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Alternate titles: Hispanic America, Iberoamerica
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James Lockhart
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Was the Incan civilization located in Mexico? For whom was Bolivia named? From Belize to Gran Colombia, step back in time and journey through the empires and countries of Latin America.
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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 large area shared the experience of conquest and colonization by the Spaniards and Portuguese from the late 15th through the 18th century as well as movements of independence from Spain and Portugal in the early 19th century. Even since independence, many of the various nations have experienced similar trends, and they have some awareness of a common heritage. However, there are also enormous differences between them. Not only do the people live in a large number of independent units, but the geography and climate of their countries vary immensely. The inhabitants’ social and cultural characteristics differ according to the constitution of the occupants before the Iberian conquest, the timing and nature of European occupation, and their varying material endowments and economic roles.
Since the Spanish and Portuguese element looms so large in the history of the region, it is sometimes proposed that Iberoamerica would be a better term than Latin America. Latin seems to suggest an equal importance of the French and Italian contributions, which is far from being the case. Nevertheless, usage has fastened on Latin America, and it is retained here.
This article treats the history of Latin America from the first occupation by Europeans to the late 20th century, with an initial consideration of the indigenous and Iberian background. For more-detailed coverage of the area prior to European contact, see pre-Columbian civilizations . For additional information about the European exploration and colonization of Latin America, see colonialism . For information about the individual countries of Central America and South America as well as the Romance-language-speaking Caribbean countries, see specific country articles by name: for Central America, see Belize , Costa Rica , El Salvador , Guatemala , Honduras , Nicaragua , and Panama ; for South America, see Argentina , Bolivia , Brazil , Chile , Colombia , Ecuador , French Guiana (a départément of France ), Guyana , Paraguay , Peru , Suriname , Uruguay , and Venezuela ; and, for the Caribbean, see Cuba , the Dominican Republic , and Haiti . See also the articles on the dependencies and constituent entities Guadeloupe , Martinique , and Puerto Rico . The physical and human geography of the continents, with some historical overview, are provided in the articles North America and South America . There is also a separate article Latin American literature . For discussion of major cities of Latin America and their histories, see specific articles by name—e.g., Rio de Janeiro , Buenos Aires , and Mexico City .
Though the conditions of pre-Columbian America and 15th-century Iberia are beyond the scope of Latin American history proper, they must be given consideration in that connection. Not only did the geography of precontact America persist, but both the new arrivals and the indigenous inhabitants long retained their respective general characteristics, and it was the fit between them that determined many aspects of Latin American evolution.
From the time of Columbus and the late 15th century forward, the Spaniards and Portuguese called the peoples of the Americas “ Indians ”—that is, inhabitants of India. Not only is the term erroneous by origin, but it did not correspond to anything in the minds of the indigenous people. They had no word meaning “inhabitant of the Western Hemisphere,” and most of them seem not to have adopted any equivalent even after centuries of contact. Any such word refers to commonalities seen from the outside and not to any unity perceived by the inhabitants of the Americas themselves. The indigenous peoples were greatly varied, far more so than the Europeans; they were spread over a vast area and only faintly aware of each other from one major region to the next.
Nonetheless, the indigenous peoples had several things in common. They were closely related to one another in biological terms, and their languages, though they cannot be shown to have a common origin, tend to share many general features. All shared an isolation from the great mass of humanity inhabiting Eurasia and Africa, who were in some way in contact with one another. The inhabitants of America all lacked immunities to diseases common in Europe and Africa . They had some impressive innovations to their credit, including the domesticated plants of Mesoamerica and the Andes , but all had been kept apart from things that had long since spread over much of the rest of the globe, including steel, firearms, horses, wheeled vehicles, long-distance shipping, and alphabetic writing. As a result, the indigenous peoples, once in contact, were very vulnerable to the outsiders. Epidemics raged wherever intruders appeared; with their materials and techniques the Europeans were able to conquer whenever they felt it imperative to do so. There is, then, at times, a need for a common term, and if one realizes its limitations, “Indian” may do as well as another.
Rebecca Bodenheimer, Ph.D. is the author of "Geographies of Cubanidad: Place, Race, and Musical Performance in Contemporary Cuba." Her work has been published by CNN Opinion, Pacific Standard, Poynter, NPR, and more.
Latin America spans two continents, North America (including Central America and the Caribbean) and South America. Latin America includes 19 sovereign nations and one dependent territory, Puerto Rico. Most people in the region speak Spanish or Portuguese.
Bodenheimer, Rebecca. "What Is Latin America? Definition and List of Countries." ThoughtCo, Feb. 17, 2021, thoughtco.com/what-is-latin-america-4691831.
Bodenheimer, Rebecca. (2021, February 17). What Is Latin America? Definition and List of Countries. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/what-is-latin-america-4691831
Bodenheimer, Rebecca. "What Is Latin America? Definition and List of Countries." ThoughtCo. https://www.thoughtco.com/what-is-latin-america-4691831 (accessed October 14, 2022).
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Latin America is a region of the world that spans two continents, North America (including Central America and the Caribbean) and South America. It includes 19 sovereign nations and one non-independent territory, Puerto Rico. Most people in the region speak Spanish or Portuguese, although French, English, Dutch, and Kreyol are also spoken in parts of the Caribbean, Central America, and South America.
