The Fragmented Nation

The myth of the "Black Legend"--a persistent representation of Spaniards as little more than looters and rapists--looms large in histories of Latin America. To rectify this misconception, this book argues that Latin America was in the vanguard of progress and modernity. It examines antagonisms between Spain and Portugal and each country's expansion in the 1700s, relations between the Spanish and Portuguese Indians, rivalry with other foreign empires, the Encomienda, the runaway slave community of Brazil, the Guarani rebellion, the impact of the U.S. and French revolutions on the region and many other points critical to a full and accurate political portrait of the region. The United States in Texas, the Mexican-American War, the Cuban military in Angola and Ethiopia, the Falklands/Malvinas War and other challenges to U.S. and European hegemony receive extensive coverage. The study examines support and resistance to neoliberalism, leftist movements and competing visions of globalization in Latin America. Political and economic integration in Latin America also is discussed.

Salvador Rivera is a professor at the State University of New York. He lives in Cobleskill, New York.