The History of Latin America: Collision of Cultures (Palgrave Essential Histories) [Paperback]

Marshall C. Eakin (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1403980810 | ISBN-13: 978-1403980816 | Publication Date: June 12, 2007 | Edition: First Edition

This narrative history of Latin America surveys five centuries in less than five hundred pages.  The first third of the book moves from the Americas before Columbus to the wars for independence in the early nineteenth century.  The construction of new nations and peoples in the nineteenth century forms the middle third, and the final section analyzes economic development, rising political participation, and the search of identity over the last century.  The collision of peoples and cultures--Native Americans, Europeans, Africans--that defines Latin America, and gives it both its unity and diversity, provides the central theme of this concise, synthetic history. 

Editorial Reviews

Review

Praise for Brazil: The Once and Future Country:

"The best short survey of Brazil since the anthropologist Charles Wagley's 1963 classic, An Introduction to Brazil."--Kenneth Maxwell, Foreign Affairs

 

"Eakin's clear organizational framework combines with his taut prose to produce a highly readable and informative history of Latin America. Students will want to turn first to The History of Latin America: Collision of Cultures to begin their education in the history of this fascinating region."

--Todd A. Diacon, Professor of History, Vice Provost for Academic Operations, The University of Tennessee

"This book is well-written and jargon-free, with accessible prose for the novice student of Latin America. Having used several different general survey texts in my introductory Latin American Studies course, I can truly say that this is my favorite."--Erin Minzenberg, Miami University, The Latin Americanist

About the Author

Marshall C. Eakin is Professor of History at Vanderbilt University and Executive Director of the Brazilian Studies Association (BRASA).  A specialist in nineteenth- and twentieth-century Brazilian history, he is the author of British Enterprise in Brazil (1989); Brazil: The Once and Future Country (1997); and Tropical Capitalism: The Industrialization of Belo Horizonte, Brazil (2001).  Eakin has also created two video courses with the Teaching Company: "Conquest of the Americas" and "The Americas in the Revolutionary Era." 

He is a noted authority on the region, and has written many journal and magazine articles on Latin American history, culture, and politics as well as contributing to travel guides.  He lives in Nashville, TN.

Product Details

• Paperback: 448 pages
• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan; First Edition edition (June 12, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1403980810
• ISBN-13: 978-1403980816
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #152,617 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A fantastic survey, August 25, 2009

By 

Remi J. Dobbs "Remi J. Dobbs" (NYC) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The History of Latin America: Collision of Cultures (Palgrave Essential Histories) (Paperback)

I'd like to start by saying that Latin American history is a subject that anyone interested in politics should make themselves familiar with. While many history and polisci buffs have a good deal of American and European history under their belts, but they don't realize that there are 21 politically advanced countries that they have little to no knowledge of.

Beyond this, Latin American history is comparatively easy to learn, as unlike Europe or the Middle East, there are relatively few influences, which Eakin describes as a collision of 3 cultures--European (specifically Iberian), African, and Amerindian. My review on this book will focus more on history books as a whole than on the History of Latin America : Collision of Cultures, because what it does is avoids the pitfalls that many other histories fall for.

The first difficulty when it comes to writing a history book is what narrative to take. Too simplistic a narrative will show that you have an axe to grind, which may give you book sales, but will make the book worse when it comes to education value. However, this is made slightly easier by the subject. Compared to the myriad influences of Europe and the Middle East, which make any detailed narrative come out as rather inane, for instance, everyone agrees that the Crusades influenced Europe and the Middle East. However, how much did the Crusades influence these regions? Is the narrative of crusade and counter-crusade an appropriate view to take? By writing over such a long period, Eakin is able to partially avoid the problem of narrative--because with such a great deal of facts to deal with in such a small amount of space, it's rather hard to insert a story into all of these events.

The explanation Eakin gives to Latin America's poverty (a subject which many theories have tried to explain--Dependency theory was originally made to explain this and later was extrapolated towards all of the third world) has to do with the lost half-century after the independence wars, when there was endemic instability, multiple civil wars, and generally a set of things which don't support long term political and economic growth. This missing 5 decades meant that when these countries finally opened up to the international market, they were overtaken by the far stronger economies (this actually follows rather well, for instance, Buenos Aires was, in 1910, the size that New York was in 1860). Beyond this, the history of autocracy left by the Spaniard and Indoamerican Empires conspired to keep a majority of these countries autocratic (this theory also follows--the most democratic nations in the region, those being Chile, Argentina, Uruguay, and Costa Rica, were all the backwaters of the Spanish Empire), though this is a history that all of the countries have been trying to avoid. This narrative avoids the racism of a cultural explanation, the blame of dependency theory (though there is definitely blame to go around and Eakin puts credit where credit is due--stating that the problems that Mexico inherited from Spain were exacerbated by constant meddling on the USA's part).

The second problem with writing a history is when one shifts eras. The speed at which events occur is different pre-1800 than post 1800, and they're also different pre-1945 than post 1945. However, the chapters dealings with the Colonial period deal with the lack of things going on by also detailing the growing of the cultural divergences between the Metropolis and the Periphery, leading to a Creole culture (a narrative which works for the entirety of political history in the New World, to the degree where the book calls the Founding Fathers Creoles). The Victorian Era, which is where a great deal of histories occur, reads similarly to any other Victorian history. And when he gets to the post WW2 era, where, admittedly even for a single country it becomes almost too complicated to write as part of a larger book, he splits it up into 5 page segments for each country.

All in all, a fantastic history, and a great, unbiased start for a student about to take a Latin America course.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Drinking from a firehose, May 13, 2008

By 

Zander "zanderxo" (Seattle, WA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The History of Latin America: Collision of Cultures (Palgrave Essential Histories) (Paperback)

You have to expect that any book covering more than one year of history per page is going to be a survey, and this is a good one. The author has a clear and comfortable style, command of his facts, and tenable theses. The book is littered with references to other materials you will be tempted to pursue.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Almost everywhere Native American, African, and Latin White folks mixed, April 27, 2009

By 

Brian Griffith (Toronto, Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The History of Latin America: Collision of Cultures (Palgrave Essential Histories) (Paperback)

Eakin is an ever interesting guide to almost the whole continent. He's sensitive to how myriads of struggles appeared to all groups involved. His focus is wide, but with certain boundaries. He only glances at Native cultures before contact with Europe, because "Latin America" only appeared with the mixing of worlds and races. He basically omits mention of the Mexican regions seized by the United States, or of areas colonized by non-Iberians such as the Guyanas, Suriname, Belize, and Jamaica. But he covers Haiti. Almost everywhere Natives, Africans and Latin White folks mixed together, Eakin tells the tale.

The book gives helpful background on what "Liberal" and "Conservative" have meant in these parts of the world. But the political options advanced by Native comminities seem basically overlooked in the Liberal-Conservative crossfire. The long-running tension between managed and unregulated economies gets a general, even-handed account. But the nationalist response to US-backed corporate interests is better explored by Naomi Klein.

For most of the book Eakin gives theme-based surveys of the whole continent. Then he gives brief, insightful summaries on each nation. But I wanted more light on Colombia's disturbing troubles. I think the book offers more insight on many smaller countries, including the Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, Paraguay, and even Puerto Rico, than it gives on Colombia.