Online Primary Sources Page

    Update: May 1, 2008 Documents are grouped under topics and generally appear in chronological order. You will use these primary sources for a variety of assignments, but in any given semester you will not use them all. Learn to find, analyze, and interpret such firsthand accounts-- that's the primary task of the historian. You may wish to review the differences between primary and secondary sources. [Special gracias to history graduate assistants Carrie Collins and Daire Roebuck for assistance in locating and digitizing many of these sources.]

    Some of these documents contain Spanish words that you may not know. Try to use context to figure out the meaning. If that doesn't work then visit your handy Online Spanish-English Dictionary. Plug in the word and you'll get a translation pronto. It will even pronounce some of the words for you!

    Table of Contents

    [Click a topic or scroll down to find the documents]
    • Concepts and Approaches to History
    • Studying Human Rights: Concepts and Issues
    • Defenses of Colonial Era Human Rights Practices
    • Criticisms of Colonial Era Human Rights Practices
    • Exploring the Spanish Borderlands Frontier
    • Slavery, Slave Trade, Slave Revolts and Debates
    • Colonial Problems Breed Independence Movements
    • The Amistad Affair, 1839-42
    • War Between Mexico and the US, 1845-48
    • Documents on Gaucho Life
    • 19th-Century Rural Social Life, Economic Activities, Social Criticism
    • The War of 1898 against Spain
    • Defending US Intervention in Latin America
    • Criticizing US Interventionism
    • Mexican Revolution and US Intervention in Mexico
    • 20th-Century Life for the Masses
    • 20th-Century Political Options
    • Discrimination against Latinos in the US
    • Fifty Years of Revolutions
    • Militarism versus Democracy and Human Rights
    • Continued US Interventionism
    • Contemporary Issues and Problems
    • Essential Online Research Tools for Latin American History
      Simon Bolivar

      Concepts and Approaches to History
    1. Our Approach to History
    2. Quotations on the Definition and Use of History
    3. What is History and What's It Good For? Statements by several historians
    4. Bloom's Taxonomy of Cognitive Skills
    5. Types of Inquiry
    6. Studying History: Use of Sources, Historiography
    7. History versus Myth: the Case of Mexico's Juan Diego

      Studying Human Rights: Concepts and Issues

    8. A brief history of human rights
    9. Concept and Issues in Studying Human Rights
    10. Concepts for Studying Human Rights in Latin America
    11. Types of Human Rights; Generations of Human Rights Philosophies

      Defenses of Colonial Era Human Rights Practices
    12. Reactions of Christopher Columbus to people in the Caribbean, from his letters written in 1492-93. For more information and documents, see Columbus and the Age of Exploration and Additional Books and Articles on Caribbean Exploration
    13. Requirimiento, 1514 Justification for waging a "just war" against native Americans.
    14. An account of the conquest of Peru by Hernando Pizarro (Francisco's half-brother)
    15. The New Laws of the Indies, 1542 Reforms initiated by the Spanish King in response to criticisms by Las Casas
    16. Another version of the New Laws of 1542
    17. Juan Ginés de Sepúlveda, Defense of Spanish policies, 1546
    18. As They Had Been in Ancient Times: Pedro Naranjo Relates the Pueblo Revolt in New Mexico, 1680

      Criticisms of Colonial Era Human Rights Practices
    19. "Destruction of the Indies" by Bartolome de Las Casas, 1522
    20. Bartolome de las Casas criticizes abuse on Hispañola, quoting Fray Anton Montesino, 1550
    21. Felipe Guaman Poma de Ayala, "El primer nueva corónica y buen gobierno" (1615/1616) Visual evidence: Nearly 400 drawings of life in the southern Peruvian Andes, as well as an extended critique of government abuses. Use the table of contents to locate information about various social groups. The documents themselves are in Spanish-- use them if you can read Spanish.
    22. Sor Juana, colonial era nun, poet, and intellectual
    23. 'The Reply" by Sor Juana A defense of women's rights.
    24. Criticism of Indian slavery in Brazil, 1752

