Although the United States and Latin America share the same historical origin, after the arrival of Europeans, their development immediately took different directions. Latin America was the better known and better developed of the two areas during colonial times. While North America was rural, Latin America was urban; the United States exercised self-government in town halls, while Latin America was ruled by centralized viceroyalties from Spain; Spaniards mixed with the Indigenous races, but North American colonists chased them out of their territories and later put them in reservations.

By the time they became independent (the United States near the end of the eighteenth century, and Latin America during the first two decades of the nineteenth), the two parts of America had evolved into two different civilizations. Their differences intensified in the nineteenth century, when one became powerful and developed and the other, weak and underdeveloped. However, their geographical proximity will keep them forever attached and their relationship troublesome.

This seminar will deal primarily with the relationship of the two parts of America from the middle of the nineteenth century to the present.

Note: This course will not meet on Thursday, April 27th and will resume the following the Thursday.