The AmericasPolitical Timelines
Independence came early to the Western Hemisphere, and the struggle over what to do with it has run ever since.
Turning points
- 1804January 1
Haitian independence
After a revolution led by formerly enslaved people, Haiti declared independence from France, the second independent republic in the Americas.
- 1810s–20sIndependence
The wars of independence
Leaders including Simón Bolívar and José de San Martín fought Spanish rule across South America; most of the mainland was independent by the mid-1820s.
- 1822Brazil
Brazil's independence
Brazil broke from Portugal as an empire under Pedro I, and became a republic in 1889.
- 1867July 1
Canadian Confederation
The British North America Act united the provinces of Canada, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick into a federal dominion.
- 1910Mexico
The Mexican Revolution
A revolt against the long rule of Porfirio Díaz became a decade of upheaval and produced the Constitution of 1917.
- 1948Bogotá
The Organization of American States
The OAS charter was signed in Bogotá in 1948, bringing the hemisphere's states into one regional body.
- 1980sTransitions
The return of civilian rule
Argentina in 1983, Brazil in 1985 and Chile in 1990 were among the countries that moved from military to elected governments.