Born in Blood and Fire: A Concise History of Latin America

What formative historical event did the Portuguese and Spanish share before the Encounter? Did this have any effect on how they dealt with Indigenous populations? If so, why? If not, why not?

What do the terms hegemony and transculturation mean? What effects did these have on colonial and post-colonial Latin America?

In which ways did the wars of independence in Latin America contrast from and compare to one another? What differences were there between Brazilian and Spanish American independence? Why did they develop so differently?

Liberalism was a driving force during the fight for independence, but ultimately it was unable to change much in Latin American politics and society afterwards. Was this inevitable? What could have been different?

In what ways did Progress and industrialization change the socio-political landscape in Latin America? Did Progress benefit everyone?

How did the actions of Britain, France, and the US come to define Latin America’s neocolonial experiences?

Why were nationalist politics received with so much enthusiasm throughout Latin America in the early 20th century? What were nationalist ideas on racial ideology, and how were these ideas embodied in the arts?

How does the US intervention in Guatemala in 1954 exemplify general US foreign policy in Latin America during the Cold War era? How does it compare with US intervention in Bolivia around the same time?