South America

(geography) The southernmost of the Western Hemisphere continents, three-fourths of which lies within the tropics.

Continent, Western Hemisphere. The world's fourth largest continent, it is bounded by the Caribbean Sea to the northwest, the Atlantic Ocean to the northeast, east, and southeast, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is separated from Antarctica by the Drake Passage and is joined to North America by the Isthmus of Panama. Area: 6,882,027 sq mi (17,824,370 sq km). Pop., 2008 est.: 378,448,500. Four main ethnic groups have populated South America: Indians, who were the continent's pre-Columbian inhabitants; Spanish and Portuguese who dominated the continent from the 16th to the early 19th century; Africans imported as slaves; and the postindependence immigrants from overseas, mostly Germans and southern Europeans but also Lebanese, South Asians, and Japanese. Nine-tenths of the people are Christian, the vast majority of whom are Roman Catholic. Spanish is the official language everywhere except in Brazil (Portuguese), French Guiana (French), Guyana (English), and Suriname (Dutch); some Indian languages are spoken. South America has three major geographic regions. In the west, the Andes Mountains, which are prone to seismic activity, extend the length of the continent; Mount Aconcagua, at 22,831 ft (6,959 m), is the highest peak in the Western Hemisphere. Highlands lie in the north and east, bordered by lowland sedimentary basins that include the Amazon River, the world's largest drainage basin, and the Pampas of eastern Argentina, whose fertile soils constitute one of South America's most productive agricultural areas. Other important drainage systems include those of the Orinoco and São Francisco rivers and the Paraná – Paraguay – Río de la Plata system. Four-fifths of South America lies within the tropics, but it also has temperate, arid, and cold climatic regions. Less than one-tenth of its land is arable, producing mainly corn (maize), wheat, and rice, and about one-fourth is under permanent pasture. About half is covered by forest, mainly the enormous but steadily diminishing rainforest of the Amazon basin. Almost one-fourth of all the world's known animal species live in the continent's rainforests, plateaus, rivers, and swamps. South America has one-eighth of the world's total deposits of iron and one-fourth of its copper reserves. Exploitation of these and numerous other mineral resources are important to the economies of many regions. Commercial crops include bananas, citrus fruits, sugar, and coffee; fishing is important along the Pacific coast. Trade in illegal narcotics (mostly for export) is a major source of revenue in some countries. Most countries have free-market or mixed (state and private enterprise) economies. Income tends to be unevenly distributed between large numbers of poor people and a small number of wealthy families, with the middle classes, though growing, still a minority in most countries. Asiatic hunters and gatherers are thought to have been the first settlers, probably arriving less than 12,000 years ago. The growth of agriculture from c. 2500 BCE (it had begun some 6,000 years earlier) initiated a period of rapid cultural evolution whose greatest development occurred in the central Andes region and culminated with the Inca empire. European exploration began when Christopher Columbus landed in 1498; thereafter Spanish and Portuguese adventurers (see conquistadores) opened it for plunder and, later, settlement. According to terms of the Treaty of Tordesillas, Portugal received the eastern part of the continent, while Spain received the rest. The Indian peoples were decimated by this contact, and most of those who survived were reduced to a form of serfdom. The continent was free of European rule by the early 1800s except for the Guianas. Most of the countries adopted a republican form of government; however, social and economic inequalities or border disputes led to periodic revolutions in many of them, and by the early 20th century most had fallen under some form of autocratic rule. All joined the United Nations after World War II (1938 – 45), and all joined the Organization of American States in 1948. By the second half of the 20th century most countries had begun to integrate their economies into world markets, and by the 1990s most had embraced democratic rule.

For more information on South America, visit Britannica.com.

The southernmost of the New World or Western Hemisphere continents, with three-fourths of it lying within the tropics. South America is approximately 4500 mi (7200 km) long and at its greatest width 3000 mi (4800 km). Its area is estimated to be about 7,000,000 mi² (18,000,000 km²). South America has many unique physical features, such as the Earth's longest north-south mountain range (the Andes), highest waterfall (Angel Falls), highest navigable fresh-water lake (Lake Titicaca), and largest expanse of tropical rainforest (Amazonia). The western side of the continent has a deep subduction trench offshore, whereas the eastern continental shelf is more gently sloping and relatively shallow. See also Continent.

South America has three distinct regions: the relatively young Andes Mountains located parallel to the western coastline, the older Guiana and Brazilian Highlands located near the eastern margins of the continent, and an extensive lowland plains, which occupies the central portion of the continent. The regions have distinct physiographic and biotic features.

The Andes altitudes often exceed 20,000 ft (6000 m) and perpetual snow tops many of the peaks, even along the Equator. So high are the Andes in the northern half of the continent that few passes lie below 12,000 ft (3600 m). Because of the vast extent of the Andes, a greater proportion of South America than of any other continent lies above 10,000 ft (3000 m). The young, rugged, folded Andean peaks stand in sharp contrast to the old, worn-down mountains of the eastern highlands. Although the Andes appear to be continuous, most geologists believe that they consist of several structural units, more or less joined. They are a single range in southern Chile, two ranges in Bolivia, and dominantly three ranges in Peru, Ecuador, and Colombia.

Except in Bolivia, where they attain their maximum width of 400 mi (640 km), the Andes are seldom more than 200 mi (320 km) wide. The average height of the Andes is estimated to be 13,000 ft (3900 m). However, it is only north of latitude 35°S that the mountains exceed elevations of 10,000 ft (3000 m).

From the southern tip of Cape Horn north to 41°S latitude, the western coastal zone consists of a broad chain of islands where a mountainous strip subsided and the ocean invaded its valleys. This is one of the world's finest examples of a fiorded coast. Nowhere along the Pacific coast is there a true coastal plain. South of Arica, Chile, the bold, precipitous coast is broken by only a few deep streams, the majority of which carry no water for years at a time. Between Arica and Caldera, Chile, there are no natural harbors and almost no protected anchorages. In fact, South America's coastline is the least indented of all the continents except Africa's. See also Fiord.

The Caribbean coast of Colombia is a lowland formed largely of alluvium, deposited by the Magdalena and Cauca rivers, and bounded by mountains on three sides. In Venezuela, the Central Highlands rise abruptly from the Caribbean, with lowlands around Lake Maracaibo, west of Puerto Cabello, and around the mouth of the Río Tuy of the Port of Guanta. The coastal region of Guyana, Suriname, and French Guiana is a low, swampy alluvial plain 10–30 mi (16–48 km) wide, and as much as 60 mi (96 km) wide along the larger rivers. This coastal plain is being built up by sediments carried by the Amazon to the Atlantic and then deflected westward by the equatorial current and cast upon the shore by the trade winds.

There is no broad coastal plain south of the Amazon and east of the Brazilian Highlands to afford easy access to the interior. The rise from the coastal strip to the interior is quite gradual in northeastern Brazil; but southward, between Bahia and Río Grande do Sul, the steep Serra do Mar is a formidable obstacle to transportation.

Along coastal Uruguay there is a transition between the hilly uplands and plateaus of Brazil and the flat Pampas of Argentina, whereas coastal Argentina as far south as the Río Colorado, in Patagonia, is an almost featureless plain. In Patagonia, steep cliffs rise from the water's edge. Behind these cliffs lies a succession of dry, flat-topped plateaus, surmounted occasionally by hilly land composed of resistant crystalline rocks. Separating southern Patagonia from Tierra del Fuego is the Strait of Magellan, which is 350 mi (560 km) long and 2–20 mi (3–32 km) wide. Threading through numerous islands, the strait is lined on each side with fiords and mountains.

There are three great river systems in South America and a number of important rivers that are not a part of these systems. The largest river system is the Amazon which, with its many tributaries, drains a basin covering 2,700,000 mi² (7,000,000 km²), or about 40% of the continent. The next largest is the system composed of the Paraguay, Paraná, and La Plata rivers, the last being a huge estuary. The third largest river system, located in southern Venezuela, is the Orinoco, which drains 365,000 mi² (945,000 km²) of land, emptying into the Atlantic Ocean along the northeast edge of the continent.

The plants and animals of the South American tropics are classified as Neotropical, defined by the separation of the South American and African continents during the Middle Cretaceous (95 million years ago). The Paraná basalt flow, which caps the Brazilian shield in southern Brazil and adjacent parts of Uruguay and Argentina, as well as western Africa, indicates the previous linkage between the South American and African continents. South America has many biotic environments, including the constantly moist tropical rainforest, seasonally dry deciduous forests and savannas, and high-altitude tundra and glaciated environments.

Amazonia contains the largest extent of tropical rainforest on Earth. It is estimated to encompass up to 20% of the Earth's higher plant species and is a critically important source of fresh water and oxygen. Structurally complex, the rainforest is composed of up to four distinct vertical layers of plants and their associated fauna. The layers often cluster at 10, 20, 98, and 164 ft (3, 6, 30, and 50 m) in height. The lower canopy and forest floor are usually open spaces because of the low intensity of light (around 1%) that reaches the forest floor. Over 75% of Amazonian soils are classified as infertile, acidic, or poorly drained, making them undesirable for agriculture because of nutrient deficiencies. Most of the nutrients in the tropical rainforest are quickly absorbed and stored in plant biomass because the high annual rainfall and associated leaching make it impossible to maintain nutrients in the soils. In addition to the high structural complexity of the tropical rainforest, there is considerable horizontal diversity or patchiness. As many as 300 separate species of trees can be found in a square mile (2.6 km²) sample tract of rainforest in Brazil. The high complexity and species diversity of the rainforest are the result of long periods of relative stability in these regions. See also Rainforest.

Deciduous forest are found in areas where there is seasonal drought and the trees lose their leaves in order to slow transpiration. The lower slopes of the Andes, central Venezuela, and central Brazil are areas where these formations are found. Conifer forests occur in the higher elevations of the Andes and the higher latitudes of Chile and Argentina. See also Deciduous plants.

Tropical savannas occupy an extensive range in northern South America through southeastern Venezuela and eastern Colombia. Temperate savannas are found in Paraguay, Uruguay, the Pampas of Argentina, and to the south, Patagonia. Savannas are composed of a combination of grass and tree species. The climate in these areas is often quite hot with high rates of evapotranspiration and a pronounced dry season. Most of the plants and animals of these zones are drought-adapted and fire-adapted. Tall grasses up to 12 ft (3.5 m) are common as are thorny trees of the Acacia (Fabaceae) family. Many birds and mammals are found in these zones, including anteater, armadillo, capybara (the largest rodent on Earth), deer, jaguar, and numerous species of venomous snake, including rattlesnake and bushmaster (mapanare). See also Savanna.