      Exploring the Spanish Borderlands Frontier

       First two documents: Alvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca was shipwrecked in 1528 on what is now Galveston Island. He lived among America's native peoples for the next eight years, transcending enslavement to become recognized as a great spiritual leader. Cabeza de Vaca was the first European to explore what is now Texas and the Southwest. His account, La relación, offers a remarkable historical portrait. It is also one of humankind's great adventure stories. The second link below reproduces the English translation of the original 1555 edition of La relación, which resides at the Southwestern Writers Collection, Alkek Library, Texas State University-San Marcos.
    25. Excerpt from the journal of Alvar Nuñez Cabeza De Vaca (1542)
    26. Full Account and Commentaries of Governor Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca, of what occurred on the two journeys that he made to the Indies, 1550
    27. Coronado's Report to Viceroy Mendoza Sent from Cibola, August 3, 1540
    28. Coronado's Report to the King of Spain Sent from Tiguex on October 20, 1541
    29. The Journey of Coronado An account of the expedition to Cibola which took place in the year 1540, in which all those settlements, their ceremonies & customs, are described. Written by Pedro de Castaneda, of Najara.

      Slavery, Slave Trade, Slave Revolts and Debates

      Four views of the passage across the Atlantic Ocean

    30. "Is It Not Enough that We Are Torn From Our Country and Friends?" Olaudah Equiano Describes the Horrors of the Middle Passage, 1780s. This source has generated recent controversy. Historian Vincent Carretta (Equiano: The African, 2005) attests that Equiano never made the middle passage that he describes. Accorring to Carretta, the "self-made man" was born a slave in South Carolina and later purchased his freedom. Regardless of his roots, Equiano offers a compelling condemnation of slavery.
    31. Description of slave ship conditions by Reverend Robert Walsh, Notices of Brazil in 1828 and 1829 (published 1831).
    32. Firsthand account by an ex-slave of capture and Middle Passage
    33. Horrors of the Middle Passage, 1840s

      Abuses, conditions and slave responses

    34. Jesuit Charges of the Mistreatment of Slaves in Colonial Brazil Mistreatment of Slave Children in Colonial Brazil
    35. Slave Diet and Conditions in Colonial Brazil
    36. Excessive punishments of slaves, 1861
    37. Demand for slave wet nurses in Brazil
    38. Fear of Maroons (Runaways) on Hispañola in 1662
    39. Slave Revolt in Brazil, 1719
    40. Slave Revolt in Brazil, 1806
    41. Quilombos, villages of runaway slaves in Brazil, 1850
    42. Slave Revolts in Brazil, 1854

      Pro- and anti-slavery arguments

    43. Biblical justifications for and commentaries on slavery
    44. Three documents supporting slavery
    45. Defense of slavery, 1740
    46. Defense of slavery by a Brazilian, 1823
    47. Three documents condemning slavery
    48. Anti-slavery argument by Quobna Ottobah Cugoano, 1787
    49. Anti-slavery statement by Joaquim Nabuco, leading Brazilian abolitionist, 1883
    50. Two poems against racism and slavery

      Review this chronology of the abolition of slavery in Latin America [PDF]. Want some visual evidence on slavery? Watch the PBS documentary Dark Passages: Length 50 minutes . Employs a mixture of interviews, slave narratives, and dramatization. Tells the story of the impact of the Atlantic slave trade. Takes the viewer from the House of Slaves on Goree Island off the coast of Dakar, Senegal, to the village of Juffere on the Gambia River.

