What makes South America a region

Two waves, and the century between them

The first wave opens with the juntas of 1810 in Caracas, Buenos Aires, Bogotá and Santiago, and Paraguay's the year after. Argentina's congress at Tucumán declared independence on 9 July 1816, Peru's was proclaimed on 28 July 1821, Brazil's on 7 September 1822, Bolivia's on 6 August 1825 and Uruguay's on 25 August 1825. Brazil reached that date by a different road, separating as an empire under a Portuguese prince and becoming a republic only on 15 November 1889. Gran Colombia came apart in 1830, which is where Ecuador's record begins, and Venezuela's takes its date from the treaty with Spain of 30 March 1845.

Then nothing for well over a century. Guyana became independent of Britain on 26 May 1966 and Suriname of the Netherlands on 25 November 1975, and both belong to Caribbean institutions while holding South American coastline. French Guiana went the other way. The law of 19 March 1946 classed it as a French department, so it is part of France and of the European Union, and the euro sits in its record where its neighbours carry currencies of their own.

What the records share, and what they do not

Spanish is named in eight of the records, Portuguese in one, Dutch in one, English in one and French in one. The Falkland Islands record British English, and Uruguay's record names no language at all. Four records name a tongue that crossed these borders before the borders existed: Quechua in Bolivia and Peru and, as Northern Quichua, Ecuador; Aymara in Bolivia and Peru; Guarani in Paraguay and Bolivia.

The mountains sort the group as firmly as the languages do. Aconcagua reaches 6,962 metres in Argentina, Ojos del Salado 6,893 in Chile, Huascarán 6,768 in Peru, Nevado Sajama 6,542 in Bolivia and Chimborazo 6,263 in Ecuador, every one of them Andean. East of that divide the summits are a different order of thing: Mount Roraima at 2,810 metres where Guyana, Venezuela and Brazil meet, Julianatop at 1,280 in Suriname, Cerro Tres Kandú at 842 in Paraguay, Bellevue de l'Inini at 831 in French Guiana, Cerro Catedral at 514 in Uruguay.

The treaties, and who signed which

Mercosur runs from the Treaty of Asunción of 26 March 1991, signed by Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay. Venezuela acceded in 2012 and has been suspended since December 2016. Bolivia signed a protocol of accession on 17 July 2015 and the last ratification of it passed in July 2024. The Andean Community runs from the Cartagena Agreement of 26 May 1969, signed by Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru; Chile withdrew in 1976, Venezuela joined in 1973 and left in 2006, and four of the original five remain. The agreement that reaches furthest across the region is the Amazon Cooperation Treaty, signed at Brasília on 3 July 1978 by eight of the states here and in force since 2 August 1980.

Where the edges are argued

The M49 scheme published by the UN Statistics Division files two territories under South America that this catalogue does not: Bouvet Island, and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands. Neither has a settled population and neither is on the roster. The Falkland Islands are filed here and in M49 alike, administered from Stanley as a British overseas territory and claimed by Argentina, and residents voted in March 2013 on whether the territory should remain one. Guyana and Venezuela have been before the International Court of Justice over the Essequibo since 29 March 2018, and the Court held on 18 December 2020 that it has jurisdiction over the validity of the arbitral award of 1899. Bolivia's own case against Chile, over access to the Pacific lost under the treaty of 20 October 1904, was decided on 1 October 2018. All of it is recorded here and none of it is settled here.