South America is unique in having a west-coast desert (the Atacama) that extends almost to the Equator, probably receiving less rain than any on Earth, and an east coast desert located poleward from latitude 40°S (the Patagonian). See also Desert.

In Bolivia and Peru the zone from 10,000 to 13,000 ft (3000 to 3900 m), though occasionally to 15,000–16,000 ft (4500 to 4800 m), is known as the puna. Here the hot days contrast sharply with the cold nights. Above the puna, from timberline to snowline, is the paramo, a region of broadleaf herbs and grasses found in the highest elevations of Venezuela, Colombia, and Ecuador. Many of the plant species in these environments are similar to those found at lower elevations; however, they grow closer to the ground in order to conserve heat and moisture. See also Paramo; Puna.

South America is a continent composed of twelve countries and one French colony. The Spanish-speaking countries are: Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, and Venezuela. (Portuguese-speaking Brazil is treated separately in this encyclopedia.) The former colonies of Guyana and Suriname use English and Dutch, respectively, as their official languages, although many in their populations speak indigenous languages. The same can be said for the French colony of Guiana, the home of the cayenne pepper, where French is the official language. The geography of South America is even more varied than that of North America, with long coastlines, lowlands, highlands and mountains, and tropical rain forests. The climate varies from tropical, lying as the continent does across the Equator, to alpine in the high Andes, the backbone of the continent.

The cookery of South America reflects this rich diversity of culture and geography. The indigenous cookeries of pre-Columbian South America have gradually merged with imported cuisines from Europe and Asia. While the Spanish and Portuguese conquistadors introduced their own culinary traditions to the native peoples of South America, indigenous ingredients changed the cuisines of the Old World. The South American contributions included chocolate, vanilla, maize (corn), hot peppers (called ají in South America), guavas, sweet potatoes, manioc (cassava), tomatoes, potatoes, avocados, beans, squash (particularly the ancestor of zucchini), peanuts, quinine, and papayas, as well as turkeys.

Maize plays a key role in the cuisine of South America, and it is genetically different from the maize now grown in the Old World, manifested most obviously in its characteristically large kernels. The potato is another vegetable indigenous to South America that has played an important role in cooking worldwide. There are also many vegetables in South America largely unknown beyond the continent, including ahipa, arracacha, maca, yacon, olluco, and oca.

The demographics of South America are critical for understanding the diversity of its cuisines. In countries like Bolivia, Ecuador, and Peru, the indigenous populations predominate, and their foods and foodways are the most important cuisines. In contrast, Argentina's cookery was heavily influenced by a large European immigration dominated by Spaniards and Italians. Throughout South America, there is also an African influence due to the slave trade, which has added to the culinary mix.

Venezuela

Venezuela was discovered in 1498 by Columbus when he found the mouth of the Orinoco River. In 1499 the Venezuelan coast was explored by Alonzo de Ojeda and Amerigo Vespucci. Vespucci, coming upon an island in the Gulf of Maracaibo, called it Venezuela because, according to legend, the native villages were built above the water on stilts. Venezuela rises from lowlands to highlands with coffee plantations ascending to the white-capped Andean peaks. It has a mild climate due to its proximity to the Caribbean. Caracas, Venezuela's capital, is the cultural, commercial, and industrial hub.

Local dishes. Venezuelan cuisine relies heavily on maize. The two most important preparations are hallacas and arepas. Hallacas—traditionally eaten during holidays, especially Christmas—are boiled dumplings wrapped in banana leaves, but there are innumerable variations, depending on region and family tradition. Hallacas are made with a dough made of maize flour mixed with water, which is then filled with meat, vegetables, and spices. Arepas are versatile flatbreads, also made of maize flour, that can be baked, grilled, fried, or steamed and served either sweet or savory.

Black beans, called caviar criollo, are a Venezuelan favorite. They are served with arepas and are also part of the national dish, pabellón caraqueño. A hearty dish, it is said to resemble the national flag (pabellón), because of the colors of the beef, beans, rice, and plantains in it.

The most popular fish in Venezuela is pargo, a red snapper found in semitropical waters, which is a member of the family Lutjanidae. Imported salt cod, brought to the region by the conquistadors, is also important in the cuisine. A favorite dish throughout South America is chicken with rice, but in Venezuela cooks add olives, raisins, and capers to the rice.

Arequipe, milk pudding (milk cooked with sugar until very thick), is a favorite dessert in Venezuela, as it is throughout South America. It has different names in different places, but is perhaps best known in the United States as dulce de leche.

The traditional beverages of Venezuela are chicha, made of fermented maize, and masato.

Colombia

Colombia has two coastlines, one on the Pacific and the other on the Caribbean, that provide the country with a large choice of seafood. Colombia rises from the Pacific coast through a series of plateaus to the capital, Bogotá. Colombian cooks have a wide range of foods to choose from, including bananas and plantains, papayas, sugarcane, avocados, potatoes (especially in the Andes), and such tropical root vegetables as the sweet potato, taro, cassava (manioc), and arracacha. Apricots, pears, grapes, apples, and peaches all grow in Colombia as well.

Local dishes. In Colombia, coconut milk is used with great imagination in cooking fish, for example, herring simmered in coconut milk. One very popular soup is sancocho de pescado, a fish stew consisting of a variety of ingredients such as plantains, manioc (cassava), herbs, and coconut milk. Stews, usually served with rice, are the preferred way to cook meat, usually beef, especially with vegetables and fruits. Another traditional dish is gallineta en barro, an unplucked guinea fowl marinated in spices and lime juice and wrapped in an envelope of clay. It is then buried in hot coals and baked for approximately two hours. When the clay shell is broken, the skin is clean and golden brown and the meat is tender and flavorful.

During colonial times, sugarcane was introduced in Cartagena, one of the most important port cities in the Spanish empire. Due to its wealth as a mercantile city, Cartagena became a center of luxury cookery in which sugar figured as the main ingredient. Modern Colombia has inherited this rich confectionery tradition.

Ecuador

Ecuador, as the name implies, straddles the equator, which can be reached from the capital, Quito, in about half an hour. Home to two ranges of the Andes, Ecuador is quite mountainous, although the hot and humid Pacific coast lies to the west of the Andes and the rain forest falls largely to the east. Quito (elevation ten thousand feet) is known all over the world for its architectural beauty and cultural refinement. Unfortunately, for outsiders the elevation can cause discomfort. The city lies within a short distance of the extinct volcano, Pichincha. On clear days, a ring of eight volcanoes can be seen from Quito, among them the fabled Chimborazo and Cotopaxi.

Local dishes. Ecuador has two cuisines: a highland cuisine of the Andes and a lowland cuisine of the coast. Potatoes, indigenous to the Andes, play a central role in Ecuadorian highland cooking, and its magnificent vegetables and fruits are used liberally in recipes. Locro, a thick potato and cheese soup, is sometimes served with avocado slices. Another popular soup, sopa de maní, is made from peanuts. Peanuts also figure in salsa de maní, a dip consisting of unsweetened peanut butter, hot peppers (ají), achiote (annatto), tomatoes, lime juice, garlic, and onions. The paste is also used to flavor meats and vegetables.

Fish is plentiful and most commonly prepared as seviche. One popular seviche from the coastal city of Guayaquil consists of shrimp, ají, and vegetables marinated in lime juice. Once the shrimp are ready to serve, they are garnished with toasted corn kernels (cancha), which add an interesting texture and flavor. Stews are popular in the highlands. The spicy and flavorful pork stew, seco de chanco, is colored with achiote oil and cooked with beer.

Although the people of Ecuador mainly eat fruit as dessert, a richly flavored pumpkin (or winter squash) cake is very popular.

Bolivia

Bolivia, a high landlocked country in central South America, is bordered by Argentina, Brazil, and Peru. The famous Lake Titicaca, between Bolivia and Peru, lies at 12,500 feet. Legend has it that an island in the lake is the ancestral home of the Incas. Near the lake's southeastern end are the ruins of Tiahuanaco, a pre-Incan city. After the conquest, Bolivia became part of Peru and was known as El Alto Peru, highland Peru. With independence, the name was changed to Bolivia to honor the liberator, Simón Bolívar.

Local dishes. Bolivians like their food hot, and ajíes (hot peppers) are widely used. In addition to familiar grains like wheat and corn, quinoa, an indigenous grain that the Incas called "sacred mother grain," is still commonly consumed. The Spanish prohibited the cultivation of quinoa, but it never entirely lost its appeal to the native population. It is hardy and well suited to poor conditions, such as cold weather and high altitudes. Beef and pork, introduced by the Spaniards, are important foods, as are farm-raised guinea pigs (cuys), a native dish popular in Bolivia and Peru. In the native culture of Bolivia, the potato played such a significant role that it was used for predicting the future, among other things. In fact, Bolivians categorized potatoes as male or female, depending on their shape, and were used accordingly in their cuisine.

In Bolivia, many food traditions remain from pre-Columbian times. One of the relics of the Inca empire is chicha, a popular alcoholic drink made from fermented maize.

Argentina

The second largest nation in South America, Argentina extends from the subtropics to Tierra del Fuego. Although now a separate country, Argentina was once part of the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata (River Plate) with Uruguay. The pampas are primarily cattle country and famous for ranching and farming, but this fertile land also produces good crops and fine wine.

Local dishes. Finger foods are very popular and are served in cafés, called whiskerias, that evolved from tea shops. Empanadas, stuffed pies, are popular throughout South America, and in Argentina they come in various sizes and are eaten as hors d'oeuvres, for light lunches, or with cocktails. One popular filling combines meat and fruit.

Meat is grilled or prepared in stews (carbonadas). The Argentines are fond of combining meat and fruit in their stews, but the most famous meat dish is churrasco (barbecue), beef, with large salt crystals embedded in it for flavor, is marinated in spices and lime juice and grilled on spits over an open fire. Viscacha, a large wild rabbit or hare, is also appreciated on the pampas. Although the focus is on meat in Argentina, excellent fish are harvested from the waters off the coast and prepared in all the usual ways, including seviche and escabeche (pickled fish).

Dulce de leche (milk pudding) is particularly popular in Argentina and throughout neighboring Chile and Uruguay.