      Colonial Problems Breed Independence Movements

      Long-term problems

    51. Jorge Juan and Antonio de Ulloa, "A Voyage to South America (1748)
    52. Colonial Mission Life described by Father Serra
    53. Description of slave life in Brazil, 1821
    54. Description of slave work in Brazil
    55. Criticism of Mercantilism by Adam Smith, 1776
    56. Firsthand Accounts of Brazil and Mexico, 1786 Taken from a letter from Thomas Jefferson to John Hay

      Shorter-term (proximate) views

    57. Documents on the History of the Haitian Independence Struggle, 1791-1804
    58. Alexander Von Humboldt: Problems And Progress in Mexico, c. 1800
    59. Conditions in New Mexico province, 1812
    60. Declaration of Independence, Rio de la Plata Provinces, July 1816
    61. Political Thoughts of Simón Bolívar, 1813-1820s "The Liberator" is shown in the portait to the right.
    62. Simón Bolívar, "Message to the Congress of Angostura," 1819 The Liberator summarizes what he considers the best government for Latin America's emerging new republics.
    63. Plan of Iguala, Mexico, 1821

      The Amistad Affair, 1839-42

       Murders? Pirates? Free people? A major conflict in US-Spanish-Cuban relations. Some of the links below include multiple documents. Select those you find most credible and relevant. For the first two links, the full text of the documents appear at the bottom of the page.
    64. Letter from William S. Holabird, U.S. district attorney in Connecticut, that there was no legal basis for returning the Africans to Spanish authorities in Cuba, 1839
    65. John Forsyth, Martin Van Buren's Secretary of State, rejects a key argument in favor of the Amistads,1841
    66. Amistad Research Center, Tulane University
    67. The Amistad Revolt and Trial, Documents and History
    68. Mystic Seaport Amistad Site
    69. Primary Souces on the Amistad Case Scroll down to the primary source links from the National Archives and Records Administration. See also this chronology of the abolition of slavery in Latin America [PDF].

      War Between Mexico and the US, 1845-48

       [photo at right: US President James K. Polk] Also includes background to Mexican-Anglo conflicts in the region
    70. Brief video [3 minutes] summary of background and outcomes of the US war with Mexico
    71. José María Sánchez, "A Trip to Texas in 1828," trans. Carlos E. Castañeda, Southwestern Historical Quarterly, 29 (1926), 260-61, 271 From Digital History
    72. Discriminiation against Tejanos from Personal Memoirs of John N. Seguín (San Antonio, 1858) From Digital History
    73. "A Foreigner in My Own Land": Juan Nepomuceno Seguin Flees Texas, 1842
    74. Manifest Destiny by John L. O'Sullivan, Democratic Review, XVII (July-August, 1845), 5-6, 9-10 From Digital History
    75. US President James K. Polk seeks declaration of war against Mexico, May 11, 1846
    76. Debating the Mexican-American War, 11 May 1846
    77. "A Hungery Savage Look which was Truly Fearful": Samuel Chamberlain's Recollections of the Mexican War, 1846
    78. Letter about the Mexican War by Zachary Taylor, 1847
    79. Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo between Mexico and the US, signed February 2, 1848 You might also wish to see the Library of Congress exhibit of actual page from the treaty. Click on a page to enlarge it so that you can read the handwriting. English appears in the left column; Spanish in the right column.
    80. Maps, pictures, and documents from PBS series on the Mexican War
    81. PBS Site on US-Mexican War Includes excellent time line, interpretive essays
    82. Aztec Club of 1847 Photographs, maps, and other information about the war
    83. Ramon Alcaraz et al., eds. The Other Side: Or Notes for the History of the War Between Mexico and the United States (New York: 1850), 2-3, 30-32 From Digital History
    84. More Links and Resources on US-Mexican War

