This is a fully accessible text on the political, cultural and social history of Latin America and the Caribbean from the late eighteenth century to the present. Throughout the text the author presents examples from the life history of prominent and ordinary people as a way of illustrating the diverse array of social, racial, ethnic, and gender identities that come together to create the Latin American narrative. The focus on the Haitian Revolution, beginning with the revolt of thousands of enslaved workers in 1790 against the French colonial government and the domestic slaveowners fits with current reconsiderations of the importance slavery and its abolition in the creation of the American republics, both North and South. Examples of what transpired in a single nation at a specific time are used to introduce broader themes such as the patriarchal rules governing marriage in Brazil, or the construction of the Panama Canal, or the place of indigenous uprisings in the Mexican Revolution. Students are challenged to think critically and to understand the complex set of personalities and events that intersect in history. Instructors and students appreciate the clear writing of this textbook"-- Provided by publisher