Argues that a history of drugs is a study of cultures in competition.

The power of the military in Latin America has become well known in recent decades, as coups have brought numerous military regimes into office since 1960. Yet too often it is assumed, for example, that the region's armed forces have had no legitimate defence functions, or that military professionalism is only a recent development.

The US-Mexican borderlands form the region where the United States and Latin America have interacted with the greatest intensity. This work addresses the protracted conflict rooted in the vast difference in power between Mexico and its northern neighbor. Each of the seven parts explores a key issue in borderlands studies.

Archer offers an assessment of the heritage of the independence struggle. The text illustrates themes connected with the origins of the wars, the 15 years of violence which differed according to region, and the political, economic and social contexts of the struggle.

The essays in this volume explore the ways in which Latin American women have influenced, and have been influenced by, the traditional practices and ideologies of their cultures. The essays are arranged in two sections: culture and the status of women in Latin America, and reconstructing the past.

From the arrival of Hispanicized Africans during the Age of Discovery to the renewal of racial identities, the history of Africans in Latin America has been complex, their contributions numerous. This work selects topics through which to study the African dimension of Latin America, including the colonial era, religion, music, and intermarriage.

The only reader currently available on criminality in Latin America, "Reconstructing Criminality in Latin America" reconstructs the way in which different Latin American societies have viewed, described, defined, and reacted to criminal behavior. Crime in Latin America is explored in terms of gender, race, class, and criminological theory.

The highly readable essays in this book explore how Catholic notions of sin, natural law, the divine rights of absolutist monarchs, liberal rights of man, positivism, and social Darwinism received a sympathetic, even enthusiastic, endorsement from policy...

From sixteenth century rebellions against Spanish occupation to the present, guerrilla warfare as a means of transformation has been linked to Latin America's tumultuous history. While these revolutionary movements in many ways have altered the collective consciousness of the entire world, the full significance of guerrilla movemets as vehicles of social transformation has often been underestimated.

The efforts of Indians in Latin America have gained momentum and garnered increasing attention in the last decade as they claim rights to their land and demand full participation in the political process. This issue is of rising importance as ecological concerns and autochtonous movements gain a foothold in Latin America, transforming the political landscape into one in which multiethnic democracies hold sway. In some cases, these movements have led to violent outbursts that severely affected some nations, such as the 1992 and 1994 Indian uprisings in Ecuador. In most cases, however,...

The Catholic Church played a significant role in social action in colonial Latin America: a time when the Church was the most important institution next to the royal government. This collection of classic articles and modern research looks at the Church's active social and political influence.