      PBS produced an excellent four-episode documentary on the war. See U.S.-Mexican War: 1846-1848, Episodes 1 & 2: Neighbors and Strangers & War for the Borderlands. Episode 1: Tensions mount between the expanding United States and Mexico during the 1830s and come to a boil in 1836, when Americans living in Texas, then part of Mexico, rebel against Mexican authority. Antonio López de Santa Anna leads a Mexican army against the insurgents but fails to stop the rebellion. Nine years later, the U.S. annexes Texas and the two countries become embroiled in a border dispute. Episode 2: President Polk orders the Army of the West to take over New Mexico, while John C. Fremont leads a rebellion that overthrows Mexican authority in California. Fremont's followers initially declare themselves an independent republic, but three weeks later decide to join the United States. Mexican settlers in both territories fight in vain to reclaim their land, and U.S. forces move south toward Mexico City. Length: 111 minutes

      US-Mexican War: 1846-1848, Episodes 3 & 4: The Hour of Sacrifice & The Fate of Nations. Episode 3: Santa Anna returns from exile in Cuba and is again elected president of Mexico. American President Polk orders a two-pronged attack on Mexican territory: Zachary Taylor's army move in overland from the north, while Winfield Scott leads an attack on Veracruz by sea. After defeating Santa Anna at Cerro Gordo and capturing Veracruz, the U.S. troops continue their push toward the capital. Episode 4: American troops capture Mexico City after heavy fighting, and the war ends. The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo cedes Upper California and all the states of the present-day American Southwest to the United States. Length: 112 minutes

      Documents on Gaucho Life
    85. Modern gauchos branding cattle and riding horses near Cordoba, Argentina Brief 2 1/2 minute video clip by Áine Ní Chíobháin
    86. Naturalist Charles Darwin meets gauchos, 1830s
    87. Domingo Sarmiento Describes the Gaucho and divisions within Argentina, 1846
    88. "Martin Fierro," 1872 by José Hernández
    89. Yiddish Gauchos [primary and secondary sources about Argentina's "Jewish Gauchos"]
    90. Types of Brazilian Cowboys, 1902, Euclides de Cunha

      19th-Century Rural Social Life, Economic Activities, Social Criticism
    91. Life in Highland Peru, 1850s
    92. Life in the Amazon Basin, 1850s
    93. Conditions in the Dominican Republic in the 1870s
    94. Considerations Relating to the Political and Social Situation of the Mexican Republic in the Year 1847, by Mexican intellectual Mariano Otero
    95. Francisco Bilbao (1823-1865, Chilean intellectual), "America in Danger," 1862 Warns of dangers and abuses of dictatorship
    96. Danger of revolution by Friderich Hassaurek, 1865
    97. Epistle of Melchor O'Campo, Mexico, 1859 Suggestions on proper roles for men and women in 19th-century society.
    98. Maria Eugenia Echenique, "The Emancipation of Women" (1876) Women still had a long struggle to achieve greater rights. Review this chronology of women's suffrage in Latin America [PDF].

      The War of 1898 against Spain

       "Remember the Maine, to hell with Spain"
    99. "Shameful Treachery: Hearst's Journal Blames Spain for Maine explosion
    100. "Suspended Judgment": A Times Editorial on the Maine Tragedy
    101. Sounding the Depths: The New York Times and the Sinking of the Maine
    102. The Maine and the World: Sailing into History
    103. "What Really Sank the Maine" ed. by Thomas B. Allen
    104. Better Late Than Never?: US Admiral Rickover Clears Spain of the Maine Explosion
    105. "A Perfect Hailstorm of Bullets": A Black Sergeant Remembers the Battle of San Juan Hill in 1899 by Frank Pullen
    106. Spanish American War Centennial Web Site
    107. Narrative of the war and aftermath by Lincoln Cushing
    108. President William McKinley and the War
    109. The War in Perspective: New York Public Library
    110. Exhibit by the Hispanic Division, Library of Congress

      Defending US Intervention in Latin America

      Panama Canal and Theodore Roosevelt's "Big Stick"