By and large, the countries in Latin America are still considered "developing" or "emerging" nations, with Brazil, Mexico, and Argentina comprising the largest economies. Latin America's population has a high proportion of mixed-race people due to its colonial history and encounters between Europeans, indigenous people, and Africans. In addition, its population is a result of an unprecedented history of transcontinental migration: after 1492, 60 million Europeans, 11 million Africans, and 5 million Asians arrived in the Americas.
Latin America is a region that is difficult to define. It is sometimes considered a geographic region that includes the entire Caribbean, i.e., all Western Hemisphere countries south of the United States, regardless of language spoken. It is defined by others as a region where a Romance language (Spanish, Portuguese, or French) predominates, or as the countries with a history of Iberian (Spanish and Portuguese) colonialism.
The most limited definition, and the one utilized in this article, defines Latin America as countries where Spanish or Portuguese is currently the dominant language. Thus, not included are the islands of Haiti and the French Caribbean, the Anglophone Caribbean (including Jamaica and Trinidad), the mainland English-speaking countries of Belize and Guyana, and the Dutch-speaking countries of the hemisphere (Suriname, Aruba, and the Netherland Antilles).
Before the arrival of Christopher Columbus in 1492, Latin America had been settled for millennia by a wide range of indigenous groups, some of whom (Aztecs, Mayans, Incas) boasted advanced civilizations. The Spanish were the first Europeans to arrive in the Americas, followed soon after by the Portuguese, who colonized Brazil. Landing first in the Caribbean, the Spanish soon expanded their explorations and conquest to Central America, Mexico, and South America.
The majority of Latin America gained independence from Spain between 1810 and 1825 , with Brazil gaining independence from Portugal in 1825. Of Spain's two remaining colonies, Cuba gained its independence in 1898, at which time Spain ceded Puerto Rico to the U.S. in the Treaty of Paris that ended the Spanish-American War .
Latin America is divided up into several regions: North America, Central America, South America, and the Caribbean.
Despite being the only North American country that is part of Latin America, Mexico is one of the region's largest and most important nations. Mexico is the largest source not only of Latin American immigrants, but of all immigrants to the U.S.
Central America is comprised of seven countries, six of which are Spanish-speaking.
Costa Rica is located between Nicaragua and Panama. It is one of the most stable countries in Central America, primarily because it has been able to capitalize on its rich topography for its ecotourism industry.
El Salvador is the smallest but most densely populated country in Central America. Along with Guatemala and Honduras, the country belongs to the maligned " Northern Triangle ," known for its violence and crime that is in large part a result of the civil wars of the 1980s.
Central America's most populous country by far, as well as its most linguistically diverse, is Guatemala , known for the richness of its Mayan culture. Around 40% of the population speaks an indigenous language as their mother tongue.
Honduras borders Guatemala, Nicaragua, and El Salvador. It is sadly known as one of Latin America's poorest ( 66% of people live in poverty ) and most violent countries.
Central America's largest country in terms of surface area is Nicaragua . It is also the poorestcountry in Central America and the second poorest in the region.
Panama , the southernmost country in Central America, has historically had a very close relationship with the U.S., particularly because of the history of the Panama Canal .
South America is home to 12 independent nations, 10 of which are Spanish- or Portuguese-speaking.
Argentina is South America's second largest and third most populous country, after Brazil and Colombia. It's also Latin America's second biggest economy.
Bolivia is one of South America's highland countries, known for its mountainous geography. It has a relatively large indigenous population, specifically Aymara and Quechua speakers.
South America's largest country in both population and physical size, Brazil is also one of the world's most dominant economies. It covers almost half the land mass of South America and is home to the Amazon Rainforest.
Known for its prosperity relative to the rest of Latin America, Chile also has a whiter population with a smaller proportion of racially mixed people than most of the region.
Colombia is South America's second largest nation, and third largest in all of Latin America. The country is rich in natural resources, particularly petroleum, nickel, iron ore, natural gas, coal, and gold.
Although it is a medium-sized country within South America, Ecuador is the continent's most densely populated nation. It is located along the Earth's equator.
The small nation of Paraguay has a relatively homogenous population: most people are of mixed European and Guaraní (indigenous) ancestry.
Known for its ancient history and Incan Empire, Peru is the fourth most populous country in South America and the fifth in Latin America. It is known for its mountainous topography and relatively large indigenous population.
Uruguay is South America's third smallest country, and, like neighboring Argentina, has a population that is largely of European descent (88%).
With a long coastline on the northern border of South America, Venezuela has much in common culturally with its Caribbean neighbors. It is the birthplace of the "liberator" of South America, Simon Bolivar .
The Caribbean is the sub-region with the most diverse history of European colonization: Spanish, French, English, Dutch, and Kreyol are all spoken. Only the Spanish-speaking countries will be discussed in this article.
The last Spanish colony to gain its independence, Cuba is the largest and most populous nation in the Caribbean. Like the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico, the indigenous population was virtually eliminated in Cuba, and the primary type of racial mixture was between Africans and Europeans.
The Dominican Republic comprises the eastern two-thirds of what Spanish colonizers named the island of Hispaniola, and it has historically had a tense relationship with the western third of the island, Haiti. Culturally and linguistically, the Dominican Republic has much in common with Cuba and Puerto Rico.
The small island of Puerto Rico is a commonwealth of the U.S., although there has been a consistent debate throughout the past century about whether to continue with this status or to pursue statehood or independence. Since 1917, Puerto Ricans have been granted automatic U.S. citizenship, yet they don't have the right to vote in presidential elections.
Jason Shvili May 6 2021 in Geography
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