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.

1 The most current history of Latin America available. Includes information on Hugo Chavez and his movement, the current rise of indigenous leaders, environmental issues, and areas experiencing political unrest2 Written in a clear, accessible style which brings the key details to life
3 New title in the best-selling Palgrave's Essential History series

Introduction: Unity and Diversity PART I: THREE PEOPLES CONVERGE * The Lay of the Land--and the Water * American Peoples and Cultures * Iberians and Africans * Moving Out across the Oceans * The First Conquest * The Conquest on the PeripheriesPART II: BUILDING EMPIRES AND SOCIETIES IN A NEW WORLD * Land and Labor * State and Empire * Religion and Empire * Race, Culture, and Society * Reforms and Revolutions * The Onset of the Wars for Independence * The Wars for IndependencePART III: FORGING A NEW ORDER * Liberals, Conservatives, and Disorder * Liberals, Positivists, and Order * Great Britain, the United States, and Latin America * The Pursuit of IdentityPART IV: DEMOCRACY, DEVELOPMENT, AND IDENTITY * Diverging Paths: Many Latin Americas * The Path of Revolution: Before 1959 * The Path of Revolution: Since 1959 * The Path of Reform * Between Reform and Revolution * Povery and Progress * Race, Culture, Identity * Latin America in the 21st Century