    111. The Monroe Doctrine of 1823 and Theodore Roosevelt's Corollary and updating
    112. Clayton-Bulwer Treaty, US and Great Britain, April 19, 1850
    113. Theodore Roosevelt defends his polices in Latin America and the Caribbean
    114. Theodore Roosevelt, an undelivered message to the US Congress concerning Colombia and the Panama Canal
    115. Panama Canal Treaty, 1904
    116. Convention Between the United States and the Republic of Panama (1904) Another version
    117. 1912 video of building of the Panama Canal"Through the Canal Bottom" - Canal under construction / working trains, cranes and dredges filmed from the ground along with general scenes of the canal
    118. Brief (50 second) video of historic canal and 1977 treaty to turn canal operation over to Panama
    119. Time-lapse video of the Panama Canal locks in operation

      Other Views and Issues

    120. White Man's Burden by Rudyard Kipling, 1899 While not specific to Latin America, Kipling's poem captures the racism and sense of white superiority of his time.
    121. Manifest Destiny, Continued: McKinley Defends U.S. Expansionism
    122. President Calvin Coolidge on US Intervention in Nicaragua, 1925

      Need a visual overview of the people and issues of this period? Watch the PBS documentary Between the Wars, Episode 10: Latin America: Intervention in our Own Backyard. Excellent, concise picture of early U.S. policies in the Caribbean, Central America, and South America from intervention in Cuba in 1898 as Pan-American relationships deteriorated, until 1933, when President Roosevelt renounced military intervention in Latin America. Length: 26 minutes

      Criticizing US Interventionism
    123. Platform of the Anti-Imperialist League, 1898
    124. Debating Imperialism, 1898 and the Aftermath
    125. Cuban independence hero José Martí warns against US expansionism in Cuba, 1889
      126. [photo at right: Cuban Independence Leader and Martyr José Martí]
    126. American Soldiers in the Philippines Write Home about the War
    127. Rubén Darío's poem "To Roosevelt" An anti-Roosevelt poem by Nicaragua's leading poet.
    128. Francisco Garcia Calderón (Peruvian diplomat) criticizes US imperialism, 1912
    129. Bandits or Patriots?: Documents from Charlemagne PéralteTestimony on US occupation of Haiti, 1919
    130. "The People Were Very Peaceable": The U.S. Senate Investigates the Haitian Occupation" Testimony on US Marine occupation of Haiti, 1919
    131. "To Abolish the Monroe Doctrine": Proclamation from Augusto César Sandino, on US Marine occupation of Nicaragua
    132. "Un Colombiano con Sandino": U.S. Intervention in Nicaragua, 1920s Note: English translation appears below the Spanish original.
    133. ANTI-IMPERIALIST VIEWPOINT by J. C. MARIATEGUI, Presented to the First Latin American Communist Conference, June 1929 Mariategui, 1894-1930, was a prominent Peruvian political philospher

      The following three sites include links to a large body of documents and literature, gathered and edited by Jim Zwick in his online reader, "Anti-Imperialism in the US, 1898-1935." Look for documents that address imperialism in Latin America or the Phillippines.
    134. Anti-Imperialist Essays, Speeches and Pamphlets
    135. Anti-Imperialist Organizational Platforms and Petitions
    136. Anti-Imperialist Literature
    137. Criticism by Victor Raul Haya de la Torre of US Actions in Central America