Maté, also called yerba maté, a popular tea in Argentina, is made from the dried leaves of the evergreen, Ilex paraguariensis, which is indigenous to South America. The name comes from the Inca word for the calabash that was used as a container. Maté can be served either hot or cold.

Chile

A long, narrow country stretching down between the Andes and the Pacific Ocean, Chile is noted for its copper mines as well as for its wines. The cold Humboldt Current gives Chile the most unusual seafood in the world, including the erizo de mar (sea urchin) and locos (abalone). The middle third of the country, where table and wine grapes and other fruits and vegetables are raised, enjoys a temperate climate and is very fertile. Seafood and vegetables and fruits are more important in the diet than meat because of the relative lack of land for grazing. Because the seasons in the Southern Hemisphere are the reverse of those in the Northern Hemisphere, socalled winter fruits—apples, pears, and grapes—are exported to North America.

Local dishes. Empanadas, often served with the local wine, are popular. Chileans like soups, and, since their fruits and vegetables are plentiful and particularly good, and are enjoyed raw or cooked, many are used for soup—cabbage, for example, and tomatoes. Fish and shellfish are plentiful along the coast and are cooked every conceivable way. One of the finest fish is congrio, the conger eel, unique to Chilean waters. Chicken and guinea pig, both raised at home, are family fare. Meat is not so popular, though Chilean meatballs, made with veal rather than beef, are very special.

The fertile soil produces beautiful fruits, which make admirable desserts. Pisco, a powerful brandy made from grapes, is served both as an aperitif and as an afterdinner drink.

Uruguay

A wedge of a nation tucked between Brazil and Argentina on the Atlantic coast, Uruguay is one of the smallest countries in South America and, after Ecuador, the most densely populated. The climate is generally warm, with an even distribution of rainfall throughout the seasons. Rolling grasslands of black, potash-rich soil make raising cattle and sheep the lifeblood of the nation's economy, and roads are edged with fenced driveways for livestock. The capital, Montevideo, is home to a large percentage of Uruguay's population. Much of its industry is centered on processing wool, meat, and hides.

Local dishes. Like other South Americans, Uruguayans favor soups and stews. The Atlantic supplies some seafood, and the River Plate (Río de la Plata) is a source of freshwater fish and large frogs, both often used for soup. Meat remains paramount, however. Beef and lamb are grilled as well as braised. Albóndigas, fishballs or meatballs, are very popular, particularly when served with a barbecue sauce enriched with wine. Humitas, a seasoned corn puree, is sometimes steamed in corn husks, like tamales.

Fresh fruit is abundant and popular for dessert, especially feijoa (also called "pineapple guava"), an eggshaped fruit with a wonderful perfume.

Gin Fizz (pronounced "jeen feez"), as made in Montevideo, has been described as the great glory of Uruguayan drinks. The secret probably lies in the delicate flavor of the local lemons and limes.

Paraguay

A small landlocked country, bordered by Bolivia, Brazil, and Argentina, Paraguay is known as much for its arts and culture as for its food. Asunción, the capital and by far the largest city in Paraguay, is also the cultural center of the country. The landscape is quite diverse, with lush grasslands, rolling hills, and dense forests, as well as the Chaco prairie in the west. Cattle raising and the industries associated with it are economically significant. Guaraní, the local Indian language, and Spanish are the primary languages of the country, although most Paraguayans learn Guaraní before Spanish.

Local dishes. In Paraguay, manioc (cassava), the staple food, is consumed at least twice a day, but maize is also important in the diet. Soups and stews, whether vegetable-, beef-, or fish-based, are quite popular. So'oyosopy (sopa de carne or beef soup) is more of a stew than a soup; it is so robust that little more is needed than a light dessert to make a complete meal. It is usually accompanied with sopa paraguaya, which is not a soup at all but a cheese cornbread that is also served with grilled meats. Very good fish are harvested from the Paraguay River, particularly dorado, a firm-fleshed white fish.

Bananas are widely used in Paraguay, fresh and cooked in desserts. Tereré is a refreshing tea mixed with cold water and aromatic herbs such as mint, traditionally drunk during the midmorning or early afternoon break for relief from the heat. Maté (also yerba maté), which has a great deal of caffeine, is pleasantly stimulating and traditionally drunk in the morning.

Peru

The Andes, which rise from sea level on the Pacific coast to 22,500 feet, dominate this country. Peru was once the center of the Inca Empire, which extended more than 2,500 miles along the Pacific coast of South America. The capital, Lima, is on the coast. Most of the people of the empire were Quechuas. Although the term "Inca" is commonly used to describe the people of the empire, "Inca" originally referred only to the emperor. The Incas terraced and irrigated a difficult terrain, and built roads to link the parts of the empire, enabling farmers to come to town with their produce. The architecture of the Incas is known for its great size and skillful construction. Machu Picchu, one of their most famous cities, stands on a heavily forested mountaintop in the Andes. The Incas were also well known for their administrative skills.

The Incas cultivated thousands of varieties of potatoes many thousands of years ago, and figured out ways to preserve them at high altitudes, either by drying or freeze-drying. The Quechuas also raised quinoa, a hardy plant that thrives where corn cannot grow. The Quechuas had few animals except for the cameloids (the llama and the alpaca) and the cuy (guinea pig). The cuy is an excellent food animal, and the llama provides wool, leather, fat, and dung for fertilizer, fuel, and building material, as well as meat. Llama meat is made into ham, and charqui, or dried llama meat, has remained popular among the native population.

Local dishes. Peru has a real food culture. Peruvians like to eat at home and on the street. For example, in Lima the best place to buy anticuchos (skewered beef heart) is from stalls outside the plaza de toros, built in the 1700s. At home, they make an excellent hors d'oeuvre. Fish and shellfish are enormously popular on the coast and are prepared in myriad ways, including seviche. Along the shore, cebicherias serve fresh seviche night and day. Fowl have been known since pre-Columbian days, and the Quechuas knew how to freeze-dry duck. Turkey is very popular, especially for special occasions. The Europeans brought their domestic animals with them, and these have had enormous impact in Peru and elsewhere in South America. Besides grilled meats, Peruvian city folk are fond of chicharrones, pork rinds fried in lard, sold by street vendors.

In addition to potatoes and the local large-kernel maize, Peruvians cultivate many other vegetables, including a number of special hot peppers (ajíes), which they use in soups and stews, often serving them alone as well. Although Peruvians like sweets—homemade puddings and cakes, store-bought pastries, and convent sweets (although that tradition is dying out in Peru)—they are generally prepared and eaten outside the home, as they are in Europe. Dessert at the end of a meal is more likely to be fresh fruit. Pisco, the potent Peruvian brandy, is enjoyed straight or in a pisco sour.

Bibliography

Aguilar de la Cruz, Isolina. Comidas Típicas del Cusco. Lima: Papeles y Anexos, 1994.

Arnold, Denise Y., and Juan de Dios Yapita, eds. Madre Melliza y Sus Crías = Ispall Mama Wawampi: Antología de la Papa. La Paz, Bolivia: Hisbol/Ediciónes, 1996.

Consultor Culinario, por Pascal. Montevideo, Uruguay: A. Barreiro y Ramos, 1917.

Cox, Beverly, and Martin Jacobs. Spirit of the Earth: Native Cooking from Latin America. New York: Stewart, Tabori and Chang, 2001.

Hermann, Michael, and Joachim Heller. Andean Roots and Tubers. Rome: International Plant Genetic Resources Institute, 1997.

Fonde Vallecaucana. Cocina Vallecaucana. Cali, Colombia: Imprenta Deptal, 1960.

Foppiani, Luis. Moderno Manual de Cocina Criolla. Lima: Editorial "Fenix," 1950.

Llano Restrepo, María Clara, and Marcela Campuzano Cifuentes. Chicha: Una Bebida Fermentada Atraves de la Historia. Bogotá, Colombia: Instituto Colombiano de Antropología, 1994.

Muchnik, Jacobo. Especialidades de la Cocina Criolla. Buenos Aires: Bibliotheca de Mucho Gusto, 1958.

Páez de Salamé, Beatriz. Hallacas: Aromas de una Tradición. Caracas, Venezuela: Derrelieve, 1995.

Paz Lagarrigue A., María. Recetas de las Rengifo. Santiago, Chile: Editorial del Pacífico, 1961.

Pazos Barrera, Julio. Cocinemos lo Nuestro. Quito, Ecuador: Corporación Editora Nacional, 1991.

Rosay, E. Nuevo Manual de la Cocina Peruana. Lima: Librería Francesa Cientifíca, 1926.

Un Libro de Cocina. Montevideo, Uruguay: E. Miguez, 1933.

Vélez de Sánchez, Maraya. Postres y Pastelería de la Cocina Europea y Americana. Paris: Cabaut, 1928.

Villegas, Benjamin. The Taste of Colombia. Bogotá, Colombia: Villegas Editores, 1997.

Wilson del Solar, Luisa. Mi Cocina. Valparaiso, Chile: Imprente Victoria, 1959.

—Elisabeth Lambert Ortiz With contributions by Enrique Balladares-Castellón

Continent in the Western Hemisphere, connected to North America by the Isthmus of Panama.

• Exploration of the continent began in the sixteenth century with the Portugese claiming what is now Brazil and the Spanish claiming most of the remaining land. Settlement was accompanied by the defeat of many of the Native American cultures, including the Inca Empire.
• All of the Latin American nations in South America and Central America achieved their independence from Spain or Portugal in the first half of the nineteenth century.

[Note: See the related article on Native North Americans in the entry America.]

South American Indians

Throughout South America, the magician caste analogous to the medicine men or shamans of North America were known as piaies or piaes. Of those of British Guiana (now Guyana), W.H. Brett gives the following account in The Indian Tribes of Guiana (1868): "They are each furnished with a large gourd or calabash, which has been emptied of its seeds and spongy contents, and has a round stick run through the middle of it by means of two holes. The ends of this stick project—one forms the handle of the instrument, and the other has a long string to which beautiful feathers are attached, wound round it in spiral circles. Within the calabash are a few small white stones, which rattle when it is shaken or turned round. The calabash itself is usually painted red. It is regarded with great awe by the heathen Indians, who fear to touch it, or even to approach the place where it is kept.

