The Colonial Heritage

Abstract

At the dawn of the nineteenth century, the traces of conquest were still visible on the Latin American landscape. Nineteenth-century historians who lived in capital cities like Lima, Buenos Aires, or Asunción—cities that seemed to be the direct and enduring result of decisions made by individuals—were fascinated by the triumphs and vicissitudes of the conquistadores. Looking beyond heroes and events, we can discern more enduring realities, contours of social and economic life that link the conquest of the sixteenth century with the independence era of the early nineteenth.