A History of Latin America

by George Pendle

An authoritative and concise introduction to an area of such great economic potential is certainly needed. This history has been written by a specialist who was closely connected with Latin America for over 40 years. His text emphasizes how many races and classes have contributed to the civilization of this great land-mass, with its vast mountain ranges, rivers, prairies, forests, and deserts: Indians, European conquistadores, priests, planters, African slaves, caudillos, liberal intellectuals, and commercial pioneers.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Audiobook, Latin American History

272 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1963

Reviews

[Illiterate]

Narrative history. Pendle likes to explain patterns in terms of the culture and character that a people acquires from its geography.

[Elsathegay]

george pendel try not to uttrycka en rasistisk bias i varenda mening challenge FAILED. men tre stjärnor för att jag lärt mig en del

[Glyn Longden]

Rating: 5/10. When you are as clueless as I was regarding the history of Latin America, you have to start somewhere and that's with a survey of the topic. Truthfully, you'd be better off with a volume which has been written in the last couple of years. Pendle, who was an Oxford professor and a Brit, wrote this book in 1963 and updated it a couple of times before he died in 1977.



Part of the charm of reading old history books is to see how close the author came in predicting the future. In that regard, Pendle didn't do a bad job. He correctly predicts the massive urbanization and the pervasive destitution in the urban slums of most Latin American cities. He also tells us that the struggle to achieve democracy will a tenuous one at best and that dictatorships will continue to prevail in many parts of the area. He predicts that the concept of Anti-Americanism will be the one unifying force in all countries of the region.



Surveys are supposed to whet your appetite for a more in-depth experience. The two countries which I wouldn't mind reading more about are Argentina and Brazil. I suppose in that sense Pendle's book was a successful one. I still think, though, you might be better with a book by a Latino author.

[Dan]

pendle writes well about a subject he clearly loved. good historical summaries (16th-19th centuries), though thin on the pre-columbian millennia. he wrote this in the 1960s, with a rushed end-note from 1975. that's fine, as i enjoy seeing the viewpoint from different periods. i'm also happy with writers of different political persuasions. but pendle's views seemed to blind him to some important issues. he favours land reform, more even distribution of income, help to neglected rural areas. but he also has a warm acceptance of most late 20th century military regimes in the region, as well as selected landed oligarchs.

so on early 19thC feudal argentinean estates "Most people were poor so that the few might be rich; but the poor had all they needed for their simple lives, and bore no resentment against their masters". sure about that unlikely item, george?
"[The majority of Andean Indians] have little or no ambition to better their material existence"
again, any data to back up that suprising contention?
plus, in the discussion of military regimes, some are rightly described as more progressive in social policy (velasco in peru), but there is no discussion of the murderous behaviour of any of them. in chile, salvador allende merely "lost his life in the fighting" that inevitably followed his leftist policies. mexican students "complained" about government policy in 1968 - i think some were also massacred for their trouble, but this not mentioned. fine to be conservative on some issues, but a historian should air all of what is going on, and back up conclusions with evidence. well that's the more modern approach.

also nothing on latam writers, cinema or other culture, position of women, etc - not his kind of history.

still, i enjoyed many of his descriptions, together with observations such as relatively liberal US policy in bolivia stemmed from the fact that only (liberal) state dept mid-level lifers were willing to serve in an unglamorous posting in la paz. presumably better connected cold war warriors grabbed santiago, buenos aires and the caribbean offices, and so more hawkish US policy (coups, invasions) followed in those places.

i'm sure there are better historians of the region around, and would welcome any recent suggestions...

