Update's done. EDIT: Reordering the sections a bit.
The World in a New Century, Section III: South America
Published by the McNally Corporation in Chicago, 1901.
Brazil:
The largest nation in South America is the Empire of Brazil. Brazil is governed by an imperial monarchy currently led by Emperor Pedro II. Pedro II has for the most part been a benevolent monarch. The people do have a say in state-level affairs and the monarchy is currently considering movements toward a republic. However, Pedro is getting old and Prince Imperial Afonso, the heir to the Brazilian throne, has shown that he is against giving up the powers that the emperor has in the governing of Brazil.
While Brazil is for the most part one of the few benevolent empires in the world today, the country's retention of slavery has been a major stain on Brazil's government. However, the monarchy is not entirely to blame. Pedro II has made attempts to slowly phase out slavery in Brazil in recent decades, but much of the Brazilian higher classes opposed this. This is partly because of the major agricultural crops of Brazil - coffee, sugar, and rubber - are labor intensive crops which slavery lends itself well to. The other reason is that while slavery seemed to be on its way out for the beginning of the 19th century, the migration of Southern plantation owners to Brazil after the National War revived slavery in the country. Because of these factors, Brazil has become the last remaining country in the Americas to keep people as slaves.
The culture of Brazil is extremely varied because, like the United States, Brazil is a very large country that covers a wide range of climactic regions. The white population of Brazil is descended from the Portuguese colonization of the country and is concentrated mostly on the coastal strip in the eastern and southern parts of Brazil. Here you can find the most densely populated regions in the country and the largest cities, including Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo, Salvador, and Recife. Brazil also has a large Indian population. They are mostly savages and live in the interior of the Amazon rainforest, far away from where the white men live[1].
Northern South America:
The countries in the northern part of South America are Colombia, the small country of Ecuador, and the three major European colonies known as the Guianas. 'Gran' or Greater Colombia as it is sometimes called, is the dominant country in the region. Originally, Gran Colombia had encompassed the current states of Colombia and Ecuador. However, the countries of Venezuela and Ecuador had split off from Colombia in the 1830s soon after gaining independence from Spain. In the 1850s, Colombia fought a war with Venezuela to regain its lost territory and annexed Venezuela. This caused a shock in the rest of Ibero-America and especially Ecuador, but later that decade Colombia agreed to cede its claims on Ecuador in exchange for Brazil making some concessions in the Amazon.
For the most part, Colombia and Ecuador have had good governments since independence. While there have been some coups in both countries, for the most part the two countries have run proper republican systems. The culture of the two countries is primarily mestizo, with Indian populations living in the more remote areas of the Amazon jungle. To the east of Colombia lie the Guianas, the only European possessions remaining on the South American mainland. They are owned by Great Britain, the Netherlands, and France. Aside from the coast, they are almost entirely covered in dense tropical forest.
Andean States:
The Andes Mountains which run along the western edge of South America are the backbones of several countries of the continent. The Viceroyalty of Peru was the heart of the Spanish colonies in South America, and Lima became one of the wealthiest cities on the continent during the height of the Spanish Empire. However, in the 19th century after the colonies gained their independence from Spain, Peru's importance has fallen. In the 1830s, southern Peru elected to join Bolivia after the collapse of the Peru-Bolivia Confederation. Since then, the country has gone through several autocratic governments and retains many territorial claims on its neighbors. Peru has little manufacturing aside from a small area around Lima, though a railroad has recently been built across the Andes to the interior city of Huanuco.
The largest and most important country in the Andes is Bolivia. Bolivia occupies the land that was the heart of the Inca Empire, one of the more civilized states in the Americas prior to the arrival of Europeans. Cuzco, the former capital of the Inca Empire, is still a cultural and economic center in Bolivia[2]. The country is a wealthy and rather progressive nation, with some representation given to all men including the many Indians and mestizos in the country. The economy of Bolivia is largely made up of mining. The abundance of metals in the Andes have allowed for a large manufacturing sector in the western half of the country, particularly in cities such as Tacna and Cochabamba. There is also a large supply of nitrates in the Atacama Desert in southern Bolivia, which has recently led to a population rush and mining boom in the region.
Lastly, the small landlocked nation of Tucuman lies to the south of Bolivia in the eastern shadow of the Andes. The country was founded after grievances with Argentina led to the local vaqueros, cow-herders similar to those of the Great Plains, from separating to form their own nation. The economy of Tucuman is largely agricultural with tobacco, cattle, and sugarcane being the most important industries. Tucuman is reliant on Bolivia for its exports as it is easier to transport goods west to the Pacific than east to the Atlantic, and has become politically influenced by Bolivia as well in recent years.
Southern Cone:
Much of Chile lies on the western slope of the Andes south of Bolivia. It is a thin but long country, and has a varied climate thanks to stretching from the Tropic of Capricorn to the southernmost point in South America. The economy of Chile is very reliant on mining. Chile is one of the world's largest exporters of copper, with most of the mines being located in the north of the country. A small manufacturing sector has been propelled by the mineral presence in the Andes and Valparaiso has become one of the largest cities in terms of shipping in South America. Recently, Chile has also begun colonization of the southern reaches of Patagonia. While the area is disputed between Chile and Argentina, towns of Chilean settlers such as Fuerte Bulnes, Punta Arenas, and the settlement of Porvenir on the island of Tierra del Fuego have staked a claim for Chilean possession of the area. Chile has also attempted to claim the Malvinas or Falkland Islands[3], a British possession east of Tierra del Fuego.
The country of Argentina, unlike Chile, is far less progressive than Chile and has not been blessed with much success in its history. Throughout its existence, Argentina has had an unstable government. The struggle between the two sides of a centralized government in Buenos Aires and a more federal system such as we have has led to numerous civil wars and coups in the past century in Argentina. The country has also, like Peru, lost much of its original territory to its neighbors. The economy is very dependent on agriculture, and the plains or pampas are home to many cattle ranches. Like Chile, Argentina has laid a claim to the southern tip of the continent, causing disputes between settlers in Patagonia.
Lying between Argentina and Brazil is Mokoguay, a federal republic that was created by the union of the countries of Paraguay, Rio Grande, and Uruguay in the 1870s. Blessed with a wealth of resources and easy transportation links from the Parana and Uruguay Rivers, Mokoguay has become a wealthy and fairly industrialized country for its small size in the past few decades. Mokoguay's government is set up similarly to the Mesoamerican Union with each state having a large amount of autonomy. The culture of Mokoguay is also of note as it has the least number of Indians out of all South American countries.
[1] This sentence is almost verbatim from the turn-of-the-century textbook I'm using as a reference.
[2] I realized that the Republic of South Peru actually included Cuzco.
[3] Usually referred to as the Malvinas in the US.
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