By the beginning of the 16th century...
In 1508 the Spanish explorer Ponce...
Following their colonization of...
Encouraged by Spanish successes on...
In 1826 Russian troops encroached on...
In 1830, there were still five large...
In February 1879 Chile had seized...
In April 1885 the United States...
By 1890, American Indian resistance...
Political disputes between the...
Long unstable, Colombia collapsed...
The Spanish-American War gave the US...
In 1902, the United States purchased...
The American gains against Spain...
The scramble for resources,...
