The first full-length survey of Britain's role in Latin America as a whole from the early 1800s to the 1950s, when influence in the region passed to the United States. Rory Miller examines the reasons for the rise and decline of British influence, and reappraises its impact on the Latin American states. Did it, as often claimed, circumscribe their political autonomy and inhibit their economic development? This sustained case study of imperialism and dependency will have an interest beyond Latin American specialists alone.
"Clear and well documented, this is a very important contribution to the rich, varied work on British imperial activities and to postcolonial studies."--Helen M. Cooper, Stony Brook University Ramirez examines British literary representations of Latin America from the 16th through the 20th centuries, with particular attention to travel writing and fiction published during and after Latin American independence. Locating these representations within the political and economic histories of the countries in which they are set, she places works by Sir Walter Ralegh, Joseph Conrad, Arthur Conan Doyle, Malcolm Lowry, and Graham Greene within a critical context that can best be called "Americanist" and surveys the prominent themes of these works. She also examines their imperialist impulses and their changing master cultural narratives, from Charles Gould's "idea" of empire and his faith in commercial development for Latin America in Conrad's Nostromo to Lowry's Under the Volcano, a story of a failed and alcoholic English Consul in 1930s Mexico. Americanist literature, as Ramirez sees it, manifests mostly informal aspects of imperialism, reflecting the British desire to invest, develop, map, and catalog in countries as varied as Mexico, Panama, Peru, and Brazil. Ramirez argues that British representations of Latin Americareveal an authorial freedom to advance imperial and commercial projects on one hand, while questioning the English self and sense of strangeness in the New World on the other. Especially in the 19th- and 20-century works under consideration, she reveals an acute sense of vulnerability, as British power worldwide had begun to crumble. Expanding on the critical conversation surrounding "Orientalism" and "New World Studies," Ramirez's examination of informal British imperialism and the struggle of motives represented in each of the selected narratives opens a fascinating new terrain of texts reflecting the historical relationship between Britain and Latin America.
British and American soldiers, naval officers, mining engineers, merchants, businessmen and wealthy travellers flocked to the countries of Latin America following their independence from Spain and Portugal. Most such travellers were entirely ignorant of the continent and expected instant success: easy money, the cheap acquisition of fertile land, military glory or vast mineral wealth. Few of them realized their ambitions, for the overthrow of the old regimes had not brought peace, liberalism and the social conditions in which foreign investment could thrive. To their shock and disgust, they encountered the same civil strife, corruption, squalor and "barbarism", religious intolerance and petty jealousies that had prevailed in earlier centuries. The experiences of these travellers, as noted in their diaries, journals and letters, are presented in this book. It should be of interest to modern-day travellers as well as to historians and students of Latin America. A strength of the book is its coverage of political, business and civilian history as well as military life, throughout the continent.
The first comprehensive survey of Latin America in the formative period from the attainment of independence to 1880, when a quickening of economic growth and relative political stabilization ushered in a new phase of development, this book combines a review of issues and problems pertaining to the region as a whole with more detailed discussion of specific national case studies. It examines the preliminary experiments in nation-building throughout Latin America and the conscious attempts in most countries to adopt a liberal model of socioeconomic and political development. Incorporating important new scholarship on Brazil, Argentina, and Colombia, the authors provide complete coverage of the entire region during a critical era that shaped contemporary Latin America.
Hofman, a researcher with the Chile-based Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, uses growth accounting methods and previously unavailable long-term series data to assess the economic performance of the region during the century from a comparative and historical perspective. In particular he compares Latin American economies to those of advanced capitalist economies, to newly industrialized economies, and to Spain and Portugal because of the historical ties. He looks at the reasons for the poor or negative growth during the 1980s and the apparent recovery in the 1990s and at such problems as debt, income inequality, high inflation, cyclical instability, and political and policy instability. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR
A comprehensive encyclopedia covering the close ties between Britain and the whole of the Americas, examining Britain's cultural and political legacy to the nations of the New World. From Vikings to redcoats, from the Beatles to the war in Iraq, Britain and the Americas examines Britain's cultural and political legacy to the nations of the Americas. This comprehensive survey also traces how the Americas have in turn influenced contemporary Britain from the Americanization of language and politics to the impact of music and migration from the West Indies. Complete with an extensive introduction and a chronology of key events, this three-volume encyclopedia contains introductory essays focusing on the four prime areas of British Atlantic engagement—Canada, the Caribbean, the United States, and Latin America. Students of a wide range of disciplines, as well as the lay reader, will appreciate this exhaustive survey, which traces the common themes of British policy and influence throughout the Americas and highlights how Britain has in turn benefited from the influence of American democracy, technology, culture and politics.
"The sources in this volume focus on Britain's moral, financial, and diplomatic interventions and ambitions in Latin America. It begins during the wars of independence spanning 1810-1825. The collected texts variously portray British anticipation of, participation in, and pursuit of national interest amidst revolutions in Latin America"--
