Exactly when the first group of people migrated into the America's is subject to much debate. Recent archaeological finds suggest multiple waves of migration, some of which may have taken place as early as 40,000 BC. All theories agree that the Inuit and related peoples arrived separately and at a much later date, probably around the 6th century, moving across the glaciers from Siberia into Canada. It is generally believed that the North American continent received the first people, Asian nomads who crossed the Bering Land Bridge. For ...

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History of the Americas, History of the Americas - Migration into the continents, History of the Americas - Before advanced civilizations, History of the Americas - Civilizations, History of the Americas - North America, History of the Americas - Mesoamerica, History of the Americas - South America, History of the Americas - European discovery and following colonization

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South America is thought to have been first inhabited by people crossing the Bering Land Bridge, now the Bering strait, though there are also suggestions of migration from the southern Pacific Ocean. South America - Chavín. The Chavín established a trade network and developed agriculture by 900 BC, according to some estimates and archeological finds. Artifacts were found at a site called Chavín de Huantar in modern Peru at an elevation of 3,17 ...

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South America, South America - Geography, South America - History, South America - Chavín, South America - Inca, South America - European colonization, South America - Independence, South America - Recent history, South America - Economy, South America - Culture, South America - People, South America - Mestizos, South America - African ancestry, South America - Territories and divisions, South America - Clarification

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South America is thought to have been first inhabited by people crossing the Bering Land Bridge, now the Bering strait, though there are also suggestions of migration across the southern Pacific Ocean. Over the course of millennia, people spread to all parts of the continent. By the first millennium CE, South America’s vast rainforests, mountains, plains, mountain and coasts were the home of tens of millions of people.See also:

History of South America, History of South America - Pre-Columbian era, History of South America - Amazon, History of South America - Norte Chico, History of South America - Chavín, History of South America - Moche, History of South America - Inca, History of South America - European colonization, History of South America - Independence, History of South America - Recent history, History of South America - Notes

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In 1821 a congress of Central American Creoles declared their independence from Spain, effective on 15 September of that year. That date is still marked as the independence day by most Central American nations. The Spanish Captain General, Gabino Gaínza, sympathized with the rebels and it was decided that he should stay on as interim leader until a new government could be formed. Independence was short-lived, for the conservative leaders in Guatemala welcomed annexation by the Mexican Empire of Agustín de Iturbide on 5 January 1822. Central American liberals objected to this, but an army from Mexico under General Vi ...

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History of Central America, History of Central America - Before European Contact, History of Central America - Spanish Colonial Era, History of Central America - Independence, History of Central America - The United Provinces of Central America, History of Central America - Greater Republic of Central America, History of Central America - 20th century, History of Central America - History of Central American Nations

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The earliest available evidence places the origin of modern Homo sapiens in Africa about 200,000 years ago during the Palaeolithic period. This occurred after a long period of evolution. Ancestors of humans, such as Homo erectus, had been using simple tools for many millennia, but as time progressed, tools became far more refined and complex. Humans also developed language sometime during the Paleolithic period, as well as a conceptual repertoire that included systematic burial of the dead and adornment of the living. During this period, all huma ...

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History of the world, History of the world - Hunter-Gatherers, History of the world - Agriculture, History of the world - State, History of the world - City and trade, History of the world - Bronze and Iron Ages, History of the world - The classical empires, History of the world - Age of kingdoms, History of the world - Rise of Europe, History of the world - Age of Discovery, History of the world - Twentieth century

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South America is thought to have been first inhabited by people crossing the Bering Land Bridge, now the Bering strait, though there are also suggestions of migration from the southern Pacific Ocean. South America - Chavín. The Chavín established a trade network and developed agriculture by 900 BC, according to some estimates and archeological 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 BC to 300 BC. ...

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South America, South America - Geography, South America - History, South America - Chavín, South America - Inca, South America - European colonization, South America - Independence, South America - Recent history, South America - Economy, South America - Culture, South America - People, South America - Mestizos, South America - African ancestry, South America - Territories and divisions, South America - Clarification

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Europeans first landed on the island in either 1492 or 1502 during Spain's early exploration of the Caribbean. The Dutch, English, and French all tried to establish trading outposts on St. Lucia in the 17th century but faced opposition from Caribs whose land they were occupying. History of Saint Lucia - 1600s. Although the French pirate Francois de Clerc (also known as Jamb de Bois, due to his wooden leg) frequented Saint Lucia in the 1550s, it wasn't until years later, around 1600, that the first European ...

