Powers

In 1917, Brazil declared war on the Central Powers, joining the allied side in the First World War.

1919: Birth of Oswaldo Guayasamín

Oswaldo Guayasamín, an artist from Ecuador, was born in 1919. He represented the feelings of the peoples of Latin America with his painting style, highlighting social injustices.

1930: Economic Growth and Diversification

Since 1930, the South American continent has experienced growth and diversification in most economic sectors, with agricultural exports essential for trade balance.

1930: FIFA World Cup in Uruguay

Uruguay hosted the first edition of the FIFA World Cup in 1930.

1932: Colombia and Peru Armed Conflict

In 1932, Colombia and Peru entered a short armed conflict for territory in the Amazon, and Paraguay declared war on Bolivia for possession of the Chaco.

1932: Birth of Fernando Botero

The Colombian Fernando Botero, one of the greatest exponents of painting and sculpture, was born in 1932 and developed a recognizable style of his own.

1941: Peru and Ecuador Conflict

Between 1941 and 1942, Peru and Ecuador fought for territories claimed by both that were annexed by Peru.

1942: Peru and Ecuador Conflict

Between 1941 and 1942, Peru and Ecuador fought for territories claimed by both that were annexed by Peru.

1942: Brazil Declares War on Axis Powers

In 1942, Brazil declared war on the Axis powers after numerous attacks on Brazilian ships, becoming the only South American country to fight in both World Wars. The first major naval battle of World War II, the Battle of the River Plate, also took place in the South Atlantic.

1950: FIFA World Cup in Brazil

Brazil hosted the FIFA World Cup in 1950.

1962: FIFA World Cup in Chile

Chile hosted the FIFA World Cup in 1962.

1964: Colombian Internal Conflict

In 1964, Colombia began an ongoing, though diminished, internal conflict with the creation of Marxist guerrillas (FARC-EP), involving several illegal armed groups and private armies of drug lords.

1978: FIFA World Cup in Argentina

Argentina hosted the FIFA World Cup in 1978.

1978: First South American Games in La Paz

The first edition of the multi-sport event, the South American Games, was held in La Paz in 1978.

1982: Angra I connected to the power grid

In 1982, Angra I, a pressurized water reactor with a capacity of 657 MW, was connected to the power grid in Brazil.

1982: Argentine Invasion of the Falkland Islands

In 1982, Argentina invaded the Falkland Islands, a British dependent territory, starting the Falklands War. After 74 days, Argentine forces surrendered.

1982: Falklands War

In 1982, a brief war was fought between Argentina and the UK, following an Argentine invasion of the Falkland Islands, which ended with an Argentine defeat.

1991: Nuclear Cooperation Agreement

In 1991, Brazil and Argentina signed a peaceful nuclear cooperation agreement.

1995: Cenepa War

In 1995, the last international war to be fought on South American soil was the Cenepa War between Ecuador and Peru along their mutual border.

1995: Inaugural South American Cricket Championship

The South American Cricket Championship, an international one-day cricket tournament, was first played in 1995.

1998: Economic Crisis in Brazil and Argentina

Between 1998 and 2002, Brazil and Argentina experienced an economic crisis that led to recession, rising unemployment, and falling income.

1998: Election of Hugo Chávez in Venezuela

Starting with the election of Hugo Chávez in Venezuela in 1998, the region experienced a pink tide – the election of several leftist and center-left administrations in most countries, except the Guianas and Colombia.

1999: Death of Oswaldo Guayasamín

Oswaldo Guayasamín, an artist from Ecuador, died in 1999. He represented the feelings of the peoples of Latin America with his painting style, highlighting social injustices.

2000: Agrarian Communities Settled

By 2000 BC, many agrarian communities had been settled throughout the Andes and the surrounding regions. Fishing became a widespread practice along the coast, helping establish fish as a primary source of food.

2000: Angra II connected to the power grid

In 2000, Angra II, a pressurized water reactor with a capacity of 1,350 MW, was connected to the power grid in Brazil.

2002: Recovery of Industrial and Service Sectors

Between 1998 and 2002, Brazil and Argentina experienced an economic crisis that led to recession, rising unemployment, and falling income. Since then, the industrial and service sectors have recovered.

2005: Tourism Promotion Negotiations

In 2005, negotiations began to promote tourism and increase air connections within South America.

2006: Colombia's gold Production

Between 2006 and 2017, Colombia produced 15 tonnes of gold per year until 2007.

