In the 19th century in South America, the key factor was the formation of independent Latin American states. National liberation revolutions in South America destroyed the colonial regime almost in all the Spanish possessions in the New World (except Cuba and Puerto Rico), in the Portuguese Brazil, as well as in French Saint-Domingue. Therefore there is an urgent need to identify new boundaries and display them on the map.

In the early 19th century South American countries had a scant coverage of topographic maps and only to the end of the century were formed first mapping services. In Argentina in 1879 was created Argentina land survey office, in Brazil in 1886 - Instituto Geografico e Geologico de Sao Paulo, in Chile in 1891 - Oficina Geografica.

This period of history was full of military conflicts, and therefore the availability of relevant maps was of great importance.