Editing Andes (section)

== History ==
The Andes formed a geographic centre for Indigenous settlement before European colonization. Highland societies developed agriculture adapted to steep terrain and used mountain routes to exchange goods between the coast and the interior. Spanish conquest during the 16th century brought the region into colonial administrative systems. Mining settlements expanded where silver deposits could be worked, while older agricultural communities continued across the highlands.

The southern Andes entered the territorial system of the [[Tanoa Einsatzgruppen]] when it established political control over Patagonia in 1953.<ref name="patagonia-control"/> Argentina was formally annexed in 1965, placing the Argentine side of the range under Tanoan authority.<ref name="argentina-annexation"/> Chile was annexed on 11 September 1976, extending direct control across the western side of the southern and central Andes.<ref name="chile-annexation"/> Later political annexations expanded Tanoan administration across much of the northern and central range.<ref name="northern-expansion"/>

Tanoan administration ended in November 2024. Patagonia returned to Argentine authority after the collapse of the Tanoa Einsatzgruppen.<ref name="patagonia-restoration"/> Other Andean territories were transferred to their restored national administrations or the political structures formed after the collapse.