      Mexican Revolution and US Intervention in Mexico

       [photo: Pancho Villa, Mexican Revolutionary Before plunging into the documents, I suggest that you have a look at this Timeline of the Mexican Revolution so that you understand the chronology, major figures, and principal events of the revolution.]
    138. James Creelman article, "President Diaz: Hero of the Americas," Pearson's Magazine
    139. Two commentaries on Porfirio Diaz and the Mexican Revolution Authors: Channing Arnold and Frederick J. Tabor Frost, 1909, and a later view by Victor Raul Haya de la Torre, Peruvian political critic.
    140. Plan of San Luis Potosi by Francisco Madero, 1910
    141. Emiliano Zapata's "Plan de Ayala," November 25, 1911
    142. Corrido de Emiliano Zapata (3 min. video). Spanish-language folk song honoring the revolutionary leader- enjoy the music and examine the many historical photographs.
    143. Mexican Constitution of 1917 coded, with hyperlinks by Marc Becker. Remember to use edit/search in page for locate keywords. I don't expect to read the entire document. Look for relevant topics and quotations.
    144. US Diplomatic Correspondence during the Mexican Revolution
    145. Avoid the Use of the Word Intervention": Wilson and Lansing on the U.S. Invasion of Mexico
    146. John Reed's "What About Mexico?": The United States and the Mexican Revolution
    147. Mexican President Lazaro Cardenas explains the expropriation of foreign oil companies
    148. The Reply to Mexico: Standard Oil Puts Forth Its Position Against Mexican Nationalization of the Oil Industry, 1938
    149. Not So Private Negotiations: Mexico Expropriates the Oil Companies, 1938

      20th-Century Life for the Masses
    150. Philosophy and Goals of the APRA Party (Peru) by Victor Raul Haya de la Torre
    151. Autobiographical Note by José Carlos Mariategui, 1927 Peruvian leftist political philospher, 1894-1930
    152. The World Crisis and the Peruvian Proletariat by J. C. MARIATEGUI Address delivered to the “Gonzales Prada” People’s University, at the Peruvian Student Federation hall, Lima, on June 15, 1923.
    153. Excerpts from Adventures of a Tropical Tramp by Harry L. Foster, published in 1925
    154. Statement of Priniciples of Acción Feminista Domincana 1931 feminist statement, Dominican Republic
    155. Letters from the Argentine, observations from the early 1940s by Mr. Francis Herron, a young student visiting from the US. Compare these views with data from Gauchos and the Vanishing Frontier.
    156. Childhood memories and thoughts by Paulo Freire, Brazilian educator (1921-97)
    157. Voices of Liberation Theology in Brazil
    158. Brief video biography (3 min.) of Camilo Torres, Colombian priest turned guerrilla fighter Government forces killed him in 1965 in his first fight.
    159. Camilo Torres (Colombia) describes Liberation Theology Mixing socialism and theology
    160. Growing Up Black in Brazil, memoir of Carolina Maria de Jesus
    161. Memoirs of Sofia Velasquez, a Bolivian Market Vendor, 1960s-70s
    162. Chico Mendes, rubber tapper and labor organizer murdered in 1989, describes environmental, social, and economic problems in Brazil's Amazon
    163. Environmental Issues/ Rain Forest Destruction
    164. Cuban President Fidel Castro describes conditions in Latin America, May 1 2002

      20th-Century Political Options: Populism (Peronism) in Argentina

       [photo: Evita Peron of Argentina]
    165. Juan Domingo Perón (1895-1974) explains his philosophy of "Justicialism"
    166. Eva Duarte de Perón(1919-52) explains the "History of Perónism" (1951)
    167. Evita Perón (1 minute video)
    168. Juan Perón (50-second video)
    169. The 20 Truths of Justicialism Statement of Perón's platform
    170. Perón's Workers Bill of Rights
    171. Perón on Revolution and Guerrilla Warfare
    172. Peron's Critique of Capitalism and Communism
    173. Evita Perón: two documents [one a statement of social justice, the other a song in her honor]

      174. Discrimination against Latinos in the US
    174. Guadalupe Vallejo, "Ranch and Mission Days in Alta California," Century Magazine, XLI (December 1890), pp. 189-92 From Digital History
    175. Puerto Rico at the Dawn of the Modern Age: Nineteenth- and Early-Twentieth-Century Perspectives This site is rich in a variety of primary sources. Explore it thoroughly.
    176. "Such Cases of Outrageous Unspeakable Abuse...": A Puerto Rican Migrant Protests Labor Conditions During World War I by Rafael Marchán, testifying at Fort Bragg, NC, 1919
    177. The Sleepy Lagoon Case, prepared by the Citizens' Committee for the Defense of Mexican-American Youth, Los Angeles, 1942 Anti-Mexican-American sentiments, from Digital History
    178. Protest by a Chicano (Mexican-American) Activist, Reies Lopez Tejerina, 1969
    179. Corridos (Mexican protest songs) You may listen to and read song lyrics at the previous site. You may also view the lyrics without listening to the music.
    180. Brief video (5 min). on the life and work of Cesar Chavez, founder of the United Farm Workers
    181. Cesar Chavez on discimination against Mexican-American farm workers, Hearings Before the Committee on Labor and Human Resources, U.S. Senate, 96th Congress, 1st Session, 1997 From Digital History
    182. My Immigration Story Firsthand accounts of experiences by immigrations in the US today, hosted by Raul Ramos y Sanchez

