The purpose of Stefan Rinke’s study is to outline the dynamics that resulted in the establishment of new independent political subjects in Latin America, such as the republics of the Hispanic region and the Brazilian Empire, in the early decades of the nineteenth century. The author resorts to a long- term periodization spanning from 1760 to 1830. This approach enables him to analyze the Bourbon and Pombaline Reforms, which he identifies as the main reason for two major outcomes: on the one hand, the growing dissatisfaction of various social actors, from the creole elites to the indigenous populations, with their respective mother countries, Spain and Portugal; on the other hand, the widespread revolts that broke out circa 1780 both in Peru’s Andean areas and in Brazil and Venezuela. Such a focus also lets Rinke place these Latin American events within the wider context of the Atlantic revolutions and the crisis...
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May 1, 2013
