Independence and Nation-Building in Latin America: Race and Identity in the Crucible of War

Independence and Nation-Building in Latin America: Race and Identity in the Crucible of War reconsiders the history of the break-up of colonial empires in Spanish and Portuguese America, emphasizing popular loyalism and the slave-based economy in Spanish Brazil. It challenges conventional accounts and highlights the roles of previously marginalized actors, such as Indigenous peoples and free people of color.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 158 pages
Publication date: 29 July 2022
Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd

Independence and Nation-Building in Latin America: Race and Identity in the Crucible of War is a groundbreaking book that reexamines the history of the break-up of colonial empires in Spanish and Portuguese America. The authors critically examine competing interpretations and shed light on the latest scholarship on social, cultural, and political aspects of the period. Instead of glorifying rebellions and patriots, the book emphasizes patterns of popular loyalism amidst a fracturing Spanish state. In contrast, a slave-based economy and a relocated imperial court provided relative stability in Portuguese Brazil. The chapters explore the competing claims of various social and political figures across Central and South America and the Caribbean, raising questions about whether a new liberal consensus had taken hold. The text utilizes translated primary sources and insightful analysis to provide an updated perspective on conventional accounts that focus on politics, the military, and Creole-peninsular friction. Previously marginalized actors, such as Indigenous peoples and free people of color, take center stage, making this concise and accessible text appealing to scholars, students, and anyone interested in Latin American History and Revolutionary History.

Weight: 350g
Dimension: 234 x 156 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780367820718