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Latin America Research Outline |
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Table of Contents
Introduction
Using This Outline
Latin American Search Strategies
Records At The Family History Library
The Family History Library Catalog
Map Of Central America
Map Of South America
Archives And Libraries
Archives In Spain
Latin American Archives
Biography
Family Information
Compiled Biographies
Cemeteries
Locating Cemeteries And Cemetery Records
Census
Church Records
Information Recorded In Church Registers
Inquisition Records
Locating Church Records
Search Strategies
Civil Registration
Information Recorded In Civil Registers
Locating Civil Registration Records
Emigration And Immigration
Finding The Immigrant's Town Of Origin
Locating Emigration Records
Gazetteers
Genealogy
Family Histories
Compiled Genealogies
Major Databases And Collections
History
Historical Chronology
Calendar Changes
Historical Geography
Local Histories
Land And Property
Language And Languages
Language Aids
Maps
Using Maps
Locating Maps And Atlases
Military Records
Types Of Military Records
Locating Military Records
Names, Personal
Native Races
Racial Terminology
Nobility
Untitled Nobility [Hidalgos/Fidalgos]
Titled Nobility [Nobleza/nobreza]
Military And Fraternal Orders[Ordenes Militares And Cofradías/Confraternidades]
Notarial Records
Periodicals
Probate Records
Societies
Other Records
For Further Reading
Comments And Suggestions
HISTORY Family history research requires some understanding of the historical events that may have affected your family and their records. Learning about wars, governments, laws, migrations, and religious trends may help you understand political boundaries, family movements, and settlement patterns. These events may have led to the creation of records that list your family, such as land and military documents. Your ancestors will be more interesting if you learn about the events that shaped their lives.
The chart below lists some key dates and events in the history of Latin America which have affected settlement patterns and family history:
1492–1550
Christopher Columbus discovers the Americas. The era of European exploration and settlement of Latin America begins:
1513
Vasco Núñez de Balboa explores Panama.
1519–1521
Hernán Cortés conquers Mexico.
1520
Venezuela is first colonized.
1533
Pedro de Heredia explores Colombia; Santa Marta and Cartagena are established.
1535
Francisco Pizarro establishes Lima. Explorers led by Pedro de Mendoza settle Buenos Aires. Juan de Solís explores Paraguay, establishes Asunción.
1540
Pedro de Valdivia colonizes Chile. Sebastián de Belalcazar establishes Quito.
1493
Pope Alexander VI sets a line of demarcation (100 leagues west of the Azores and the Cape Verde Islands) to establish Spanish rights to territory west of the line.
1494
The Treaty of Tordesillas moves the demarcation line to 370 leagues west of the Cape Verde Islands. This allows Portugal to settle territory in the Americas east of the line.
1500
Pedro Alvares Cabral claims Brazil for Portugal.
1511–1787
The audiencia 1530–1850
Millions of Africans are brought to Latin America as slaves.
1545–1563
The Catholic church establishes methods for registering baptisms, marriages, burials, and other sacraments and ecclesiastical activities.
1549
Tomé de Sousa establishes the Brazilian colonial capital at Bahia.
1570–1820
The Holy Office of the Inquisition 1580–1640
Felipe II of Spain invades Portugal; Brazil becomes subject to the Spanish monarch. The Treaty of Tordesillas is rendered invalid, allowing Brazilians and Portuguese to occupy the vast interior of Brazil.
Spanish Jesuits establish mission communities for approximately 100,000 Guaraní and Tapes Indians in Paraguay. Spain expels the Jesuits in 1768, and the communities disband.
1624–1654
The Dutch occupy northeastern Brazil. Iberian Jews find temporary refuge in Dutch Brazil.
1807–1814
Napoleon occupies the Iberian peninsula. The Portuguese court flees to Rio de Janeiro, and the Spanish monarchy abdicates.
1810–1822
Latin American colonies fight for and achieve independence from Spain and Portugal.
1823–1839
The Federation of Central America is formed, headquartered in Guatemala. Each of the new republics leaves the federation by 1839.
1828
Uruguay is established as an independent nation, serving as a buffer between Argentina and Brazil.
1836
Texas territory gains independence from Mexico.
1846–1848
The United States goes to war 1853
The Gadsen Purchase 1864–1870
Paraguay wages war against Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay. The Paraguayan population is decimated.
1870–1920
The great period of European and Asian immigration to Latin America. Millions of immigrants settle in Latin America, influencing local culture and ethnic composition.
1879–1883
Chile wages the War of the Pacific 1903
The province of Panama revolts against Colombia and becomes an independent nation. The United States begins to build a canal across the isthmus.
1946
French Guiana is elevated by France to overseas department status.
1954
Dutch Guiana, now known as Suriname, becomes a self-governing Dutch territory.
1966
British Guiana becomes the independent nation of Guyana.
1975
Suriname becomes an independent nation.
1981
Belize, formerly known as British Honduras, gains independence from Britain.
The Gregorian calendar Leap years were miscalculated in the Julian calendar, and by 1582 the calendar was ten days behind the solar year. In that year Pope Gregory XIII issued a Papal Bull, modifying the calendar to correct the problem. He declared that the day following the fourth of October that year would become the fifteenth of October. Other adjustments were made in the calendar to prevent future leap year miscalculations.
