Table of Contents
Fast Facts
Read Next
Media
history of Latin America
Feedback
Thank you for your feedback
Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article.
External Websites
Britannica Websites
Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students.
Recent News
May 25, 2023, 11:28 AM ET (AP)
Weeks before EU and Latin American joint summit, trade deal remains elusive
May 24, 2023, 5:00 PM ET (AP)
Volcano rumbles near Mexico City, coating towns with ash, disrupting flights
May 18, 2023, 5:33 PM ET (AP)
8-year-old girl dies in Border Patrol custody in Texas, as agency struggles with overcrowding
May 12, 2023, 5:42 PM ET (AP)
Biden commends Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez for collaboration on migration
history of Latin America, history of the region from the pre-Columbian period and including colonization by the Spanish and Portuguese beginning in the 15th century, the 19th-century wars of independence, and developments to the end of the 20th century. Latin America is generally understood to consist of the entire continent of South America in addition to Mexico, Central America, and the islands of the Caribbean whose inhabitants speak a Romance language. The peoples of this large area shared the experience of conquest and colonization by the Spaniards and Portuguese from the late 15th through the 18th century as well as ...(100 of 38231 words)