ABSTRACT

What is Latin America, after all? While histories of the "other" Americas often link disparate histories through revolutionary or tragic narratives, Latin America since Independence begins with the assumption that our efforts to imagine a common past for nearly thirty countries are deeply problematic. Without losing sight of chronology or regional trends, this text offers glimpses of the Latin American past through eleven carefully selected stories. Each chapter introduces students to a specific historical issue, which in turn raises questions about the history of the Americas as a whole. Key themes include:

  • race and citizenship
  • inequality and economic development
  • politics and rights
  • social and cultural movements
  • globalization
  • violence and civil society.

The short, thematic chapters are bolstered by the inclusion of relevant primary documents – many translated for the first time – including advertisements and posters, song lyrics, political speeches, government documents, and more. Each chapter also includes timelines highlighting important dates and suggestions for further reading. A highly interactive companion website contains the full text of excerpted documents, extra images and timelines, film clips, and student review materials. Richly informative and highly readable, Latin America since Independence provides compelling accounts of this region’s past and present.

For additional information and classroom resources please visit the Latin America since Independence companion website at www.routledge.com/textbooks/Dawson.

chapter 1|26 pages

Independence Narratives, Past and Present

chapter 2|24 pages

Caudillos versus the Nation State

chapter 3|24 pages

Race and Citizenship in the New Republics

chapter 4|26 pages

The Export Boom as Modernity

chapter 5|28 pages

Signs of Crisis in a Gilded Age

chapter 6|26 pages

Commerce, Coercion, and America’s Empire

chapter 7|26 pages

Power to the People

chapter 8|32 pages

A Decade of Revolution in Cuba

chapter 9|32 pages

Peru in an Age of Terror

chapter 11|31 pages

Bolivia’s Left Turn