Author Description
Fully revised and updated, this unique single-volume survey provides complete and even more up-to-date coverage of the entire region during the critical era that saw the formation and consolidation of its distinctive national institutions, laying the groundwork for contemporary Latin America. Covering all the major countries, the new edition features a new treatment of Peru based on important recent research, important new material on elections in imperial Brazil and the Mexican economy in 1810-55, and a fully updated bibliography. The authors focus on the preliminary experiments in nation-building throughout Latin America and explore the conscious--if perhaps misguided--attempts by most leaders to adopt a liberal mode of both socioeconomic and political development. No pat answers are provided, but the nagging questions of Latin American "instability" and "underdevelopment" are examined, and the data and factors that come into play are presented and explained.
Menrva's Summary
THE THESIS
This work investigates the complex processes of nation-building and institutional consolidation that defined Latin America throughout the nineteenth century. Authors David Bushnell and Neill MacAulay utilize extensive historical data to analyze the region's transition from colonial status to independent states. They argue that the era was characterized by deliberate, often experimental attempts by regional leaders to implement liberal socioeconomic and political frameworks. By examining the structural challenges of the period, the authors provide a comprehensive overview of the factors contributing to the region's development trajectory.
THE SCOPE MAP
What You Will Find
- Comparative analysis of nation-building experiments across major Latin American countries.
- Detailed examination of the Mexican economy between 1810 and 1855.
- Investigation into electoral processes and political shifts in imperial Brazil.
- Scholarly synthesis of the historical debate surrounding regional instability and underdevelopment.
THE AUTHORITY PERSPECTIVE
Historians and students of Latin American studies frequently cite this text as a foundational survey for understanding the post-independence era. Readers often note the academic rigor and the authors' balanced approach to complex socioeconomic variables.
Page Count:
352
Publication Date:
1994-03-10
Publisher:
Oxford University Press
ISBN-10:
0195084020
ISBN-13:
9780195084023
Non-Fiction
History
Latin America
Liberalism
Nineteenth century
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