- Early settlers arrived in South America around 12,000 years ago as hunter-gatherers, with farming beginning 5,000 years ago. The Incas went on to build the largest early civilization spanning modern day Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia and Chile. - The Spanish conquered the Inca Empire in the 1530s and sought to establish large estates on the western side of South America. They forced the local populations to work these lands and European diseases devastated Indian populations. - The Portuguese settled the eastern coast of South America, establishing sugar and brazilwood plantations that relied on enslaved African labor after European diseases reduced Indian populations. Most South American countries gained independence in the early 19th century.

1. South America’s History and Culture World Geography