south america, history of481
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Central america
Conquistadors
Incas
South americaRoman CatholIC ChuRCh
When the Spanish arrived in South america, they brought
the Roman Catholic religion with them. Catholic priests
tried to stamp out local religions and convert the native
americans to their faith. In the end, the priests were
forced to include parts of the old native american
religions in their services. In some places, the priests tried
to protect the native americans against Spanish rulers who
were cruel to them, but most priests upheld the Spanish
colonial government. During the 20th century, the Roman
Catholic Church took a more active role in supporting the
poor against powerful landlords and corrupt governments.Pedro arrives in Recife (formerly Pernambuco),
a prosperous town in the empire.ERnESto “ChE” GuEvaRa
one of the most popular heroes of the
20th century, “Che” Guevara (1928-67)
was born into a rich argentinian family.
Guevara was a doctor before choosing
to spend his life supporting revolutions
against oppressive South american
governments. In 1959, he helped
Fidel Castro overthrow the Cuban
government. Guevara served
under Castro until 1965. In
late 1966, he went to Bolivia,
where he based himself in
the countryside among poor
peasants. In 1967, he was
killed by the Bolivian army.
his death made him a
hero for revolutionaries
everywhere. In 1997, he
was reburied in Cuba.Juan pERón
From 1946 to 1955,
argentina was ruled by
president Juan perón
(1895-1974). poor people
living in the cities supported
perón and his wife, Eva.
he introduced many reforms
but did not allow anyone to
oppose him. after the economy weakened in the
early 1950s, and after Eva’s death in 1952, perón
became much less popular. he was overthrown by
the army in 1955. In 1973, he again held power
but died the following year. his third wife, Isabel
martínez de perón, succeeded him as president.SImón BolívaR
In 1808, Spain was involved in a war with French
emperor napoleon Bonaparte; the South american
colonies took this opportunity to declare their
independence. led by Simón Bolívar (1783-1830),
and José de San martín (1778-1850), the colonies
fought against Spanish control; all gained their
freedom by 1825. Bolívar hoped to unite
all of South america, but many disliked his
dictatorial approach. In 1822, Brazil declared
its independence from portugal, leaving only
Guiana in the north under European control.Bolívar leads soldiers
into battleBRazIlIan EmpIRE
From 1822 to 1889, Brazil was an empire.
under Emperor pedro II (1825-1891) roads
and railroads were built and the coffee and
rubber industries began to prosper. thousands
of immigrants poured into the country from
Italy, portugal, and Spain. In 1888, the african
slaves who had been brought over to work the
plantations were freed. this angered many
landowners, since they had been using the slaves
as cheap labor. the landowners withdrew their
support from pedro, and in 1889 the army took
Stamp bearing over the empire and a republic was declared.
a portrait of
Pedro IIUS_481_South_America_Hist_of_2.indd 481 22/01/16 4:49 pm