Synopses & Reviews
This is a complete history of South and Central America. It is a vivid, analytical narrative and is appropriately illustrated with maps and photographs.
The book is divided into six parts. In the first the author describes the natural environment of the continent, the civilizations and cultures of Native American peoples before 1500, and the society of Iberia where the conquerors came from. Part II tells the story of Columbus's voyages and of their aftermath in conquest by the Spanish and Portuguese. Part III examines the means of European dominion: the administration, the church, industry, and colonial society.
Parts IV and V describe the mature colonial societies of Spain and Portugal and their patterns of development in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. The final part of the book examines the origins and course of the movements for independence, and the history of the new nations during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, and considers the effects of US neo-colonialist tactics in the recent past and present.
This work will surely become the standard one-volume account of its subject. It concludes with a glossary, bibliography and guide to further reading.
Review
"This is a wonderful survey of the colonial period, especially the sixteenth century. It provides us with an excellent combination of political, social and economic history within the larger Hispanic world."
H-Net Reviews "This History of Latin America is an outstanding start to the planned collection ... an imposing and informative book, skilfully presented and written." Canadian Journal of History
Synopsis
This is a complete history of South and Central America. It is a vivid, analytical narrative and is appropriately illustrated with maps and photographs.
- Complete history of Latin America, from the ancient civilizations to the twentieth century.
- Illustrated with original maps and photographs.
- Compelling narrative account explains internal change within an international context.
Description
Includes bibliographical references (p. 493-512) and index.
About the Author
Peter Bakewell studied at Cambridge University and has been teaching in the United States since 1975, first at the University of New Mexico and since 1989 at Emory University. His previous works include Silvermining and Society in Colonial Mexico: Zacatecas, 1546-1700 (1971) and Silver and Entrepreneurship in Seventeenth Century Potosi: The Life and Times of Antonio Lopez de Quiroga (1988).
Table of Contents
List of Illustrations.
Series Editor's Preface.
Preface.
Conventions Used.
Maps.
Part I: Bases:.
1. Lands and Climates.
2. American Peoples.
3. Iberia.
Part II: Approaches:.
4. Columbus and Others.
5. Experiment in the Caribbean.
6. Military Conquest.
Part III: Domination:.
7. Administration: The Power of Paper.
8. Church: Friars, Bishops, and the State.
9. Society: Old Orders Changed.
10. Economy: Ships and Silver.
Part IV: Mature Colonies:.
11. The Seventeenth Century: A Slacker Grip.
12. Eighteenth-Century Spanish America: Reformed or Deformed?.
Part V: Portugal in America:.
13. Colonial Brazil: Slaves, Sugar, and Gold.
Part VI: Self-Discovery: The Nineteenth Century and Beyond:.
14. Independence.
15. Adrift in Storms: Caudillos and Penury.
16. Calmer Waters and a New Course: Oligarchs and Exports.
17. Epilogue.
Glossary.
Notes.
Bibliography.
Index.