"When attacked by sickness, the Indians cause themselves to be conveyed to some friendly sorcerer, to whom a present of more or less value must be made. Death is sometimes occasioned by those removals, cold being taken from wet or the damp of the river. If the patient cannot be removed, the sorcerer is sent for to visit him. The females are all sent away from the place and the men must keep at a respectful distance, as he does not like his proceedings to be closely inspected. He then commences his exorcisms, turning, and shaking his marakka, or rattle, and chanting an address to the yauhahu. This is continued for hours, about midnight the spirit is supposed to be present, and a conversation to take place, which is unintelligible to the Indians, who may overhear it. These ceremonies are kept up for successive nights.

"If the patient be strong enough to endure the disease, the excitement, the noise, and the fumes of tobacco in which he is at times enveloped, and the sorcerer observes signs of recovery he will pretend to extract the cause of the complaint by sucking the part affected. After many ceremonies he will produce from his mouth some strange substance, such as a thorn or gravel-stone, a fish-bone or bird's claw, a snake's tooth, or a piece of wire, which some malicious yauhahu is supposed to have inserted in the affected part. As soon as the patient fancies himself rid of this cause of his illness his recovery is generally rapid, and the fame of the sorcerer greatly increased. Should death, however, ensue, the blame is laid upon the evil spirit, whose power and malignity have prevailed over the counteracting charms. Some rival sorcerer will at times come in for a share of the blame, whom the sufferer has unhappily made his enemy, and who is supposed to have employed the yauhahu in destroying him. The sorcerers being supposed to have the power of causing, as well as of curing diseases, are much dreaded by the common people, who never willfully offend them. So deeply rooted in the Indian's bosom is this belief concerning the origin of diseases, that they have little idea of sickness arising from other causes. Death may arise from a wound or a contusion, or be brought on by want of food, but in other cases it is the work of the yauhahu.

"I once came upon a Warau practising his art upon a woman inflicted with a severe internal complaint. He was, when I first saw him, blowing violently into his hands and rubbing them upon the affected part. He very candidly acknowledged his im-posture when I taxed him with it, put up his implements, and went away. The fate of the poor woman, as it was related to me some time afterwards, was very sad. Though a Venezuelan half-breed, and of the Church of Rome, she was wedded to the Indian superstitions, and after trying the most noted sorcerers without relief, she inflicted on herself a mortal wound with a razor in the vain attempt to cut out the imaginary cause of her internal pain.

"Some have imagined that those men have faith in the power of their own incantations from their performing them over their own children, and even causing them to be acted over themselves when sick. This practice it is indeed difficult to account for. The juggling part of their business is such a gross imposture as could only succeed with a very ignorant and credulous people; but it is perhaps in their case, as in some others, difficult to tell the precise point where credulity ends and im-posture begins. It is certain that they are excited during their incantations in a most extraordinary way, and positively affirm that they hold intercourse with spirits; nor will they allow themselves to be laughed out of the assertion however ridiculous it may appear to us.

"The Waraus, in many points the most degraded of the tribes, are the most renowned as sorcerers. The huts which they set apart for the performance of their superstitious rites are regarded with great veneration.

"Mr. Nowers, on visiting a Warau settlement, entered one of those huts, not being aware of the offense he was committing and found it perfectly empty, with the exception of the gourd, or mataro, as it is called by the tribe. There was, in the centre of the hut, a small raised place about eighteen inches high, on which the fire had been made for burning tobacco. The sorcerer being asked to give up the gourd, peremptorily refused, saying that if he did so his two children would die the same night."

Franz Keller, in Amazon and Madeira Rivers (1874), observes of the Brazilian tribes as follows: "As with the shamans of the North Asiatic nations, the influence a Pajé may secure over his tribe depends entirely on the success of his cures and his more or less imposing personal qualities. Woe to him if by some unlucky ministration or fatal advice he forfeits his prestige. The hate of the whole tribe turns against him, as if to indemnify them for the fear and awe felt by them until then; and often he pays for his envied position with his life.

"And an influential and powerful position it is. His advice is first heard in war and peace. He has to mark the boundaries of the hunting-grounds; and, when quarrels arise, he has to decide in concert with the chieftain, sometimes even against the latter's wishes. By a majestically distant demeanour, and by the affectation of severe fasting and of nightly meetings with the spirits of another world, these augurs have succeeded in giving such an appearance of holiness to the whole caste, that their influence is a mighty one to the present day, even with the Indians of the Aldeamentos, where contact with the white race is sure by-and-by to produce a certain degree of scepticism.

"When I was at the Aldeamento of San Ignacio, on the Paranapanema, Cuyaba, chieftain and Pajé of an independent horde of Cayowa Indians made his appearance, and I had the honour of being introduced to this magnificent sample of a conjurer. He was a man of about fifty, with large well-cut features, framed within a dense, streaming mane of long black hair. The long xerimbita on his under lip (a long, thin, cylinder of a resin resembling amber), a great number of black and white beads covering his chest in regular rows like a cuirass, and a broad girdle holding his cherapi (sort of apron), which was fringed all round with rich, woven ornaments, gave him quite a stately, majestic appearance."

The Chileans called their magicians gligua or dugol, and they were subdivided into guenguenu, genpugnu, and genpiru, meaning respectively "masters of the heavens," "of epidemics," and "of insects or worms." There was also a sect called calcu, or "sorcerers," who lived in caves, and who were served by ivunches, or "man-animals," to whom they taught their terrible arts.

The Araucanians believed that these wizards had the power to transform themselves at night into nocturnal birds, to fly through the air, and to shoot invisible arrows at their enemies, besides indulging in the malicious mischief with which folklore credits the wizards of all countries. They believed their priests possessed numerous familiars who were attached to them after death—similar to the beliefs of the magicians of the Middle Ages. These priests or diviners were celibate, and led an existence apart from the tribe, in some communities being dressed as women. Many tales are told of their prowess in magic, that indicate that they were either natural epileptics or ecstatics, or that disturbing mental influences were brought about by the use of drugs. The Araucanians also held that to mention their real personal names gave magic power over them that might be turned to evil ends. Regarding the wizards of the inhabitants of the territory around the River Chaco in Paraguay, Barbrook Grubb records as follows in An Unknown People in an Unknown Land: "The training necessary to qualify an Indian to become a witch-doctor consists, in the first place, in severe fastings, and especially in abstention from fluid. They carry this fasting to such an excess as to affect the nervous system and brain. Certain herbs are eaten to hasten this stage. They pass days in solitude, and, when thoroughly worked up to an hysterical condition, they see spirits and ghosts, and have strange visions. It is necessary, furthermore, that they should eat live toads and some kinds of snakes. Certain little birds are plucked alive and then devoured, their power of whistling being supposed to be thus communicated to the witch-doctor. There are other features in the preliminary training which need not be mentioned, and when the initiatory stage has been satisfactorily passed, they are instructed in the mysteries under pledge of secrecy. After that their future depends upon themselves.

"It is unquestionable that a few of these wizards understand to a slight degree the power of hypnotism. They appear at times to throw themselves into a hypnotic state by sitting in a strained position for hours, fixing their gaze upon some distant object. In this condition they are believed to be able to throw their souls out—that is, in order to make them wander. It seems that occasionally, when in this state, they see visions which are quite the opposite of those they had desired. At other times they content themselves with concentrating their attention for a while upon one of their charms, and I have no doubt that occasionally they are sincere in desiring to solve some perplexing problems.

"One of the chief duties of the wizard is to arrange the weather to suit his clansmen. If they want rain it is to him they apply. His sorceries are of such a kind that they may be extended over a long period. He is never lacking in excuses, and so, while apparently busy in combating the opposing forces which are hindering the rain, he gains time to study weather signs. He will never or rarely venture an opinion as to the expected change until he is nearly certain of a satisfactory result. Any other Indian could foretell rain were he to observe signs as closely as does the wizard. The killing of a certain kind of duck, and the sprinkling of its blood upwards, is his chief charm. When he is able to procure this bird he is sure that rain cannot be far off, because these ducks do not migrate southwards until they know that there is going to be water in the swamps. These swamps are filled by the overflowing of the rivers as much as by the local rainfalls, and the presence of water in the rivers and swamps soon attracts rain-clouds.

"The wizards also observe plants and animals, study the sky and take note of other phenomena, and by these means can arrive at fairly safe conclusions. They are supposed to be able to foretell events, and to a certain extent they succeed so far as these events concern local interest. By judicious questioning and observation, the astute wizard is able to judge with some amount of exactitude how certain matters are likely to turn out.

"After we had introduced bullock-carts into their country, the people were naturally interested in the return of the carts from their periodical journeys to the river. When the wizards had calculated carefully the watering-places, and had taken into consideration the state of the roads, the character of the drivers, and the condition and number of the bullocks, all that they then required to know was the weight of the loads and the day on which it was expected that the carts would leave the river on their return journey. The last two items they had to obtain from us. When they had these data, by a simple calculation they could make a very shrewd guess, not only at the time when they might be expected to arrive at the village, but also at what particular part of the road they might happen to be on any given day. A great impression was made upon the simple people by this exhibition of power, but when we discovered what they were doing, we withheld the information, or only gave them part, with the result that their prophecies either failed ignominiously or proved very erroneous. Their reputation accordingly began to wane.

"The wizards appear to be authorities on agricultural matters, and when application to the garden spirit has failed, the witch-doctor is called in. He examines the crop, and if he thinks it is likely to be a poor one, he says it is being blighted by an evil spirit, but that he will use what sorceries he can to preserve it. If, on the other hand, he has reason to believe that the crop will be a good one, he spits upon it here and there, and then assures the people that now they may expect a good harvest.

"Some of the chief duties of the witch-doctor consist in laying ghosts, driving off spirits, exorcising kilyikhama in cases of possession, assisting wandering souls back to their bodies, and generally in the recognising of spirits. When a ghost is supposed to haunt a village, the wizard and his assistants have sometimes an hour's arduous chanting in order to induce the restless one to leave. When he considers that he has accomplished this, he assures the people that it is done, and this quiets their fears. Evil spirits frequenting a neighbourhood have also to be driven off by somewhat similar chanting."

Through the twentieth century, practices first described in the nineteenth century by anthropologists have been integrated into the Spiritualist groups of the countries of South America, especially Brazil.

Sources:

Brett, William H. The Indian Tribes of Guiana. London, 1868.

Grubb, W. Barbrook. An Unknown People in an Unknown Land. London, 1911.

Keller, Franz. Amazon and Madeira Rivers. London, 1874.

McGregor, Pedro. Jesus of the Spirits. New York: Stein & Day, 1966.

