4 states of South America on one map, from 1556 CE to 1802 CE.The largest, New Netherland, covered about 344,000 km². Each has its own section below with its rulers, capitals, wars and pictures where the records hold them.
Each state in its own colour. Move the timeline to see which existed in any year from 1556 to 1802; select a territory to read about it. Borders: Cliopatria / Seshat (CC BY 4.0).
| State | Years | Capital | Largest extent | Rulers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| France Antarctique | 1556 CE – 1571 CE | – | 12,370 km² | – |
| Jesuit Reducciones | 1595 CE – 1768 CE | – | 261,430 km² | – |
| New Netherland | 1622 CE – 1802 CE | New Amsterdam | 344,000 km² | – |
| French Colony of Guiana | 1791 CE – 1791 CE | Cayenne | 19,565 km² | – |
When each state existed, 1556 CE to 1802 CE. Select a year to see the map then.
1556 CE – 1571 CE · 12,370 km²
France Antarctique (also spelled France antartique) was a French colony in Rio de Janeiro, in modern-day Brazil, which existed between 1555 and 1567, and had control over the coast from Rio de Janeiro to Cabo Frio. The colony quickly became a haven for Huguenots, and was ultimately destroyed by the Portuguese in 1567.
From Wikipedia: France Antarctique (CC BY-SA 4.0)
1595 CE – 1768 CE · 261,430 km²
The Jesuit missions among the Guaraní were a type of settlement for the Guaraní people ("Indians" or "Indios") in an area straddling the borders of present-day Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay, known locally as the triple frontier. The missions were established by the Jesuit Order of the Catholic Church early in the 17th century and ended in the late 18th century after the expulsion of the order from the Americas. The missions have been called an experiment in "socialist theocracy" or a rare example of "benign colonialism".
From Wikipedia: Jesuit missions among the Guaraní (CC BY-SA 4.0)
1622 CE – 1802 CE · Capital: New Amsterdam · 344,000 km²
New Netherland (Dutch: Nieuw Nederland) was a colony of the Dutch Republic located on the East Coast of what is now the United States. The claimed territories extended from the Delmarva Peninsula to Cape Cod. Settlements were established in what became the states of New York, New Jersey, Delaware, and Connecticut, with small outposts in Pennsylvania and Rhode Island. The colony was originally conceived by the Dutch West India Company in 1621 to capitalize on the North American fur trade.
From Wikipedia: New Netherland (CC BY-SA 4.0)
In the 17th century, Europe was undergoing expansive social, cultural, and economic growth, known as the Dutch Golden Age in the Netherlands. Nations vied for domination of lucrative trade routes around the globe, particularly those to Asia. Simultaneously, philosophical and theological conflicts were manifested in military battles throughout the European continent. The Dutch Republic had become a home to many intellectuals, international businessmen, and religious refugees. In the Americas, the English had a settlement at Jamestown, Virginia, the French had small settlements at Port Royal and Quebec, and the Spanish were developing colonies in South America and the Caribbean.
From Wikipedia: New Netherland · Origin (CC BY-SA 4.0)
New Netherlanders were not necessarily Dutch, and New Netherland was never a homogeneous society. Governor Peter Minuit was a Walloon born in what is now Germany who also spoke English and worked for a Dutch company. The term New Netherland Dutch generally includes all the Europeans who came to live there, but may also refer to Africans, Indo-Caribbeans, South Americans, and even the Indians who were integral to the society. Dutch was the official language and likely the lingua franca of the province, although other languages were also spoken.
There were Algonquian languages. Walloons and Huguenots tended to speak French, and Scandinavians and Germans brought their own tongues. It is likely that the Africans in Manhattan spoke their mother tongues, but were taught Dutch from 1638 by Adam Roelantsz van Dokkum.
From Wikipedia: New Netherland · Society (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Willem Kieft was director of New Netherland from 1638 until 1647. During Kieft's administration, the Leiden-trained physician Johannes La Montagne served as the sole member of the director's council from 1638 through 1647. The director and council together exercised executive and legislative powers and constituted the colony's court of justice.The colony had grown somewhat before his arrival, reaching 8,000 population in 1635. Yet it did not flourish, and Kieft was under pressure to cut costs. At this time, Native American groups that had signed mutual defense treaties with the Dutch were gathering near the colony due to widespread warfare and dislocation among the tribes to the north. At first, he suggested collecting tribute from the Native Americans, as was common among the various dominant tribes, but his demands were simply ignored by the Tappan and Wecquaesgeek.