2006: Brazil becomes self-sufficient in oil

In 2006, Brazil achieved self-sufficiency in oil production, reducing its dependence on imports which previously accounted for over 70% of its oil needs.

2007: Colombia's gold Production increased significantly

Between 2006 and 2017, Colombia produced 15 tonnes of gold per year until 2007, when its production increased significantly.

2007: Brazil maintains self-sufficiency in oil

In 2007, Brazil continued to maintain self-sufficiency in oil production, solidifying its reduced reliance on oil imports.

2012: Colombia's gold production record broken

In 2012 Colombia extracted 66.1 tonnes of gold extracted.

2013: Brazil: Among largest producers of textiles

Although Brazil was in 2013 among the five largest producers of textiles in the world, its textile industry still lacks proper integration in the world trade.

2013: Energy Consumption in Southeast Brazil

In 2013, the Southeast Region of Brazil consumed about 50% of the load of the National Integrated System (SIN), making it the country's main energy-consuming region. The region's installed electricity generation capacity totaled almost 42,500 MW, about a third of Brazil's total generation capacity. Hydroelectric generation constituted 58% of the region's capacity, with the remaining 42% coming mostly from thermoelectric generation in 2013.

2013: Religions in South America

The data refers to Religions in South America in 2013.

2013: South American Cricket Championship schedule change

Until 2013, the South American Cricket Championship was usually played every two seasons, but now it is played annually.

2014: FIFA World Cup in Brazil

Brazil hosted the FIFA World Cup in 2014.

2014: Ecuador's Oil Export Ranking

In 2014, Ecuador was the 22nd largest oil exporter in the world.

2014: South American Games in Santiago

The most recent edition of the South American Games took place in Santiago in 2014.

2015: Bolivia's natural gas production ranking

In 2015, Bolivia was the 31st largest producer of natural gas in the world.

2015: Colombia's rankings in petroleum and natural gas

In 2015, Colombia was the 19th largest exporter of petroleum and the 40th largest producer of natural gas worldwide.

2015: Venezuela's oil production

In 2015, Venezuela was one of the world's largest oil producers at about 2.5 million barrels/day and one of the largest exporters.

2015: South American Metropolitan Areas by Population

The top ten largest South American metropolitan areas by population as of 2015, based on national censuses, were recorded.

2015: Venezuela's oil production declined after 2015

Venezuela had a big drop in oil production after 2015 (where it produced 2.5 million barrels / day).

2016: Brazil Hosts Summer Olympics

In 2016, Brazil hosted the 2016 Summer Olympics.

2016: Rio de Janeiro hosts the Olympic Games

In 2016, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, hosted the first Olympic Games in South America.

2016: Venezuela's oil production declines

In 2016, Venezuela's oil production dropped to 2.2 million barrels/day.

2016: Brazil: Largest producer of pulp and paper

In 2016, the country was the 2nd largest producer of pulp and the 8th largest producer of paper.

2017: Colombia's silver Production

In 2017 Colombia extracted 52.2 tonnes of gold and 15.5 tonnes of silver.

2017: Argentina's natural gas production ranking

In 2017, Argentina was the 18th largest producer of natural gas in the world and the largest producer in Latin America, in addition to being the 28th largest oil producer.

2017: Venezuela's oil production continues to decline

In 2017, Venezuela's oil production continued to decline, reaching 2 million barrels/day.

2017: Busiest Airports in South America

The 10 busiest airports in South America in 2017 were São Paulo-Guarulhos (Brazil), Bogotá (Colombia), São Paulo-Congonhas (Brazil), Santiago (Chile), Lima (Peru), Brasília (Brazil), Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), Buenos Aires-Aeroparque (Argentina), Buenos Aires-Ezeiza (Argentina), and Minas Gerais (Brazil).

2018: Buenos Aires hosts the Youth Olympic Games

Buenos Aires, Argentina, hosted the Youth Olympic Games in 2018.

2018: Venezuela's oil production decline continued

In 2018 Venezuela's oil production fell to 1.4 million barrels / day.

2018: Natural Gas Production

In 2018, Argentina, Venezuela, Brazil, Bolivia, Peru and Colombia produced 1524, 946, 877, 617, 451, 379 bcf (billion cubic feet) of natural gas respectively.

2018: South American Coal Production

In 2018, Colombia (12th) and Brazil (27th) were among the 30 largest world producers of coal.

2018: Venezuela's oil production plummets

In 2018, Venezuela's oil production experienced a significant drop, reaching 1.4 million barrels/day.