Playfair, Guy Lyon. The Flying Cow. London, 1975. Reprinted as The Unknown Power. New York: Pocket Books, 1975.

"Southern America" redirects here. For the southern portion of the United States, see Southern United States.

South America

Area	17,840,000 km2 (6,890,000 sq mi)
Population	385,742,554
Pop. density	21.4 per km2 (55.4 per sq mi)
Demonym	South American, American[1]
Countries	13 (List of countries)
Dependencies	3
Languages	List of languages
Time Zones	UTC-2 to UTC-5
Largest cities	{{{1}}} São Paulo Buenos Aires Rio de Janeiro Bogotá Lima Santiago Belo Horizonte Caracas
This box: view • talk

South America is the southern continent of America,^[2][3] situated entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east by the Atlantic Ocean; North America and the Caribbean Sea lie to the northwest.

America was named in 1507 by cartographers Martin Waldseemüller and Matthias Ringmann after Amerigo Vespucci, who was the first European to suggest that the newly discovered lands were not India, but a New World unknown to Europeans.

South America has an area of 17,840,000 square kilometers (6,890,000 sq mi), or almost 3.5% of the Earth's surface. As of 2005, its population was estimated at more than 371,090,000. South America ranks fourth in area (after Asia, Africa, and North America) and fifth in population (after Asia, Africa, Europe, and North America).

Contents 1 History 1.1 Agriculture and animal domestication 1.2 Pre-Columbian civilizations 1.3 European colonization 1.4 Independence 1.5 Recent history 2 Politics 3 Geography 4 Demographics 5 Economy 6 Tourism 7 Culture 7.1 Language 7.2 Sport 8 See also 9 References 9.1 Content notes 9.2 Notes 9.3 Sources 10 External links

History

Main article: History of South America

Agriculture and animal domestication

The prehistoric Cueva de las Manos, or Cave of Hands, in Argentina

South America is thought to have been first inhabited by people crossing the Bering Land Bridge from Russia, which is now the Bering Strait. Some archaeological finds do not fit this theory and have led to an alternative theory of Pre-Siberian American Aborigines. The first evidence for the existence of agricultural practices in South America dates back to circa 6500 BC, when potatoes, chillies and beans began to be cultivated for food in the highlands of the Amazon Basin. Pottery evidence further suggests that manioc, which remains a staple food today, was being cultivated as early as 2000 BC.^[4]

By 2000 BC many agrarian village communities had been settled throughout the Andes and the surrounding religious regions. Fishing became a widespread practice along the coast which helped to establish fish as a primary source of food. Irrigation systems were also developed at this time, which aided in the rise of an agrarian society.^[4]

South American cultures began domesticating llamas, vicuñas, guanacos, and alpacas in the highlands of the Andes circa 3500 BC. Besides their use as sources of meat and wool, these animals were used for transportation of goods.^[4]

Pre-Columbian civilizations

The Inca ruins of Machu Picchu.

The rise of agriculture and the subsequent appearance of permanent human settlements allowed for the multiple and overlapping beginnings of civilizations in South America.

The earliest known settlements, and culture in South America and America altogether, are the Valdivia on the Southwest coast of Ecuador.

One of the earliest known South American civilizations was at Norte Chico, on the central Peruvian coast. Though a pre-ceramic culture, the monumental architecture of Norte Chico is contemporaneous with the pyramids of Ancient Egypt. The Chavín established a trade network and developed agriculture by 900 BC, according to some estimates and archaeological 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.

The Muisca were the main indigenous civilization in what is now modern Colombia. They established a confederation of many clans, or cacicazgos, that had a free trade network among themselves. They were goldsmiths and farmers.

Other important Pre-Columbian cultures include: Moche (100 BC – 700 AD, at the northern coast of Peru); Tiuahuanaco or Tiwanaku (100 BC – 1200 AD, Bolivia); the Cañaris (in south central Ecuador), Paracas and Nazca (400 BC – 800 AD, Peru); Wari or Huari Empire (600 – 1200, Central and northern Peru); Chimu Empire (1300 – 1470, Peruvian northern coast); Chachapoyas; and the Aymaran kingdoms (1000 – 1450, Bolivia and southern Peru).

Holding their capital at the great cougar-shaped city of Cusco, the Inca civilization dominated the Andes region from 1438 to 1533. Known as Tawantin suyu, and "the land of the four regions," in Quechua, the Inca civilization was highly distinct and developed. Inca rule extended to nearly a hundred linguistic or ethnic communities, some 9 to 14 million people connected by a 25,000 kilometer road system. Cities were built with precise, unmatched stonework, constructed over many levels of mountain terrain. Terrace farming was a useful form of agriculture.

European colonization

Main articles: Spanish colonization of the Americas and Portuguese colonization of the Americas

A representation of a Mestizo, in a "Pintura de Castas" in the Colonial era. "From Spaniard and Amerindian woman, begets Mestizo".

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 Tordesillas, 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 west of the line (known to comprehend most of the South American soil) would belong to Spain, and all land to the east, to Portugal. As accurate measurements of longitude were impossible at that time, the line was not strictly enforced, resulting in a Portuguese expansion of Brazil across the meridian.

Beginning in the 1530s, the people and natural resources of South America were repeatedly exploited by foreign conquistadors, first from Spain and later from Portugal. These competing colonial nations claimed the land and resources as their own and divided it into colonies.

European infectious diseases (smallpox, influenza, measles, and typhus)—to which the native populations had no immune resistance—and systems of forced labor, such as the haciendas and mining industry's mita, decimated the native population under Spanish control.

African slaves were brought in large quantities for several centuries for a number of reasons, both political and economical; however, it was mainly because they were much better fitted than the American natives for hard labor in tropical climate such as sugar cane plantations or gold mining.

The Spaniards were committed to convert their native subjects to Christianity and were quick to purge any native cultural practices that hindered this end; however, most initial attempts at this were only partially successful, as native groups simply blended Catholicism with traditional idolatry and their polytheistic beliefs. Furthermore, the Spaniards did impose their language to the degree they did their religion, although the Roman Catholic Church's evangelization in Quechua, Aymara, and Guaraní actually contributed to the continuous use of these native languages albeit only in the oral form.

Eventually, the natives and the Spaniards interbred, forming a mestizo class. Essentially all of the mestizos of the Andean region were offspring of Amerindian mothers and Spanish fathers. Mestizos and the Indian natives were often forced to pay extraordinary taxes to the Spanish crown and were punished more harshly for disobeying the law.

Many native artworks were considered pagan idols and destroyed by Spanish explorers; this included many gold and silver sculptures and other artifacts found in South America, which were melted down before their transport to Spain or Portugal.

Guyana was a Portuguese, Dutch, and eventually a British colony. The country was once partitioned into three, each being controlled by one of the colonial powers until the country was finally taken over fully by the British.

Independence

Main article: Hispanic American wars of independence

Guayaquil conference, between José de San Martín and Simón Bolívar.

The South American possessions of the Spanish Crown won their independence between 1804 and 1826 in the South American Wars of Independence. Simón Bolívar of Venezuela and José de San Martín of Argentina were the most important leaders of the independence struggles. Bolívar led a great uprising in northern South America, then led his army southward towards Lima, the capital of the Viceroyalty of Peru. Meanwhile, San Martín led an army from the Viceroyalty of Rio de la Plata across the Andes Mountains, meeting up with General Bernardo O'Higgins in Chile, and then marched northward to gain the military support of various rebels from the Viceroyalty of Peru. The two armies finally met in Guayaquil, Ecuador, where they cornered the Royal Army of the Spanish Crown and forced its surrender.

In the Portuguese colony of Brazil, Dom Pedro I (also Pedro IV of Portugal), son of the Portuguese King Dom João VI, proclaimed the country's independence in 1822 and became Brazil's first Emperor. This was peacefully accepted by the crown in Portugal.

Although Bolivar attempted to unify politically the Spanish-speaking parts of the continent into the "Gran Colombia", they rapidly became independent states without political connections between them, despite some later attempts such as the Peruvian-Bolivian Confederation.

A few countries did not gain independence until the 20th century:

• Guyana, from the United Kingdom, in 1966
• Suriname, from Dutch control, in 1975

French Guiana remains part of France.

Recent history

Jorge Videla (left) and Augusto Pinochet in Mendoza, Argentina in 1978

The continent became a battlefield of the Cold War in the late 20th century. Some democratically elected governments of Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Uruguay and Paraguay were overthrown or displaced by United States-aligned military dictatorships in the 1960s and 1970s. To curtail opposition, their governments detained tens of thousands of political prisoners, many of whom were tortured and/or killed on inter-state collaboration. Economically, they began a transition to neoliberal economic policies. They placed their own actions within the U.S. Cold War doctrine of "National Security" against internal subversion. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, Peru suffered from an internal conflict.

Colombia currently faces an internal conflict, which started in 1964 with the creation of Marxist guerrillas (FARC-EP) and now involves several illegal armed groups of leftist leaning ideology as well as the private armies of powerful drug lords.

Revolutionary movements and right-wing military dictatorships became common after World War II, but since the 1980s a wave of democratization came through the continent, and democratic rule is widespread now.^[5] Nonetheless, allegations of corruption are still very common, and several countries have developed crises which have forced the resignation of their governments, although, in most occasions, regular civilian succession has continued this far.

International indebtedness turned into a severe problem in late 1980s, and some countries, despite having strong democracies, have not yet developed political institutions capable of handling such crises without recurring to unorthodox economical policies, as most recently illustrated by Argentina's default in the early 21st century.^[6]

Politics

Scheme for geographic regions and subregions used by the United Nations Statistics Division.

During the first decade of the 21st century, South American governments have drifted to the political left, with socialist leaders being elected in Chile, Uruguay, Brazil, Argentina, Ecuador, Bolivia, Paraguay and Venezuela. Despite the move to the left, South America for the most part still embraces free market policies, and it is taking an active path toward greater continental integration.

Recently, an intergovernmental entity has been formed which aims to merge the two existing customs unions: Mercosur and the Andean Community, thus forming the third-largest trade bloc in the world.^[7] This new political organization known as Union of South American Nations seeks to establish free movement of people, economic development, a common defense policy and the elimination of tariffs.

Geography

Main article: Geography of South America

A composite relief image of South America.

The Andes.