From Wikipedia: New Netherland · Development: Kieft's War (CC BY-SA 4.0)
The concept of tolerance was the mainstay of the province's Dutch mother country. The Dutch Republic was a haven for many religious and intellectual refugees fleeing oppression, as well as home to the world's major ports in the newly developing global economy. Concepts of religious freedom and free trade (including a stock market) were Netherlands imports. In 1682, visiting Virginian William Byrd commented about New Amsterdam that "they have as many sects of religion there as at Amsterdam".
The Dutch Republic was one of the first nation-states of Europe where citizenship and civil liberties were extended to large segments of the population. The framers of the U.S. Constitution were influenced by the Constitution of the Republic of the United Provinces, though that influence was more as an example of things to avoid than of things to imitate.
From Wikipedia: New Netherland · Legacy: Political culture (CC BY-SA 4.0)
1791 CE – 1791 CE · Capital: Cayenne · 19,565 km²
French Guiana, also known by its French name Guyane or Guyane française, is an overseas department and region of France located on the northern coast of South America in the Guianas and the West Indies. Bordered by Suriname to the west and Brazil to the east and south, French Guiana covers a total area of 84,000 km2 (32,000 sq mi) and a land area of 83,534 km2 (32,253 sq mi). As of January 2026, it is home to 298,554 people.
From Wikipedia: French Guiana (CC BY-SA 4.0)
French Guiana, as part of France, forms part of the European Union – the largest landmass for an area outside of Europe (since Greenland left the European Community in 1985), with one of the longest EU external boundaries. It is one of only three European Union territories outside Europe that is not an island (the others being the Spanish Autonomous Cities in Africa, Ceuta and Melilla). The inhabitants of French Guiana are French citizens with full political and legal rights. As an integral part of France, its head of state is the president of the French Republic, and its head of government is the prime minister of France. The French government and its agencies have responsibility for a wide range of issues that are reserved to the national executive power, such as defense and external relations.
From Wikipedia: French Guiana · Government and politics (CC BY-SA 4.0)
As a part of France, French Guiana is part of the European Union and the Eurozone; its currency is the euro. The country code top-level domain (ccTLD) for French Guiana is.gf, but.fr is generally used instead.
In 2019, the GDP of French Guiana at market exchange rates was US$4.93 billion (€4.41 billion), ranking as the 2nd largest economy in the Guianas after Guyana (which discovered large oil fields in 2015 and 2018), and the 12th largest in South America.
From the 1960s to the 2000s, French Guiana experienced strong economic growth, fueled by the development of France's Guiana Space Centre (established in French Guiana in 1964 as the independence of Algeria in 1962 led to the closure of France's space center in the Algerian Sahara) and by high population growth that stimulated domestic consumption.
From Wikipedia: French Guiana · Economy (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Following the French withdrawal from Vietnam in the 1950s after the First Indochina War, and the subsequent Vietnam War, France helped resettle several hundred Hmong refugees from Laos to French Guiana during the 1970s and 80s, who were fleeing displacement after the communist takeover of Laos by Pathet Lao in 1975.
In the late 1980s, more than 10,000 Surinamese refugees, mostly Maroons, arrived in French Guiana, fleeing the Surinamese Civil War.
More recently, French Guiana has received large numbers of Brazilian and Haitian economic migrants. Illegal and ecologically destructive gold mining by Brazilian garimpeiros is a chronic issue in the remote interior rain forest of French Guiana. The region still faces such problems as illegal immigration, poorer infrastructure than mainland France, higher costs of living, higher levels of crime and more common social unrest.
From Wikipedia: French Guiana · History: Post World Wars (CC BY-SA 4.0)
French Guianan literature includes all works written by local authors or persons related to French Guiana. It is expressed both in French and in French Guianan Creole.
Local literature is a literature closely related to that of the French West Indies: especially the Caribbean islands of Martinique and Guadeloupe. For some, it is an Antillean-Guianan literature in relation to the themes addressed, which are mainly related to slavery and other social problems. Thus, this literature takes several forms. First, orality, because it is a characteristic element of French Guianan literature, as in many countries of Black America. In this connection, we can consider tales, Legends, fables and, in another form, Novels.
Nineteenth century French Guiana is marked by a weak presence of writers. At that time, writers only published a few scattered poems in local newspapers.
From Wikipedia: French Guiana · Culture: Literature (CC BY-SA 4.0)
This page maps 4 states of South America founded between 1556 CE and 1791 CE: France Antarctique, Jesuit Reducciones, New Netherland, French Colony of Guiana.
New Netherland had the largest mapped extent, about 344,000 km².
New Netherland lasted longest, 1622 CE – 1802 CE.