      Fifty Years of Revolutions

       [photo: Fidel Castro and Che Guevara in Cuba] Fidel Castro with Che Guevara
    183. Brief video (4 min.) on early years of the Cuban Revolulion
    184. Brief video of anti-imperialist speech by Che Guevara (1 1/2 minutes), with English subtitles
    185. Interested in learning more about Castro? Watch portions of the PBS documentary on Fidel Castro [Length: 117 minutes] Through interviews with relatives, childhood friends, fellow rebel leaders, and journalists, the film constructs an intimate and revealing portrait of the most resilient of leaders.

    186. "History Will Absolve Me" by Fidel Castro, 1953
    187. Soviet Documents onthe Cuban Missile Crisis, 1962
    188. Che Guevara on Guerrilla Warfare, 1961
    189. Thoughts from two Nicaraguan revolutionaries, Augusto Cesar Sandino (1920s) and Omar Cabezas (1970s)
    190. Timeline of Zapatista Uprising 1994
    191. Video interview (9 1/2 min.) with Subcomandante Marcos, EZLN leader
    192. 1994 Interview with EZLN (Zapatista) Subcomandante Marcos
    193. 1997 Zapatista Manifesto
    194. Commentary on Zapatista movement by Carlos Fuentes
    195. 1993 Interview with Abimael Guzman, "Presidente Gonzalo," Shining Path Founder
    196. Hugo Chavez speeches In English

      Militarism versus Democracy and Human Rights

       First review this chronology of Latin American military coups d'état [overthrows of prior government] and dictatorships [PDF].
    197. Manifesto of a Military Uprising, Dominican Republic, 1930
    198. Is Latin America Capable of Democracy? An essay by Victor Raul Haya de la Torre, 1955
    199. Confessions from Argentina's "Dirty War," 1976-83
    200. US State Dept. Declassified Files on Argentina's Dirty War PDF documents
    201. 20 Cases of Torture described in Brazil "This is a not a pleasant exhibition, but it is a very important one. It consists of photographs and text describing twenty out of more than 500 documented cases of torture in Brazil when the Military ruled the country between 1964 and 1980. Brazil has punished no one for these crimes, and none of the victims of torture or their families received any compensation from the government for their losses."
    202. Human Rights Abuses by Salvadoran Military and Death Squads
    203. 2004 Amnesty International Report on Human Rights in Guatemala
    204. National Security Archive Documents on the Cuban Missle Crisis, Iran Contra Scanadal, Oliver North documents, Guatemalan Death Squads, Richard Nixon ordering actions against Chilean President Salvador Allende, and much more. Click on country names under "Archive Projects" on the lower right-hand part of the page.
    205. Interviews with Guatemalan refugees
    206. Interview (Dec. 2003) with Ariel Dorfman, who fled into exile to escape the Chilean military dicatorship in 1973
    207. Expenditures on the Military in Latin America
    208. Human Rights Links Use one of the first three links on this page to find the "Universal Declaration of Human Rights."