South America occupies the southern portion of the landmass sometimes referred to as the New World. The continent is generally delimited on the northwest by the Darién watershed along the Colombia–Panama border, or (according to some sources) by the Panama Canal which transects the Isthmus of Panama. Geopolitically and geographically^[8] all of Panama – including the segment east of the Panama Canal in the isthmus – is typically included in North America alone^[9][10][11] and among the countries of Central America.^[12][13] Almost all of mainland South America sits on the South American Plate.

Many of the islands of the Caribbean (or West Indies) – e.g., the Leeward and Lesser Antilles – sit atop the Caribbean Plate, a tectonic plate with a diffuse topography. The islands of Aruba, Barbados, Trinidad, and Tobago sit on the northerly South American continental shelf. The Netherlands Antilles and the federal dependencies of Venezuela lie along the northerly South American shelf. Geopolitically, the island states and overseas territories of the Caribbean are generally grouped as a part or subregion of North America.^[14][15][16] The South American nations that border the Caribbean Sea—including Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname, and French Guiana—are also known as Caribbean South America. Other islands are the Galápagos islands that belong to Ecuador and Easter Island (in Oceania but belongs to Chile), Robinson Crusoe Island, Chiloé, and the Tierra del Fuego.

South America is home to the world's highest waterfall, Angel Falls in Venezuela; the largest river (by volume), the Amazon River; the longest mountain range, the Andes (whose highest mountain is Aconcagua at 6,962 m (22,841 ft)); the driest place on earth, the Atacama Desert;^[17][18][19] the largest rainforest, the Amazon Rainforest; the highest capital city, La Paz, Bolivia; the highest commercially navigable lake in the world, Lake Titicaca; and, excluding research stations in Antarctica, the world's southernmost permanently inhabited community, Puerto Toro, Chile.

South America's major mineral resources are gold, silver, copper, iron ore, tin, and petroleum. The many resources of South America have brought high income to its countries especially in times of war or of rapid economic growth by industrialized countries elsewhere. However, the concentration in producing one major export commodity often has hindered the development of diversified economies. The fluctuation in the price of commodities in the international markets has led historically to major highs and lows in the economies of South American states, often causing extreme political instability. This is leading to efforts to diversify production to drive away from staying as economies dedicated to one major export.

South America is one of the most biodiverse continents on earth. South America is home to many interesting and unique species of animals including the llama, anaconda, piranha, jaguar, vicuña, and tapir. The Amazon rainforests possess high biodiversity, containing a major proportion of the Earth's species. Regions in South America include the Andean States, the Guianas, the Southern Cone, and Brazil which is the largest country by far, in both area and population.

Demographics

Urarina shaman, 1988

Descendants of Indigenous peoples, such as the Quechua and Aymara, or the Urarina^[20] of Amazonia make up the majority of the population in Bolivia and Peru.^[21][22] Also are a significant element in most other former Spanish colonies.

People of Venezuela and Colombia show a population of about 25% white and European descendants.^[23] While the people of European descent are more of a majority in Argentina^[24], Uruguay^[25] and Chile.^{[26][27][28][29]}

South America is also home to one of the biggest population of Africans. This group is also significantly present in Guyana, Brazil, Colombia, Venezuela, Suriname, French Guiana, and Ecuador.^[30] Mestizos (mixed white and Amerindian) are the largest ethnic group in Paraguay, Venezuela, Colombia and Ecuador. East Indians form the largest ethnic groups in Guyana and Suriname. Brazil followed by Peru also have the biggest Japanese and Chinese communities in South America.^[31]

Brazil is the most diverse country in South America, with large population of Whites, Blacks, Mestizos and Mulattos, as well as a sizeable community of Middle Easterns and Asians.

Girls of European descent in Uruguay

Country or territory with flag	Area (km²)[32] (per sq mi)	Population (July 2009 est.)[32]	Population density per km²	Capital
Argentina  Argentina	2766890 2,766,890 km2 (1,068,302 sq mi)	40,482,000	1430 14.3/km² (37/sq mi)	Buenos Aires
Bolivia  Bolivia	1098580 1,098,580 km2 (424,164 sq mi)	9,863,000	0810 8.4/km² (21.8/sq mi)	La Paz [33]
Brazil  Brazil	8514877 8,514,877 km2 (3,287,612 sq mi)	191,241,714	2200 22.0/km² (57/sq mi)	Brasília
Chile  Chile[34]	756950   756,950 km2 (292,260 sq mi)	16,928,873	2110 22/km² (57/sq mi)	Santiago
Colombia  Colombia	1138910 1,138,910 km2 (439,736 sq mi)	45,928,970	3770 40/km² (103.6/sq mi)	Bogotá
Ecuador  Ecuador	0283560   283,560 km2 (109,483 sq mi)	14,573,101	4710 53.8/km² (139.3/sq mi)	Quito
Falkland Islands  Falkland Islands (United Kingdom)[35]	0012173    12,173 km2 (4,700 sq mi)	3,140[36]	0026 0.26/km² (0.7/sq mi)	Port Stanley
French Guiana  French Guiana (France)	0091000    91,000 km2 (35,135 sq mi)	221,500[37]	0210 2.7/km² (5.4/sq mi)	Cayenne
Guyana  Guyana	0214999   214,999 km2 (83,012 sq mi)	772,298	0360 3.5/km² (9.1/sq mi)	Georgetown
Paraguay  Paraguay	0406750   406,750 km2 (157,047 sq mi)	6,831,306	1560 15.6/km² (40.4/sq mi)	Asunción
Peru  Peru	1285220 1,285,220 km2 (496,226 sq mi)	29,132,013	2170 22/km² (57/sq mi)	Lima
South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands  South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands (United Kingdom)[38]	0003093     3,093 km2 (1,194 sq mi)	20	0000 0/km² (0/sq mi)	Grytviken
Suriname  Suriname	0163270   163,270 km2 (63,039 sq mi)	472,000	0270 3/km² (7.8/sq mi)	Paramaribo
Uruguay  Uruguay	0176220   176,220 km2 (68,039 sq mi)	3,477,780	1940 19.4/km² (50.2/sq mi)	Montevideo
Venezuela  Venezuela	0912050   912,050 km2 (352,144 sq mi)	26,814,843	2780 30.2/km² (72/sq mi)	Caracas
Total	&Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character ","Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character ","Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character ","Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character ","Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character ","Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character ","Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character ","Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character ","Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character ","Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character ","Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character ","Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character ","Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character ","Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character ","Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character ","Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character ",".Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character ","17,824,513	&Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character ","Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character ","Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character ","Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character ","Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character ","Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character ","Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character ","Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character ","Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character ","Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character ","Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character ","Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character ","Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character ","Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character ","Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character ","Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character ",".Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character ","385,742,554	21.5/km²

See also: List of South American countries by population

Indigenous peoples

• Alacalufe, Atacameños, Aymara, Awá, Aguarunas, Ashanincas
• Banawa, Cañaris, Caiapos, Chibcha
• Cocama, Diaguitas, Chayahuita, Enxet
• Gê, Guaraní, Juris, Mapuche
• Matsés, Pehuenche, Quechuas, Shipibo
• Shuar, Tupi, Xucuru, Urarina, Wayuu
• Yagua, Yąnomamö, Zaparos, Arawaks, Wai-Wai

Economy

Main article: Economy of South America

Rafael Correa, Evo Morales, Néstor Kirchner, Cristina Fernández, Luiz Inacio Lula Da Silva, Nicanor Duarte, and Hugo Chávez at the signing of the founding charter of the Bank of the South.

Because of histories of high inflation in nearly all South American countries, interest rates remain high and investment remains low. Interest rates are usually twice that of the United States. For example, interest-rates are about 22% in Venezuela and 23% in Suriname. The exception is Chile, which has been implementing free market economic policies since establishing military dictatorship in 1973 and has been increasing its social spending since the return of democratic rule in the early 1990s. This has led to economic stability and interest rates in the low single digits.

South America relies heavily on the exporting of goods and natural resources. On an exchange rate basis Brazil (the seventh largest economy in the world and the second largest in America) leads the way in total amount of exports at $137.8 billion dollars followed by Chile at 58.12 billion and Argentina with 46.46 billion.^[39]

The economic gap between the rich and poor in most South American nations is considered to be larger than in most other continents. In Venezuela, Paraguay, Bolivia and many other South American countries, the richest 20% may own over 60% of the nation's wealth, while the poorest 20% may own less than 5%. This wide gap can be seen in many large South American cities where makeshift shacks and slums lie adjacent to skyscrapers and upper-class luxury apartments.