[Rosario]

No puedo negar que este libro efectivamente cumple su promesa: es un paseo general por todo el continente desde que llegó Colón hasta la década de 1970. Es todo lo que tus profesoras de historia les dio lata pasarte en el colegio. Al menos a mí como chilena no me enseñaron nada sobre Centro América, las Antillas, etc. Y con este libro una persona que no sabe nada puede quedar con una noción más o menos decente.
Sin embargo, es imposible escribir un libro de historia sin mostrar la hilacha. Siempre ante un libro sobre mi continente escrito por un huinca no dejan de parárseme los pelos y no me faltaron las razones esta vez.
En los capítulos que hablan de la época colonial está todo bien. Pero durante el siglo XX ya se percibe una -al principio sutil- defensa hacia la intervención de EEUU en nuestros asuntos, incluso llega a justificarlas en el caso de Allende diciendo este era un gobierno ineficiente. Este autor, que creo que es inglés, trata de convencernos de que los golpes de estado eran algo pacífico casi un acuerdo en un café. Getúlio Vargas y Castelo Branco quedan como blancas palomas, gente buena y gentil, aunque un poco dura cuando era necesario.
Por otro lado, George Pendle muestra menosprecio hacia lo indígena en los tiempos modernos, no trata de ocultar su pasmo e inquietud ante la persistencia de modos de vida no occidentales en el continente, y lo duros que hemos sido para adoptar las maravillas de Europa o Estados Unidos.
Si lo va a leer un niñe, que sea sólo bajo la supervisión de una adulta.

[Bryan--The Bee’s Knees]

Given that the last update in this book mentions the overthrow of Allende in Chile, but does not name Pinochet, it follows that it can't help but be out of date. It might function well as a part I, if someone were to write a history of Latin America from 1970-2020.

Even so, I don't think the book was a total loss--up until the early years of the 20th Century, I think the book is a pretty good general survey. Very general. While it discussed the Spanish and Portuguese colonial periods, I thought it did so concisely, which allowed it to move on and cover other interesting aspects of the region. I appreciated that aspect, as the initial interaction between the Europeans and the native populations were the one aspect of Latin American history that I was most familiar with.

Pendle keeps his tone neutral throughout, which might actually seem insulting, given the terrific toll in human life here over the years--however, a truly comprehensive history might be so bleak that it would be difficult to read. Unfortunately, there was still much bloodshed ahead for these countries, and any part II would have to include it.

Historiography is treated differently these days than in the late 60s/early 70s--Pendle's book does not spend a lot of time treating of different identity groups--this is more of a political history than a cultural one, though there is an effort to identify 'Latin American' characteristics. Again, this might be more insulting in today's world than Pendle intended, I don't know. But, as I said, if one is only looking for a general survey of major events taking place in this part of the world, then it isn't a bad choice. I suspect there are many others that would be better though, given this lacks the events of the last 50 years.

[Joni]

I’d like to know how much has changed.

[Tsiopelas]

Out of date view of the latin world situation. Stereotypes everywhere

[Julia Robaczynska]

It was a good introduction for me as someone who knew close to nothing about latin American history. It is definitely out-dated but was an enjoyable read nonetheless.

[Pam Strachan]

A very good overview

[Joseph]

George Pendle's "A History of Latin America" is a great non-fiction book for anyone who would like to learn about the politics, fought wars, and geography of almost all Spanish speaking countries. Some of the historical figures in the book are Fidel Castro, Juan Vincente Gomez, and Jose Martiz. The main themes in the book are politics,war, rebellion, and social class. The one thing that this book contrasts is the history of the specific country and how it's changed. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes history, and is interested in a challenging read.

[Niall Fitzpatrick]

excellent companion for travel. I read it while travelling in Latin america and found it very Illuminating as to the origins of each national mindset. it concentrates solely on founding events and important progressions and reversals and while it was last published in the 60s it captures succinctly regional outlooks that still play out today like Venezuela's boom and bust oil cycle and how it influences its political cycle.

[Mia]

more nuanced than expected regarding capitalism v communism debates especially as old as this text is - still very eurocentric and lacking severely in discussions abt slavery. very, very little or no autonomy given to women/ indigenous/ enslaved people.

(total aside but i hope every early colonizer is suffering in the lowest level of hell)

[Peter Daerden]

A good balance between facts and analysis. More nuanced, less black and white, than Galeano's account of Latin America's history that was written some years later.

[Ruppert Baird]

A good overview of the history and politics of Latin America up to the mid-1970s (at least in the printing I read).