      209. Contemporary Issues and Problems

       Some of the following links are to databases and organizational websites, not to individual documents. If the link is not a single document, then search the sites forinformation relevant to your assignment.
    209. Latin American Working Group: Human Rights Concerns
    210. Political Database of the Americas, Georgetown University
    211. Libertad Latina: Human Rights Issues
    212. International Relations Center/ Americas Program
    213. Statement on Bolivia from the participants of the First International Encounter of Solidarity and Resistance of Indigenous Peoples and Peasants, October 15th 2003
    214. UN Women Watch--select documents relating to Latin America
    215. Indigenous & Latina Women & Children's Human Rights News from the Americas
    216. International Women's Healh Coalition

      [photo: Oscar Arias, Nobel Peace Prize winner, president of Costa Rica]

    217. Communism in the Americas Article by Roy R. Rubottom, Jr. (1958 anti-communism propaganda from the Eisenhower administration). Excellent example of US Cold warrior world view.
    218. Rebuttal of US Cold War views by Juan Bosch, president of the Dominican Republic, 1962
    219. Brief video (1 1/2 min.) of Ronald Reagan and Oliver North discussing the Iran-contra scandal
    220. Documents on the Reagan-Bush Iran-Contra Scandal
    221. Brief (1 1/2 min.) video of Noble Peace Prize winner Oscar Arias Subtitled in English.
    222. Policy recommendations of Nobel Peace Prize winner (and past president of Costa Rica) Oscar Arias
    223. School of the Americas
    224. Video documentary critical of US intervention and anti-drug efforts in Bolivia
    225. Video documentary by Tony Phillipscrtical of US actions and policies in Bolivia, Argentina, and Venezuela
    226. Tierra America: Environmental and Human Rights Issues
    227. Latin Research Action Network: Land and Environmental Issues
    228. United Nations Environment Program, Latin America and the Caribbean
    229. Amazon Watch
    230. Dry Canal through Nicaragua
    231. Nicaragua's Proposed Dry Canal
    232. Speech by President Hugo Chávez, at the opening of XII G-15 Summit March 1st 2004
    233. ALBA: Bolivarian Alternative for Latin America and the Caribbean January 30th 2004, by Teresa Arreaza This document is a summary of information on the ALBA published by the Banco the Comercio Exterior (Bancoex).
    234. Position of the Venezuelan government in the fifth ministerial meeting of the WTO September 12th 2003, by Ramón Rosales, Minister of Production and Commerce
    235. Globalization's Gains Come With a Price While Poor Benefit, Inequality Feeds A Backlash Overseas by BOB DAVIS, JOHN LYONS and ANDREW BATSON, Wall Street Journal, 24 May 2007
    236. Hispanic American Center for Economic Research
    237. Free Trade Area of the Americas
    238. Another Revolution in Latin America: Who Will Win? by Andrea Gash Durkin and Ricardo Reyes
    239. Impact of Globalization on Latin America
    240. Globalization in Latin America: a Guide and Selective Bibliography SUNY, Albany Library

    Essential Online Research Tools for Latin American History

    Use the links below to research issues in Latin American history and culture. These are the most important research tools for the field.
    1. Handbook of Latin American Studies/ Library of Congress The most important reference when doing Latin American research. Yields expertly annotated bibliographical citations. To access the following two databases, go to the D. H. Hill Electronic Databases Page.. Scroll down the alphabetical list to these titles. Log on and follow instructions for their use.
    2. America: History and Life Bibliographical Database Yields annotated bibliography of books and articles on US history and culture, with coverage of US-Latin American relations, Latinos, immigration, and border issues.
    3. Historical Abstracts May also be accessed from America: History and Life. Covers non-US history, including extensive coverage of Latin America. Yields annotated bibliography of good scholarly journals and books.
    4. JSTOR: Searchable Index to Scholarly Journals [full-text online] Click on JSTOR. Then log on using your Unity ID.
    5. Ingenta (formerly Carl/ Uncover) Bibliographical database of scholarly and popular articles published since 1988. Do keyword searches.
    6. Latin American Press Links Read Latin American perspectives on the news (English and foreign-language links)