This book examines the relationship between indigenous populations in the north-central highlands of Ecuador and disease, especially those infections introduced by Europeans during the sixteenth century. Disease, of course, existed in the Americas long before 1500. But just as native societies resisted and eventually adapted to European conquest, so too did they adapt to Old World pathogens. Just as the responses of Indian communities to the economic and political demands of Spaniards varied over time, so too did the immunological responses of indigenous populations change over generations....

Much of the so-called Age of Santa Anna in the history of independent Mexico remains a mystery and no decade is less well understood than the years from 1835 to 1846. In 1834, the ruling elite of middle class hombres de bien concluded that a highly centralized republican government was the only solution to the turmoil and factionalism that had characterized the new nation since its emancipation from Spain in 1821. The central republic was thus set up in 1835, but once again civil strife, economic stagnation, and military coups prevailed until 1846, when a disastrous war with the United States...

Buenos Aires is Argentina's national capital and largest city. This book describes the development of the city during the period from 1910 to the early 1940s. It focuses on the role of politics and local government in the evolution of the city, detailing elections, party competition, and debates on important public works issues. The political story is set within the larger context of the overall growth of the capital. This is the first work to cover comprehensively the history of the city for this period and the first to concentrate on the neglected topic of local government.

This book is the first to describe the role of business interest groups, also known as pressure groups, in the development of Brazil during the nineteenth century. Business interest groups strongly affected the modernization and prosperity of agriculture, the pace of industrialization, and patterns of communications. The commercial associations, the most important of business interest groups, also may be seen as institutions through which ties of dependency to better-developed nations overseas were maintained.

This book examines the characteristics of political power in the cities of the colonial Spanish Empire between the 1740s and 1780s, based on a detailed study of the mining city of Oruro in Alto Peru (present-day Bolivia), emphasizing the workings of the judicial system and the role of the bureaucracy. Toward the end of this period, the analysis focuses on the Indian uprisings of the 1780s (the rebellions of Tupac Amaru) and the reasons that led to the alliances or confrontations between the actors of the distinct bands, whether white or Indian.

This book provides a new interpretation of the process of Spanish American independence (1808-1826); one that emphasizes political processes and cultural continuities, instead of the break with Spain. It is the first book to examine the representative government and popular elections introduced by the Spanish Constitution of 1812. Rodriguez O. argues that independence did not constitute an anticolonial movement, as many scholars assert, but rather formed part of the broader Spanish political revolution. In America, supporters of the government in Spain struggled with local juntas for...

During the twentieth century, American corporations have spread American material productivity and American values such as consumerism and competitiveness around the globe. People in other nations have accepted some aspects of American corporate culture while vehemently rejecting others. The Revolutionary Mission is the first book to explore the impact of American corporate culture on Latin American societies and to examine its influence on the populist nationalist movements of the 1930s.

Mexico is a three volume general history of Mexico, comprising (I) the PreConquest period to 1521, (II) the Colonial period from 1521 to 1821, and (III, forthcoming) the National period from 1821-present. These books give a comprehensive narrative and analysis of Mexican history, focusing especially on political, economic, and social organization. Balancing both a 'bottom-up'(popular) and a 'top-down' (elite) perspective, they seek, where possible, to locate Mexico within broader, comparative patterns of historical change and conflict.

This book is one in a three volume general history of Mexico, comprising (I) the PreConquest period to 1521, (II) the Colonial period from 1521 to 1821, and (III) the National period from 1821-present. These books give a comprehensive narrative and analysis of Mexican history, focusing especially on political, economic, and social organization. Balancing both a 'bottom-up'(popular) and a 'top-down' (elite) perspective, they seek, where possible, to locate Mexico within broader, comparative patterns of historical change and conflict.

After looking briefly at the reasons for the oil fraternity's choice of Venezuela, the book examines the relationship between Gomez's government and the oil companies during this period. It deals with the government's initial encouragement, legislation, and unsuccessful attempts to increase production from the small number of companies operating before 1919. The important local links between the oil companies and vested interests, including Gomez's family and entourage, are examined to determine the level of interaction between the two groups. The socio-economic effects of the companies are...