2018: Brazil's Chemical Industry Ranking

In 2018, the chemical industry of Brazil was the 8th largest in the world.

2019: Top Manufacturing Countries

According to the 2019 list, Brazil has the thirteenth most valuable industry in the world (US$174 billion), Venezuela the thirtieth largest (US$58.2 billion), Argentina the 31st largest (US$57.7 billion), Colombia the 46th largest (US$35.4 billion), Peru the 50th largest (US$28.7 billion) and Chile the 51st largest (US$28.3 billion).

2019: Argentina's Mineral Production

In 2019, Argentina was a notable global producer of lithium, silver, gold and boron.

2019: Bolivia's Production of Minerals

In 2019, Bolivia was a significant global producer of minerals like silver, boron, antimony, tin, tungsten, zinc, and lead.

2019: Brazil's hydroelectric power capacity

In 2019, Brazil had 217 hydroelectric plants in operation, with a total installed capacity of 98,581 MW, constituting 60.16% of the country's energy generation. Brazil reached 170,000 megawatts of installed power generation capacity, with over 75% from renewable sources, mainly hydroelectric, in 2019.

2019: Oil Production in South America

In 2019, Brazil was the 10th largest oil producer in the world, Venezuela was the 21st largest, and Colombia was in 22nd place.

2019: Brazil ranks as the 10th largest oil producer

In 2019, Brazil was the 10th largest oil producer in the world, producing 2.8 million barrels per day, sufficient to meet the country's demand.

2019: Brazil: Largest Exporter of Processed Foods

In 2019, Brazil was the second largest exporter of processed foods in the world.

2019: Brazil's Chicken Meat Exports

In 2019, Brazil was the world's largest exporter of chicken meat, with 3.8 million tonnes.

2019: Chile's Copper Production

In 2019, Chile contributed about a third of the world copper production and was also the world's largest producer of iodine and rhenium.

2019: Venezuela's oil production crisis deepens

In 2019, Venezuela's oil production crisis deepened, with production falling to 877 thousand barrels/day, and at one point, reaching only 300,000 barrels/day.

2019: Solar power generation in Brazil

In 2019, solar power represented 1.27% of the energy generated in Brazil.

2020: Argentina's renewable energy ranking

In 2020, Argentina ranked 27th in the world in terms of installed wind energy (2.6 GW), 42nd in the world in terms of installed solar energy (0.7 GW), and 21st in terms of installed hydroelectric power (11.3 GW).

2020: Brazil's biomass energy production

In 2020, Brazil ranked as the 2nd largest country in the world for producing energy through biomass (energy production from solid biofuels and renewable waste), with 15.2 GW installed.

2020: Colombia's petroleum production ranking

In 2020, Colombia was the 20th largest petroleum producer in the world. In renewable energies, in 2020, the country ranked 45th in the world in terms of installed wind energy (0.5 GW), 76th in the world in terms of installed solar energy (0.1 GW) and 20th in the world in terms of installed hydroelectric power (12.6 GW).

2020: Ecuador's oil production and OPEC membership

In 2020, Ecuador, due to low energy consumption, was the 27th largest oil producer in the world and part of OPEC.

2020: Venezuela's hydroelectric capacity

In 2020, Venezuela ranked 14th globally in terms of installed hydroelectric capacity, with 16.5 GW.

2020: Brazil exceeds 4 million barrels of oil equivalent per day

In early 2020, Brazil's oil and natural gas production exceeded 4 million barrels of oil equivalent per day for the first time. In January 2020, 3.168 million barrels of oil per day and 138.753 million cubic meters of natural gas were extracted.

2020: Brazil Exceeds 4 Million Barrels

In the beginning of 2020, Brazil exceeded 4 million barrels of oil equivalent per day, for the first time.

January 2021: Brazil Exceeds 4 Million Barrels

In January 2021, Brazil extracted 3.168 million barrels of oil per day and 139 million cubic meters of natural gas were extracted.

2021: Brazil's global ranking in wind power

In 2021, Brazil ranked 7th in the world for installed wind power capacity at 21 GW and was the 4th largest producer of wind energy globally, with 72 TWh.

2021: South America Population Estimate

In 2021, the population of South America was estimated to be more than 434 million, ranking fifth in the world.

July 2022: Brazil's Wind Power Capacity

As of July 2022, Brazil's total installed wind power capacity was 22 GW, with an average capacity factor of 58%. Certain wind farms in Northern Brazil, particularly in Bahia State, recorded capacity factors exceeding 60%.