Kategoria BISAC: History >> Latin America - Central America

In the late nineteenth century, many Central American governments and countries sought to fill low-paying jobs and develop their economies by recruiting black American and West Indian laborers. Frederick Opie offers a revisionist interpretation of these workers, who were often depicted as simple victims with little, if any, enduring legacy.

The Guatemalan government sought to build an extensive railroad system in the 1880s, and actively recruited foreign labor. For poor workers of African descent, immigrating to Guatemala was seen as an opportunity to improve their lives and escape...

For centuries scholars have pondered and speculated over the uses of the chipped stone implements uncovered at archaeological sites. Recently a number of researchers have attempted to determine prehistoric tool function through experimentation and through observation of the few remaining human groups who still retain this knowledge. Learning how stone tools were made and used in the past can tell us a great deal about ancient economic systems, exchange networks, and the social and political structure of prehistoric societies.

Suzanne M. Lewenstein used the artifacts from Cerros, an...

Confronting the assumption that nationalism primarily drove resistance, McPherson finds more concrete-yet also...

The possibility of violence beneath a thin veneer of civil society is a fact of daily life for twenty-first-century Guatemalans, from field laborers to the president of the country. Crisis of Governance in Maya Guatemala explores the causes and consequences of governmental failure by focusing on life in two K'iche' Maya communities in the country's western highlands. The contributors to this volume, who lived among the villagers for some time, include both undergraduate students and distinguished scholars. They describe the ways Mayas struggle to survive and make sense of their...

The world s fair of 1915 celebrated both the completion of the Panama Canal and the rebuilding of San Francisco following the devastating 1906 earthquake and fire. The exposition spotlighted the canal and the city as gateways to the Pacific, where the American empire could now expand after its victory in the Spanish-American War. "Empire on Display "is the first book to examine the Panama-Pacific International Exposition through the lenses of art history and cultural studies, focusing on the event s expansionist and masculinist symbolism.

The exposition displayed evidence visual,...

As the study of world history evolves from a Eurocentric perspective to a more global viewpoint, formerly marginalized groups are now the focus of discussion, revealing a background rich with important military, political, social, and economic achievements. This book examines the once prosperous and powerful native civilizations in Central and South America, discussing the key individuals, strategies, and politics that made these countries strong and indomitable. In spite of this, the author shows how, in only a few generations, Spain defeated these mini-empires, eventually dominating much...

This study examines the development of Panamanian nationalism, focusing on the period from 1903 to 1941. Utilizing historiography, literature, public architecture, and monuments, Szok posits that Panamanian nationalism is, in part, a legacy of the nineteenth century when Panama experienced a nationalist movement typical of the rest of Latin America. This movement was a creation of the country's white elite, who feared the Afro-mestizo masses and sought the protection of outside powers. Later joining forces with the growing middle class, the upper class continued to emphasize liberalism and...