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History of Saint Lucia, History of Saint Lucia - Pre-European People, History of Saint Lucia - European invasion, History of Saint Lucia - 1600s, History of Saint Lucia - 1700s, History of Saint Lucia - 1800s, History of Saint Lucia - 1900s to present day

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As of 2002, South America's unemployment rate was 10.8 percent. Due to histories of high inflation in nearly all South American countries, interest rates and thus investment remain high and low, respectively. Interest rates are usually double that of the United States. For example, interest rates are about 22 percent in Venezuela and 23 percent in Suriname. The exception is Chile, which had a head start from 1973 under Augusto Pinochet. The South American Community of Nations is a planned continent-wide free trade zone to unite two existing free-trade organizat ...

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South America, South America - Geography, South America - History, South America - Chavín, South America - Inca, South America - European colonization, South America - Independence, South America - Recent history, South America - Economy, South America - Culture, South America - People, South America - Mestizos, South America - African ancestry, South America - Territories and divisions, South America - Clarification

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Ethnic groups of South America include: Awá Banawa Caiapos Enxet European descendants, especially from Spain, Portugal and Italy. Ge Guarani Incas Quechuas Juris Latin peoples Mapuche Mestizo Xucuru Zaparos Indigenous peoples make up the majority of the population in Bolivia and Peru, and are a significant element in most other former Spanish colonies. Exceptions to this include Argentina a ...

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South America, South America - Geography, South America - History, South America - Chavín, South America - Inca, South America - European colonization, South America - Independence, South America - Recent history, South America - Economy, South America - Culture, South America - People, South America - Mestizos, South America - African ancestry, South America - Territories and divisions, South America - Clarification

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Roman Catholicism is the dominant religion. French Guiana also has a large number of Protestants. Guyana and Suriname are exceptions, with three major religions: Christianity in general, Hinduism, and Islam. Portuguese and Spanish are the primary languages of the continent. The majority of South Americans (51%) speak Portuguese. However, most South American countries are Spanish-speaking, and nearly all of the continent's lusophones reside in Brazil. Among other languages used by many South Americans are: Aymará in Boliv ...

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South America, South America - Geography, South America - History, South America - Chavín, South America - Inca, South America - European colonization, South America - Independence, South America - Recent history, South America - Economy, South America - Culture, South America - People, South America - Mestizos, South America - African ancestry, South America - Territories and divisions, South America - Clarification

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After the Spanish conquest in the 16th century, most of the inhabitants of Central America shared a common history. The exceptions were the two nations at the north and south ends of Central America: Belize was the British colony of British Honduras until 1973, while Panama was part of Spanish New Granada, and then of the nation of Colombia until 1903. From the 16th century to the early 19th century, Central America formed the Captaincy General of Guatemala, sometimes known also as the Kingdom of Guatemala, composed by t ...

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History of Central America, History of Central America - Before European Contact, History of Central America - Spanish Colonial Era, History of Central America - Independence, History of Central America - The United Provinces of Central America, History of Central America - Greater Republic of Central America, History of Central America - 20th century, History of Central America - History of Central American Nations

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Saint Lucia's first known inhabitants were Arawaks, believed to have come from northern South America around 200-400 A.D. Numerous archaeological sites on the island have produced specimens of the Arawaks' well-developed pottery. Caribs gradually replaced Arawaks during the period from 800 to 1000 A.D. They called the island Hiwanarau, and later Hewanorra, which is now the name used for the Hewanorra International Airport in Vieux Fort. The Caribs had a complex society, with hereditary kings and shamans. Their war canoes ...

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History of Saint Lucia, History of Saint Lucia - Pre-European People, History of Saint Lucia - European invasion, History of Saint Lucia - 1600s, History of Saint Lucia - 1700s, History of Saint Lucia - 1800s, History of Saint Lucia - 1900s to present day

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Despite the failure of a lasting political union, the sense of shared history and the hope for eventual reunification persist in the nations formerly in the union. In 1856-1857 the region successfully established a military coalition to repel an invasion by U.S. adventurer William Walker. Today, all five nations fly flags that retain the old federal motif of two outer blue bands bounding an inner white stripe. (Costa Rica, traditionally the least committed of the five to regional integration, modified its flag significantly in 1848 by darkening the blue and adding a do ...

