Analysis Of Americanos: Latin America's Struggle For Independence

The historical political development of Latin America is one that has been wroth with bloodshed, disagreement, and ultimately compromise. As we begin to analyze this area of the globe and its current state of political development—ranging from the impending impeachment of Brazilian President, Dilma Rouseff to the crippling democracy occurring under the quasi-dictatorship of Nicolas Maduro—it is important to critically engage with the historical trends and values which gave rise to a continent of liberal democracies. John Charles Chasteen’s Americanos: Latin America’s Struggle For Independence is seminal to understanding Latin American politics and history as it engages with the historical battles—both ideological and practical—in which leaders …show more content…
Here, Chasteen begins his analysis of the area through the eyes and life of well-known botanist and scientist Alexander Von Humboldt. In doing so, Chasteen establishes a narrative form that exists throughout the text which, in turn, allows the reader to follow the historical developments of Latin America much easier than what have could been a series of disjointed scenes of Latin American Independence Movements. In conjunction with the narrative structure in the book, Chasteen also introduces the various independence leaders of each of the local movements very early in the book. Introducing individuals like Father Hidalgo in Mexico, and Simon Bolivar in Venezuela and Columbia help ground and effectively separate the important incentive structures that existed within the region that led to the subsequent independence movements to