Latin America since Independence: Two Centuries of Continuity and Change

(Hardback, Second Edition)

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Description

This book offers an innovative, thematic approach to the history of Latin America since independence. It traces continuity and change in colonial legacies that became central political issues following independence: authoritarian governance; a rigid social hierarchy based on race, color, and gender; the powerful Roman Catholic Church; economic dependency; and the large landed estate. Generally, liberals have sought to modify or abolish these legacies in the interest of what they consider progress, while conservatives have attempted to preserve them as much as possible as bastions of their power and privilege. Examining the evolution of these colonial legacies across two centuries reveals the processes that formed the political systems, economies, societies, and religious institutions that characterize Latin America today.

Reviews

Thomas C. Wright and Robert L. Smale have written an engaging, intelligent, and valuable history of modern Latin America that will benefit students and specialists alike. Latin American since Independence places the region in a global context but also captures its great diversity and dynamism. -- Charles Walker, University of California, Davis
Exploring continuity and change in key institutions and practices of Latin Americas colonial past, Wright and Smale skillfully blend the influence of international and regional politics with the idiosyncrasies of national development after 1810. The text provides a highly readable introduction to Latin American political, social, and economic history from the Spanish and Portuguese conquests and settlement in the Western Hemisphere into the first decades of the twenty-first century. -- Brian Loveman, emeritus, San Diego State University and author of For la Patria: Politics and the Armed Forces in Latin America
This book offers a balanced blend of perspectives sustained by thoughtful recognition of the diversity of the experiences of the peoples of Latin America addressed within the context of a shared history. The proposition of continuity and change is expertly deployed as an imaginative framework for a commanding history of Latin America. -- Louis A. Prez Jr., University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Author Bio

Thomas C. Wright is distinguished professor emeritus at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

Robert L. Smale is associate professor of history at the University of Missouri.