Spain adopted the new system in 1582, and the Spanish territories in the New World rapidly followed Spain's example. The Gregorian calendar was adopted in the viceroyalty of Nueva España (Mexico) in 1583 and in the viceroyalty of Perú in 1584.
Spain and Portugal instituted a viceroyalty The following viceroyalties functioned in Latin America during these time periods:
1549–1822
1776–1810
1534 –1821
1717–1724,
1543 –1821
1509–1526
Legislative divisions called audiencias functioned under the Spanish viceroyalties. These audiencias supervised local courts, applied Spanish law, and served to establish a legal tradition that has persisted in Hispanic America. The jurisdictions of the audiencias formed the basic territories of the Latin American republics once they gained independence from Spain.
The following list indicates the years in which audiencias were established under each viceroyalty:
Nueva España
1511
During the nineteenth century, international conflicts and border disputes altered many political jurisdictions of Latin America. These changes affected the subsequent registration of the local population. Some of the most significant changes are discussed in the following paragraphs.
Uruguay. The border between Argentina and Brazil on the eastern bank of the Uruguay River was disputed by Spain and Portugal throughout colonial times, and the conflict continued even after Argentine and Brazilian independence was achieved. Finally, in 1828, England mediated a settlement that established the independent nation of Uruguay, which would serve as a buffer state between Argentina and Brazil.
Mexico. The most significant change in national borders occurred in Mexico. In 1836 Texas declared independence from Mexico. After ten years of difficult independence, Texas joined the United States. A subsequent war with Mexico finalized the incorporation of Texas into the United States. In the 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, Mexico ceded the northern third of its territory to the United States. This land eventually became the states of New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado, Utah, and California. The Rio Grande River was established as the northern border of Mexico by the Gadsen Purchase in 1853, which transferred additional Mexican territory to the Arizona area.
Chile. Chile acquired the mineral-rich Atacama Desert when it prevailed in the 1879–1883 War of the Pacific Panama. In 1903 the province of Panama revolted against the government of Colombia. The United States sent military forces to aid Panama and quickly recognized Panama's independence. That same year the United States began construction of the Panama Canal across the isthmus. The United States retained control of the Canal Zone, which split Panamanian territory.
Belize. In 1964 the colony of British Honduras attained self-government and, in 1981, full independence. The country became known as Belize. The territory had long been claimed by Guatemala, and Guatemala maintained unresolved claims over much of Belize.
Some of the most valuable sources for family history research are local histories. Published histories of towns, cities, and states usually contain accounts of families. These histories describe the settlement of the area and the founding of churches, schools, and businesses. You may also find lists of colonists, soldiers, and civil officials.
Even if your ancestor is not listed in a local history, information about other relatives may be included that can provide important clues for locating your ancestor. A local history may also suggest other records to search. Most state and town histories also include biographical information. Local histories can provide information about what life was like for your ancestors and about the community and environment in which they lived.
You can find national, state, or local histories in the Family History Library Catalog under one of the following:
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Historical Chronology
system is established throughout Spanish-American territories.
is instituted in Lima (1570), Mexico (1571), and Cartagena (1610). Charges are brought against Protestants, Jews, and Muslims, as well as Catholic heretics.
against Mexico. The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo establishes the Rio Grande River and a line west from El Paso approximately along the Gila River as the border between Mexico and the United States. More than one third of Mexican territory becomes the great southwest of the United States.
transfers additional Mexican territory to the southwest of the United States.
against Bolivia and Peru. Chile gains the mineral-rich Atacama Desert region and occupies Lima for a few years. Bolivia loses access to the Pacific Ocean.
Calendar Changes
is the calendar commonly used today. It is a correction of the Julian calendar, which was used in the Roman and European world beginning in A.D. 46.
Historical Geography
Viceroyalties
system to govern their possessions in the New World. During the nearly three centuries of the colonial period, legal records and documents were subject to the jurisdiction of the appropriate viceroyalties.
•Brasil
•La Plata
(Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay,
parts of Bolivia)
•Nueva España
(Central America,
the Caribbean, Mexico,
the Philippines, Venezuela)
•Nueva Granada
(Colombia, Ecuador,
Panama, Venezuela)
1740–1819
•Perú
(Chile, Peru, parts of Bolivia)
•Santo Domingo
(the Caribbean)
Audiencias
•Caracas
1786
•Guatemala
1543, 1570
•Nueva España
1527
•Nueva Galicia
1548
Nueva Granada
•Bogotá
1549
•Panamá
1538, 1563
•Quito
1563
Perú
•Cuzco
1787
•Lima
1542
•Santiago
1609
Perú and La Plata
•Buenos Aires
1661
•Charcas
1559
Santo Domingo
•Santo Domingo
Latin American Border Changes
against Bolivia and Peru. The acquisition extended Chile's northern border and completely cut off Bolivia's access to the sea.
Local Histories
[COUNTRY] - HISTORY[COUNTRY], [STATE or PROVINCE] - HISTORY[COUNTRY], [STATE or PROVINCE], [CITY or TOWN] - HISTORY
[FamilySearchTM: Research Guidance
Version of Data: 6/9/2001]