Frank Safford

Politics, ideology and society in post-Independence Spanish America

To develop valid general statements about Spanish American politics in the half century that followed independence is a formidable task. The countries were diverse in ethnic composition. Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Guatemala and (to a lesser degree) Mexico possessed large Indian populations that were only partially assimilated into the dominant Hispanic culture. Elsewhere the mestizo was more clearly predominant numerically and almost all of the population was culturally integrated into Hispanic society. These differences had implications for political behaviour. In those societies in which the lower class was largely composed of people culturally distinct from the Hispanic elite, that class was less likely to become actively involved in politics. The countries also vary greatly geographically. Much of the population of Mexico, Guatemala and the Andean countries was locked into interior highlands, while in Venezuela, Chile and much of the Rio de la Plata significant proportions of the population were located in coastal regions. This difference had important implications for the economies, and hence the politics, of these countries. The earlier onset of intensive trade relations with western Europe in the countries with coastal populations and resources enabled their governments, through customs collections, to develop firmer financial bases, and therefore somewhat greater stability, than was often the case in the landlocked countries. Even here, however, there are not simply two patterns. In the 1830s and 1840s Chiles relative stability encompassed the entire area of the republic, while in the Plata region there were only pockets of order.

Foreign and National Enterprise in Nineteenth-Century Colombia

The energy and interplay of Latin American and foreign businessmen in enduring the uncertainties of independence and the obstacles of nature are underscored in this example from the Colombian experience.

Americas: The Changing Face of Latin America and the Caribbean.

Stunning for its magisterial sweep Americas is the most authoritative history to date of contemporary Latin America and the Caribbean. From Mexico to Tierra del Fuego, from Cuba to Trinidad and Tobago, Americas weaves a captivating narrative that analyzes the historical, demographic, political, social, cultural, religious, and economic trends in the region. With incisiveness and clarity, Peter Winn offers commanding analyses of, among other subjects: the first half of the century, when Latin America and the Caribbean assumed a new place in the world order, only to have prosperity shattered by the Great Depression and World War II; the Cold War era, when the regions economic and political systems were in disarray; the vast migration of peoples throughout the continent; the shaping of racial and ethnic identities through rural transformation and urban opportunities; the role of women as they challenge stereotypes about gender and the family; she influence of the Catholic Church and of evangelical and spiritualist sects; the extraordinary cultural ferment in the area; the three political upheavals that have shaped contemporary Latin American history - Mexico in the 1910s, Cuba in 1959, and Nicaragua in 1979; and the powerful drive for democracy and economic independence that resonates throughout the hemisphere today. Americas gives an indispensable overview of the similarities and differences among the thirty-three countries and half-billion people who inhabit a region that has played a crucial role in shaping the history of the modern world.