Country	GDP (nominal) of 2009[40]	GDP (PPP) of 2009[41]	GDP (PPP) per capita of 2009[41]	HDI of 2007[42]
Argentina	&0000000000326474.000000326,474	&0000000000572860.000000572,860	&0000000000014413.00000014,413	&Expression error: Unexpected < operatorExpression error: Unexpected < operatorExpression error: Unexpected < operatorExpression error: Unexpected < operatorExpression error: Unexpected < operatorExpression error: Unexpected < operatorExpression error: Unexpected < operatorExpression error: Unexpected < operatorExpression error: Unexpected < operatorExpression error: Unexpected < operatorExpression error: Unexpected < operatorExpression error: Unexpected < operatorExpression error: Unexpected < operatorExpression error: Unexpected < operatorExpression error: Unexpected < operatorExpression error: Unexpected < operator.Expression error: Unexpected < operator▲ 0.866
Bolivia	&0000000000017413.00000017,413	&0000000000043424.00000043,424	&0000000000004330.0000004,330	&Expression error: Unexpected < operatorExpression error: Unexpected < operatorExpression error: Unexpected < operatorExpression error: Unexpected < operatorExpression error: Unexpected < operatorExpression error: Unexpected < operatorExpression error: Unexpected < operatorExpression error: Unexpected < operatorExpression error: Unexpected < operatorExpression error: Unexpected < operatorExpression error: Unexpected < operatorExpression error: Unexpected < operatorExpression error: Unexpected < operatorExpression error: Unexpected < operatorExpression error: Unexpected < operatorExpression error: Unexpected < operator.Expression error: Unexpected < operator▲ 0.729
Brazil	&0000000001572590.0000001,572,590	&0000000001981642.0000001,981,642	&0000000000010325.00000010,325	&Expression error: Unexpected < operatorExpression error: Unexpected < operatorExpression error: Unexpected < operatorExpression error: Unexpected < operatorExpression error: Unexpected < operatorExpression error: Unexpected < operatorExpression error: Unexpected < operatorExpression error: Unexpected < operatorExpression error: Unexpected < operatorExpression error: Unexpected < operatorExpression error: Unexpected < operatorExpression error: Unexpected < operatorExpression error: Unexpected < operatorExpression error: Unexpected < operatorExpression error: Unexpected < operatorExpression error: Unexpected < operator.Expression error: Unexpected < operator▲ 0.813
Chile	&0000000000169573.000000169,573	&0000000000243044.000000243,044	&0000000000014510.00000014,510	&Expression error: Unexpected < operatorExpression error: Unexpected < operatorExpression error: Unexpected < operatorExpression error: Unexpected < operatorExpression error: Unexpected < operatorExpression error: Unexpected < operatorExpression error: Unexpected < operatorExpression error: Unexpected < operatorExpression error: Unexpected < operatorExpression error: Unexpected < operatorExpression error: Unexpected < operatorExpression error: Unexpected < operatorExpression error: Unexpected < operatorExpression error: Unexpected < operatorExpression error: Unexpected < operatorExpression error: Unexpected < operator.Expression error: Unexpected < operator▲ 0.878
Colombia	&0000000000269654.000000269,654	&0000000000327400.000000327,400	&0000000000008215.0000008,215	&Expression error: Unexpected < operatorExpression error: Unexpected < operatorExpression error: Unexpected < operatorExpression error: Unexpected < operatorExpression error: Unexpected < operatorExpression error: Unexpected < operatorExpression error: Unexpected < operatorExpression error: Unexpected < operatorExpression error: Unexpected < operatorExpression error: Unexpected < operatorExpression error: Unexpected < operatorExpression error: Unexpected < operatorExpression error: Unexpected < operatorExpression error: Unexpected < operatorExpression error: Unexpected < operatorExpression error: Unexpected < operator.Expression error: Unexpected < operator▲ 0.807
Ecuador	&0000000000052572.00000052,572	&0000000000106993.000000106,993	&0000000000007685.0000007,685	&Expression error: Unexpected < operatorExpression error: Unexpected < operatorExpression error: Unexpected < operatorExpression error: Unexpected < operatorExpression error: Unexpected < operatorExpression error: Unexpected < operatorExpression error: Unexpected < operatorExpression error: Unexpected < operatorExpression error: Unexpected < operatorExpression error: Unexpected < operatorExpression error: Unexpected < operatorExpression error: Unexpected < operatorExpression error: Unexpected < operatorExpression error: Unexpected < operatorExpression error: Unexpected < operatorExpression error: Unexpected < operator.Expression error: Unexpected < operator▲ 0.806
Falkland Islands	&Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character "?"Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character "?"Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character "?"Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character "?"Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character "?"Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character "?"Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character "?"Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character "?"Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character "?"Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character "?"Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character "?"Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character "?"Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character "?"Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character "?"Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character "?"Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character "?".Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character "?"?	&0000000000000075.00000075	&0000000000025000.00000025,000	&Expression error: Unrecognised word "n"Expression error: Unrecognised word "n"Expression error: Unrecognised word "n"Expression error: Unrecognised word "n"Expression error: Unrecognised word "n"Expression error: Unrecognised word "n"Expression error: Unrecognised word "n"Expression error: Unrecognised word "n"Expression error: Unrecognised word "n"Expression error: Unrecognised word "n"Expression error: Unrecognised word "n"Expression error: Unrecognised word "n"Expression error: Unrecognised word "n"Expression error: Unrecognised word "n"Expression error: Unrecognised word "n"Expression error: Unrecognised word "n".Expression error: Unrecognised word "n"N/A
French Guiana (France)	&0000000000003524.0000003,524[43]	N/A	&0000000000002300.0000002,300 (nominal, 2007)[43]	N/A
Guyana	&0000000000001130.0000001,130	&0000000000003082.0000003,082	&0000000000004035.0000004,035	&Expression error: Unexpected < operatorExpression error: Unexpected < operatorExpression error: Unexpected < operatorExpression error: Unexpected < operatorExpression error: Unexpected < operatorExpression error: Unexpected < operatorExpression error: Unexpected < operatorExpression error: Unexpected < operatorExpression error: Unexpected < operatorExpression error: Unexpected < operatorExpression error: Unexpected < operatorExpression error: Unexpected < operatorExpression error: Unexpected < operatorExpression error: Unexpected < operatorExpression error: Unexpected < operatorExpression error: Unexpected < operator.Expression error: Unexpected < operator▲ 0.729
Paraguay	&0000000000016006.00000016,006	&0000000000029403.00000029,403	&0000000000004778.0000004,778	&Expression error: Unexpected < operatorExpression error: Unexpected < operatorExpression error: Unexpected < operatorExpression error: Unexpected < operatorExpression error: Unexpected < operatorExpression error: Unexpected < operatorExpression error: Unexpected < operatorExpression error: Unexpected < operatorExpression error: Unexpected < operatorExpression error: Unexpected < operatorExpression error: Unexpected < operatorExpression error: Unexpected < operatorExpression error: Unexpected < operatorExpression error: Unexpected < operatorExpression error: Unexpected < operatorExpression error: Unexpected < operator.Expression error: Unexpected < operator▲ 0.761
Peru	&0000000000127598.000000127,598	&0000000000245883.000000245,883	&0000000000008580.0000008,580	&Expression error: Unexpected < operatorExpression error: Unexpected < operatorExpression error: Unexpected < operatorExpression error: Unexpected < operatorExpression error: Unexpected < operatorExpression error: Unexpected < operatorExpression error: Unexpected < operatorExpression error: Unexpected < operatorExpression error: Unexpected < operatorExpression error: Unexpected < operatorExpression error: Unexpected < operatorExpression error: Unexpected < operatorExpression error: Unexpected < operatorExpression error: Unexpected < operatorExpression error: Unexpected < operatorExpression error: Unexpected < operator.Expression error: Unexpected < operator▲ 0.806
Suriname	&0000000000002984.0000002,984	&0000000000004436.0000004,436	&0000000000008323.0000008,323	&Expression error: Unexpected < operatorExpression error: Unexpected < operatorExpression error: Unexpected < operatorExpression error: Unexpected < operatorExpression error: Unexpected < operatorExpression error: Unexpected < operatorExpression error: Unexpected < operatorExpression error: Unexpected < operatorExpression error: Unexpected < operatorExpression error: Unexpected < operatorExpression error: Unexpected < operatorExpression error: Unexpected < operatorExpression error: Unexpected < operatorExpression error: Unexpected < operatorExpression error: Unexpected < operatorExpression error: Unexpected < operator.Expression error: Unexpected < operator▲ 0.769
Uruguay	&0000000000032262.00000032,262	&0000000000042543.00000042,543	&0000000000013294.00000013,294	&Expression error: Unexpected < operatorExpression error: Unexpected < operatorExpression error: Unexpected < operatorExpression error: Unexpected < operatorExpression error: Unexpected < operatorExpression error: Unexpected < operatorExpression error: Unexpected < operatorExpression error: Unexpected < operatorExpression error: Unexpected < operatorExpression error: Unexpected < operatorExpression error: Unexpected < operatorExpression error: Unexpected < operatorExpression error: Unexpected < operatorExpression error: Unexpected < operatorExpression error: Unexpected < operatorExpression error: Unexpected < operator.Expression error: Unexpected < operator▲ 0.865
Venezuela	&0000000000319443.000000319,443	&0000000000358623.000000358,623	&0000000000012785.00000012,785	&Expression error: Unexpected < operatorExpression error: Unexpected < operatorExpression error: Unexpected < operatorExpression error: Unexpected < operatorExpression error: Unexpected < operatorExpression error: Unexpected < operatorExpression error: Unexpected < operatorExpression error: Unexpected < operatorExpression error: Unexpected < operatorExpression error: Unexpected < operatorExpression error: Unexpected < operatorExpression error: Unexpected < operatorExpression error: Unexpected < operatorExpression error: Unexpected < operatorExpression error: Unexpected < operatorExpression error: Unexpected < operator.Expression error: Unexpected < operator▲ 0.844

Tourism

Tourism has increasingly become a significant source of income for many South American countries.^[44][45] Historical relics, architectural and natural wonders, a diverse range of foods and culture, vibrant and colorful cities, and stunning landscapes attract millions of tourists every year to South America. Some of the most visited places in the region are Machu Picchu, the Amazon Rainforest, Rio de Janeiro, Salvador, Isla Margarita, Natal, Buenos Aires, São Paulo, Angel Falls, Cuzco, Lake Titicaca, Patagonia, Cartagena and the Galápagos islands.^[46][47]

Culture

Fiesta in Palenque. Afro-Colombian tradition from San Basilio de Palenque, a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity since 2005.

South Americans are culturally influenced by the historic connection with Europe, especially Spain and Portugal, and the impact of mass culture from the United States of America.

South American nations have a rich variety of music. Some of the most famous genres include cumbia from Colombia, samba and bossa nova from Brazil, and tango from Argentina and Uruguay. Also well known is the non-commercial folk genre Nueva Canción movement which was founded in Argentina and Chile and quickly spread to the rest of the Latin America. People on the Peruvian coast created the fine guitar and cajon duos or trios in the most mestizo (mixed) of South American rhythms such as the Marinera (from Lima), the Tondero (from Piura), the 19th century popular Creole Valse or Peruvian Valse, the soulful Arequipan Yaravi, and the early 20th century Paraguayan Guarania. In the late 20th century, Spanish rock emerged by young hipsters influenced by British pop and American rock. Brazil has a Portuguese-language pop rock industry as well a great variety of other music genres.

The literature of South America has attracted considerable critical and popular acclaim, especially with the Latin American Boom of the 1960s and 1970s, and the rise of authors such as Mario Vargas Llosa, Gabriel García Márquez in novels, and Pablo Neruda and Jorge Luis Borges in other genres.

Because of South America's broad ethnic mix, South American cuisine takes on African, American Indian, Asian, and European influences. Bahia, Brazil, is especially well-known for its West African-influenced cuisine. Argentines, Chileans, Uruguayans, Brazilians and Venezuelans regularly consume wine, while Argentina along with Paraguay, Uruguay, and people in southern Chile and Brazil enjoy mate, a regional brewed herb cultivated for its drink, the Paraguayan version, terere, differing from the others in that it's served cold. Pisco is a liquor distilled from grapevine produced in Peru and Chile; however, there is a recurring dispute between those countries regarding its origins. Peruvian cuisine mixes elements from Chinese, Japanese, Spanish, African, Andean, and Amazonic food.