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History of Central America, History of Central America - Before European Contact, History of Central America - Spanish Colonial Era, History of Central America - Independence, History of Central America - The United Provinces of Central America, History of Central America - Greater Republic of Central America, History of Central America - 20th century, History of Central America - History of Central American Nations

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As of 2002, South America's unemployment rate was 10.8 %. Due to histories of high inflation in nearly all South American countries, interest rates and thus investment remain high and low, respectively. Interest rates are usually double that of the United States. For example, interest rates are about 22 % in Venezuela and 23 % in Suriname. The exception is Chile, which had a head start from 1973 under Augusto Pinochet. The South American Community of Nations is a planned continent-wide free trade zone to unite two existing free-trade organizat ...

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South America, South America - Geography, South America - History, South America - Chavín, South America - Inca, South America - European colonization, South America - Independence, South America - Recent history, South America - Economy, South America - Culture, South America - People, South America - Mestizos, South America - African ancestry, South America - Territories and divisions, South America - Clarification

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Geographically, South America is generally considered a continent forming the southern portion of the American landmass, south and east of the Panama Canal transecting the Isthmus of Panama. Depending on source, South and North America are sometimes considered a single continent or supercontinent, while constituent regions are infrequently considered subcontinents. Geopolitically, all of Panama – including the segment east of the Panama Canal in the isthmus – is often considered a part of North America alone ...

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South America, South America - Geography, South America - History, South America - Chavín, South America - Inca, South America - European colonization, South America - Independence, South America - Recent history, South America - Economy, South America - Culture, South America - People, South America - Mestizos, South America - African ancestry, South America - Territories and divisions, South America - Clarification

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Falkland Islands · French Guiana · South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands ...

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History of South America, History of South America - Pre-Columbian era, History of South America - Amazon, History of South America - Norte Chico, History of South America - Chavín, History of South America - Moche, History of South America - Inca, History of South America - European colonization, History of South America - Independence, History of South America - Recent history, History of South America - Notes

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A major change, described by the great prehistorian Vere Gordon Childe as a "revolution," occurred around the 9th millennium BCE with the adoption of agriculture. Although research has tended to concentrate on the Fertile Crescent area of the Middle East, archaeology in the Americas, East Asia and Southeast Asia indicates that agricultural systems using different crops and animals may well have ...

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History of the world, History of the world - Hunter-Gatherers, History of the world - Agriculture, History of the world - State, History of the world - City and trade, History of the world - Bronze and Iron Ages, History of the world - The classical empires, History of the world - Age of kingdoms, History of the world - Rise of Europe, History of the world - Age of Discovery, History of the world - Twentieth century

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The continent, like many others, became a battlefield of the Cold War in the late 20th century. The government of Chile was overthrown in the early 1970s, as a late (and peculiar) development of the U.S. Monroe Doctrine. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, Peru suffered from internal conflicts (see Túpac Amaru Revolutionary Movement and Shining Path). Other revolutions and military dictatorships have been common. International indebtedness became a notable problem, as most recently il ...

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History of South America, History of South America - Pre-Columbian era, History of South America - Amazon, History of South America - Norte Chico, History of South America - Chavín, History of South America - Moche, History of South America - Inca, History of South America - European colonization, History of South America - Independence, History of South America - Recent history, History of South America - Notes

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The Spanish colonies won their independence in the first quarter of the 19th century, in the South American Wars of Independence. Simon Bolivar and José de San Martín led their independence struggle. 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. In the Portuguese colony Dom Pedro I (also Pedro IV of Portugal), son of the Portugu ...

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History of South America, History of South America - Pre-Columbian era, History of South America - Amazon, History of South America - Norte Chico, History of South America - Chavín, History of South America - Moche, History of South America - Inca, History of South America - European colonization, History of South America - Independence, History of South America - Recent history, History of South America - Notes

Read more here: » History of South America: Encyclopedia II - History of South America - Independence

Before the arrival of Europeans, an estimated 30 million people lived in South America. 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 Tordesilhas, 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 leagues west of Cape Verde Islands, roughly 46° 37' W. In terms of the treaty, all land to the w ...

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History of South America, History of South America - Pre-Columbian era, History of South America - Amazon, History of South America - Norte Chico, History of South America - Chavín, History of South America - Moche, History of South America - Inca, History of South America - European colonization, History of South America - Independence, History of South America - Recent history, History of South America - Notes

Read more here: » History of South America: Encyclopedia II - History of South America - European colonization