This best-selling text for introductory Latin American history courses, A HISTROY OF LATIN AMERICA, INTERNATIONAL EDITION, encompasses political and diplomatic theory, class structure and economic organization, culture and religion, and the environment. The integrating framework is the dependency theory, the most popular interpretation of Latin American history, which stresses the economic relationship of Latin American nations to wealthier nations, particularly the United States. Spanning pre-historic times to the present, A HISTROY OF LATIN AMERICA, INTERNATIONAL EDITION uses both a chronological and a nation-by-nation approach, and includes the most recent historical analysis and the most up-to-date research. This is the most streamlined and cohesive edition yet, with substantial additions to pedagogy and chapter content. Expanded coverage of social and cultural history includes women, indigenous cultures, and Afro-Latino peoples.

The fourth edition of Latin American Civilization is a compact update of a classic book of readings that teachers and students of Latin American history have used and appreciated since its first appearance in 1955. Returning to the single-volume format, this edition combines the best of the old collection with new material on recent developments in Latin American politics and society. Particular care has been taken to bring the chapters on the twentieth century up to date. Among the new selections are pieces on the Church's role in the Nicaraguan revolution, the Malvinas/Falklands war, the struggle for democracy in Argentina and Brazil, and women's liberation in Cuba. The great majority of selections are primary materials. These personal narratives-many translated by Dr. Keen for this collection-convey the flavor and spirit of a period more vividly than official documents and are generally better written. Secondary works are used only when suitable contemporary material was not available. The brief introductions and headnotes, which provide students with background information on the authors and subject matter, have been updated to reflect the best recent scholarship. This lively, entertaining, and informative book is an excellent companion for all texts on Latin American history, although its organization and outlook conform most closely to that of Keen and Wasserman's Short History of Latin America.

The "Brief and Summary Relation of the Lords of New Spain" is one of the major contemporary accounts of the economic, political, and social impact of the conquest of Aztec Mexico. Written by Alonso de Zorita, a Spanish judge of high integrity and many years' experience in colonial administration, it provides a detailed description of Aztec life before and after the Conquest. Based on Zorita's stay in Mexico from 1556 to 1566, it reflects the anguish felt by a devoted and humane servant of the Crown, who observed the misery inflicted upon the Indians by enslavement and Spanish-imposed tribute and labor systems

In his extensive introduction, Benjamin Keen provides a survey of the rise of Aztec society, conditions under post-Conquest colonial administration, and a biographical essay on Zoritas life and the reception of his work. With a new preface on recent scholarship and issues in Zorita's work, this edition remains the standard translation in English of the "Brief Relation."

A controversial figure in his own day (1474-1566), Las Casas might well be the New World's first political activist. Championing the cause of the Indians in "Overseas Spain," Las Casas threw his heart, soul, and fortune into a highly volatile movement. He became the "Protector of the Indians" and devoted fifty years to the destruction of Indian slavery. Friede and Keen's collection of essays increases the understanding of the man and his work by presenting English translations of the findings of leading modern European and Latin American specialists on Las Casas.

"The cornerstone of the history of the American continent." --Washington Irving This revised edition (originally published in 1959) of the famous biography of Columbus by his son Ferdinand was published to coincide with the Columbus quincentenary celebrations. Benjamin Keen's introduction traces the changing assessments of Columbus and his Discovery over almost five centuries, as reflected in the writings of historians, other social scientists, novelists, and poets, and shows how these assessments were influenced by varying political, social, and intellectual conditions. Keen has also revised his translation and notes to reflect new information and viewpoints. Ferdinand's book is a moving and personal document. Provoked in part by the Spanish Crown's attempts to diminish Columbus's role as discoverer, it reveals the restrained emotions of a loving son jealous of his father's honor. Ferdinand had access to all of his father's papers. At the age of thirteen, he accompanied Columbus on the last voyage and participated in many of the events he relates here. The narrative has the irrestible excitement of an adventure story: shipwreck, storms, and battles with mutineers or Indians. Ferdinand's imaginative insight into the many-faceted personality of the discoverer and his artistry with words make this biography, as Henry Vignaud has said, "the most important of our sources of information on the life of the discoverer of America." Benjamin Keen is Professor Emeritus of Latin American history at Northern Illinois University. He is the author of The Aztec Image in Western Thought (Rutgers University Press) and many other books.

The great inquiry into the nature of Aztec civilization began at the very moment of its destruction in the name of the Spanish Crown and Church. The overwhelming discovery of a vast, luxurious overseas empire offering fresh evidence of the enormous diversity of customs and opinions among the nations of the earth expanded the imaginative as well as the geographic horizons of Renaissance Europe. In The Aztec Image, Benjamin Keen explores the shifting attitudes and focus of the scores of historians, philosophers, scientists, and men of letters and the arts who dealt with the Aztec theme in the four and a half centuries after the conquest of Mexico. From that time to the present, the world of the ancient Aztecs has been a subject of compelling interest and controversy in the West.

Keen explains how each new view continuously corrected and developed, the Western conception of Aztec civilization. He relates prevailing ideas about the Aztecs to the broad socioeconomic, political, and ideological patterns of the age, as well as to the contemporary state of knowledge about ancient Mexico. A comprehensive work of historiography, Keen's book is the first to encompass the sweep of Western thought on the Aztecs from Cortes to the present.

The best-selling text for introductory Latin American history courses, A HISTORY OF LATIN AMERICA encompasses political and diplomatic theory, class structure and economic organization, culture and religion, and the environment. The integrating framework is the dependency theory, the most popular interpretation of Latin American history, which stresses the economic relationship of Latin American nations to wealthier nations, particularly the United States. Spanning pre-historic times to the present, A HISTORY OF LATIN AMERICA takes both a chronological and a nation-by-nation approach, and includes the most recent historical analysis and the most up-to-date scholarship. The Ninth Edition includes expanded coverage of social and cultural history (including music) throughout and increased attention to women, indigenous cultures, and Afro-Latino people assures well balanced coverage of the region's diverse histories.

The best-selling text for introductory Latin American history courses, A HISTORY OF LATIN AMERICA encompasses political and diplomatic theory, class structure and economic organization, culture and religion, and the environment. The integrating framework is the dependency theory, the most popular interpretation of Latin American history, which stresses the economic relationship of Latin American nations to wealthier nations, particularly the United States. Spanning pre-historic times to the present, A HISTORY OF LATIN AMERICA takes both a chronological and a nation-by-nation approach, and includes the most recent historical analysis and the most up-to-date scholarship. The Ninth Edition includes expanded coverage of social and cultural history (including music) throughout and increased attention to women, indigenous cultures, and Afro-Latino people assures well balanced coverage of the region's diverse histories.