South American History
Five thousand years of a continent's history — from the Norte Chico civilization on the Peruvian coast to the modern South American republics. Inca rise and fall, Spanish and Portuguese arrival, Bolívar's wars of independence, the 19th- and 20th-century revolutions, and the present day.
What's in this category
South American History spans the deepest indigenous past to the present: the Norte Chico civilization (one of the oldest in the Americas), the Chavín and Nazca cultures, the Tiwanaku and Wari empires, the rise and Pachacuti-era expansion of the Inca Empire, the Spanish and Portuguese arrival, three centuries of colonial rule, the 19th-century wars of independence led by Bolívar and San Martín, the formation of the modern republics, military coups and re-democratisations of the 20th century, and on into the 21st.
What it's not: not a Mexico/Central-America category — those events live in their own future category. South American History covers the continent south of the Darién Gap: roughly today's Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay, Chile, Argentina, and the Guianas.
Sample events
- Norte Chico Civilization Emerges — 3000 BCE
- Chavín Culture Begins — 900 BCE
- Nazca Lines Created — 100 CE
- Tiwanaku Empire Peak — 600 CE
- Inca Empire Founded — 1200
- Pachacuti Transforms Inca Empire — 1438
- Chimú Conquered by Incas — 1470
- Bolivian Crisis — 2019 (most recent)
+ 92 more events spanning five thousand years. New events added through corrections and ongoing verification.
Now available
South American History released 2026-05-20 as a Premium category, and flipped permanently free for everyone on 2026-08-16.
New Premium categories are added regularly, chosen by community vote, alongside an existing Premium category flipping permanently free. The full catalog grows for everyone; subscribers always have something exclusive.
How to play this category
Free for everyone. Open Sorting History, tap Play, select South American History, choose a game length (5, 10, 15, 20, or 30 events), and sort. No subscription needed. Free users see ads between rounds; Explorer and Historian subscribers play ad-free.
Pair South American History with European History or Ancient Civilizations for a transatlantic multi-era game.
Related categories
- Ancient Civilizations — the deeper pre-Columbian context (Olmec, Maya, others)
- European History — the Iberian powers that crossed the Atlantic
- German History — the paired free-flip on 2026-05-20