It is hard to secure from the tangle of events called South American history a clearly defined picture. At the risk of repetition I have tried to tell separately the story of each country, because each has its special history and its peculiar characteristics. All of these states have, however, had much in common and it is only in the case of the larger nations that social and political conditions have been described in detail. A study of either Argentina, Brazil, Chile, or Venezuela is likely to throw most light on the political development of the continent, while Peru, Bolivia, and Colombia are more interesting to the seeker for local colour and the lover of the dramatic. The South American histories so far written treat of special periods, and few authorities exist for post-revolution times. Personal observations through a residence of six years in South America; conversations with public men, scholars, merchants, and proprietors; newspapers and reviews, political pamphlets, books of travel, and official publications, have furnished me with most of my material for the period since 1825. The following books have been of use in the preparation of the first volume, and are recommended to those who care to follow up the subject: ARGENTINA: Mitre's _Historia de Belgrano and Historia de San Martin_, in Spanish; Torrente's _Revolucion Hispano-Americano_, in Spanish; Lozano's _Conquista del Paraguay, La Plata y Tucuman_, in Spanish; Funes's _Historia de Buenos Aires y Tucuman_, in Spanish; Lopez's _Manuel de Historia Argentina_, in Spanish; Page's _La Plata_, in English; Graham's _A Vanished Arcadia_, in English. PARAGUAY: All of the above and Thompson's _Paraguayan War_, in English; Washburn's _History of Paraguay_, in English; Fix's _Guerra de Paraguay_, in Portuguese. URUGUAY: Bauza's _Dominacion Espanola_, in Spanish; Berra's _Bosquejo Historico_, in Spanish; Saint-Foix's _L'Uruguay_, in French. BRAZIL: Southey's _History of the Brazil_, in English; Varnhagem's _Historia do Brasil_, in Portuguese; Pereira da Silva's _Fundacao do Imperio, Segundo Periodo, Historia do Brasil, e Historia do Meu Tempo_, in Portuguese; Nabuco's _Estadista do Imperio_, in Portuguese; Rio Branco's sketch in _Le Bresil en 1889_, in French; Oliveira Lima's _Pernambuco_, in Portuguese. All of the above books may be found in the Columbian Memorial Library of the Bureau of American Republics at Washington, which, taken as a whole, is one of the best collections on South America in existence. T. C. D. WASHINGTON, January 22, 1903. CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE INTRODUCTORY: THE DISCOVERIES AND THE CONQUEST 3