Language

Romance languages in Latin America:      Spanish     Portuguese     French

Spanish and Portuguese are the most spoken language in South America. Portuguese is the official language of Brazil, spoken by half the continent's inhabitants. Spanish is the official language of most countries, though many have multiple official languages. Dutch is the official language of Suriname; English is the official language of Guyana, although there are at least twelve other languages spoken in the country such as Hindi and Arabic. English is also spoken in the Falkland Islands. French is the official language of French Guiana.

Indigenous languages of South America include Quechua in Ecuador, Peru, Chile Argentina and Bolivia; Guaraní in Paraguay and, to a much less extent, in Bolivia; Aymara in Bolivia, Peru, and less often in Chile; and Mapudungun is spoken in certain pockets of southern Chile and, more rarely, Argentina. At least three South American indigenous languages (Quechua, Aymara, and Guarani) are recognized along with Spanish as national languages.

Other languages found in South America include, Hindi and Indonesian in Suriname; Italian in Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, Venezuela, and Chile; and German in certain pockets of Argentina, Chile, Venezuela and Paraguay. German is also spoken in many regions of the southern states of Brazil, Riograndenser Hunsrückisch being the most widely spoken German dialect in the country; among other Germanic dialects, a Brazilian form of Pomeranian is also well represented and is experiencing a revival. Welsh remains spoken and written in the historic towns of Trelew and Rawson in the Argentine Patagonia. There are also small clusters of Japanese-speakers in Brazil, Bolivia, Colombia, Paraguay, Peru, and Ecuador. Arabic speakers, often of Lebanese, Syrian, or Palestinian descent, can be found in Arab communities in Brazil, Ecuador, Peru, Chile, Argentina, and less frequently in Colombia and Paraguay.

In most of the continent's countries, the upper classes and well-educated people regularly study English, French, German, or Italian, and are typically well-traveled. In those areas where tourism is a significant industry, English and some other European languages are often spoken. There are small Portuguese speaking areas in northernmost Uruguay because of the proximity of Brazil.

Sport

Main article: Sport in South America

See also

Latin America portal

Main article: Outline of South America

• America (terminology)
• Flags of South America
• Latin America

References

Content notes

^ Continent Model: In some parts of the world South America is viewed as a subcontinent of America^[48][49] (a single continent in these areas), for example Latin America, Latin Europe, and Iran. In most of the countries with English as an official language, however, it is considered a continent. See Continent.

Notes

1. ^ American, Merriam-Webster OnLine.
2. ^ "South America. The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed. 2001–6. New York, Columbia University Press": "fourth largest continent ..., the southern of the two continents of the Western Hemisphere."
3. ^ LANIC country page
4. ^ ^{a b c} O'Brien, Patrick. (General Editor). Oxford Atlas of World History. New York: Oxford University Press, 2005. pp. 25
5. ^ "The Cambridge History of Latin America", edited by Leslie Bethell, Cambridge University Press (1995) ISBN 0-521-39525-9
6. ^ http://books.google.com/books?id=6tNWbywFXhkC&printsec=frontcover&dq=latin+american+history
7. ^ Globalpolicy.org
8. ^ Cohen, Saul Bernard. 2003. "North and Middle America" (Ch. 5). Geopolitics of the World System (ISBN 0847699072)
9. ^ "Americas" Standard Country and Area Codes Classifications (M49), United Nations Statistics Division
10. ^ "North America" Atlas of Canada
11. ^ North America AtlasNational Geographic
12. ^ "Panama". Britannica Concise Encyclopedia
13. ^ Geography: Panama CIA World Factbook 2008.
14. ^ South America Atlas National Geographic
15. ^ North America Atlas National Geographic
16. ^ Unstats Americas
17. ^ "Atacama Desert @ National Geographic Magazine". Ngm.nationalgeographic.com. http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0308/feature3/. Retrieved 2009-04-18. 
18. ^ "Driest Place | Driest Desert Atacama Desert". Extremescience.com. 2007-01-25. http://www.extremescience.com/DriestPlace.htm. Retrieved 2009-04-18. 
19. ^ http://quest.nasa.gov/challenges/marsanalog/egypt/AtacamaAdAstra.pdf
20. ^ Dean, Bartholomew 2009 Urarina Society, Cosmology, and History in Peruvian Amazonia, Gainesville: University Press of Florida ISBN 978-081303378 [1]
21. ^ "CIA World Factbook". Cia.gov. https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/pe.html. Retrieved 2009-04-18. 
22. ^ "CIA World Factbook". Cia.gov. https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/bl.html. Retrieved 2009-04-18. 
23. ^ Composición Étnica de las Tres Áreas Culturales del Continente Americano al Comienzo del Siglo XXI
24. ^ "CIA World Factbook". Cia.gov. https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/print/ar.html. Retrieved 2009-04-18. 
25. ^ "población blanca en Uruguay". Geografia.fflch.usp.br. http://www.geografia.fflch.usp.br/publicacoes/Geousp/Geousp13/Geousp13_Intercambio_Maurel.htm. Retrieved 2009-04-18. 
26. ^ Latinoamerica.
27. ^ "Argentina, como Chile y Uruguay, su población está formada casi exclusivamente por una población blanca e blanca mestiza procedente del sur de Europa, más del 90% E. García Zarza, 1992, 19". Geografia.fflch.usp.br. http://www.geografia.fflch.usp.br/publicacoes/Geousp/Geousp13/Geousp13_Intercambio_Maurel.htm. Retrieved 2009-04-18. 
28. ^ Genetic epidemiology of single gene defects in Chile.
29. ^ The Chilean population is rather homogeneous with 95.4 % of its population having European ancestors.
30. ^ "Bartleby". Bartleby. http://www.bartleby.com/64/C006/036.html. Retrieved 2009-04-18. 
31. ^ "Japan Times". Search.japantimes.co.jp. http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20080115i1.html=search.japantimes.co.jp. Retrieved 2009-04-18. 
32. ^ ^{a b} Land areas and population estimates are taken from The 2008 World Factbook which currently uses July 2007 data, unless otherwise noted.
33. ^ La Paz is the administrative capital of Bolivia;
    
34. ^ Includes Easter Island in the Pacific Ocean, a Chilean territory frequently reckoned in Oceania. Santiago is the administrative capital of Chile; Valparaíso is the site of legislative meetings.
    
35. ^ Claimed by Argentina.
    
36. ^ Falkland Islands: July 2008 population estimate. CIA World Factbook.
37. ^ (Jan. 2009) (French) INSEE, Government of France. "Population des régions au 1er janvier". http://www.insee.fr/fr/themes/tableau.asp?reg_id=99&ref_id=CMRSOS02137. Retrieved 2009-01-20. 
38. ^ Claimed by Argentina; the South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands in the South Atlantic Ocean are commonly associated with Antarctica (due to proximity) and have no permanent population, only hosting a periodic contingent of about 100 researchers and visitors.
    
39. ^ "CIA - The World Factbook - Rank Order - Exports". Cia.gov. 2009-04-09. https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2078rank.html. Retrieved 2009-04-18. 
40. ^ Source
41. ^ ^{a b} Source
42. ^ "Human Development Report 2009. Human development index trends: Table G". The United Nations. http://hdr.undp.org/en/media/HDR_2009_EN_Complete.pdf. Retrieved 2009-10-05. 
43. ^ ^{a b} (French) INSEE-CEROM. "Les comptes économiques de la Guyane en 2006 : premiers résultats". http://prod-afd.afd.zeni.fr/jahia/webdav/site/cerom/users/admin_cerom/public/Pdf/CR2006_guy.pdf. Retrieved 2008-01-14. 
44. ^ "Bigtravelweb". Bigtravelweb. 2008-10-13. http://bigtravelweb.com/travel/2008/10/13/tourism-trends-visitor-numbers/. Retrieved 2009-04-18. 
45. ^ Latin American tourism growth
46. ^ "Top attractions". Gosouthamerica.about.com. 2007-12-04. http://gosouthamerica.about.com/od/topdestinations/tp/Attractions2006.htm. Retrieved 2009-04-18. 
47. ^ Backpackers destination^{[dead link]}
48. ^ "South America Travel, Tour To South America Continent". http://travour.com/south-america/index.html. Retrieved 2007-05-19. 
49. ^ Ambassador Rubens A. Barbosa. "MERCOSUL IN THE REGIONAL CONTEXT". http://www.brasilemb.org/embassy/embaixador_regional.shtml. Retrieved 2007-05-19. 

Sources

• "South America". The Columbia Gazetteer of the World Online. 2005. New York: Columbia University Press.
• GeoHive: The population of continents, regions and countries
• Latin American Network Information Database

External links

The Wikibook wikibooks: has a page on the topic of Wikijunior South America

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: South America

v • d • e Countries of South America Countries and territories also in or commonly reckoned to be elsewhere in the Americas shown in italics Sovereign states Argentina · Bolivia · Brazil · Chile · Colombia · Ecuador · Guyana · Panama · Paraguay · Peru · Suriname · Uruguay · Venezuela Dependencies Falkland Islands / South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands (UK) · Aruba / Netherlands Antilles (Netherlands) Overseas department French Guiana (France)

v • d • e Continents of the world     Africa Antarctica Asia Australia Europe North America South America     Afro-Eurasia Americas Eurasia Oceania     Geological supercontinents Gondwana · Laurasia · Pangaea · Pannotia · Rodinia · Columbia · Kenorland · Nena · Ur · Vaalbara Historical continents Arctica · Asiamerica · Atlantica · Avalonia · Baltica · Cimmeria · Congo craton · Euramerica · Kalaharia · Kazakhstania · Laurentia · Siberia · South China · Ur     Submerged continents Kerguelen Plateau · Zealandia Possible future supercontinents Pangaea Ultima · Amasia Mythical and theorized continents Atlantis · Lemuria · Meropis · Mu · Terra Australis See also Regions of the world

v • d • e Regions of the world Africa Northern (Maghreb) · Sub-Sahara (Central · Southern · Western · Eastern (Horn)) Oceania Australasia · Melanesia · Micronesia · Polynesia Americas North (Northern • Middle • Central • Caribbean) · South (Southern Cone) · Anglo · Latin Polar Arctic · Antarctic Asia Central · Eastern · Northern · Southeastern · Southern · Western Oceans World · Arctic · Atlantic · Indian · Pacific · Southern Europe Central · Eastern · Northern · Southeastern · Southern · Western See also Continents of the world

This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)