John Lynch provides a brilliant survey of the men and the movements during these critical years. He views the revolutionary outbreak as the culmination of a long process of alienation from Spain during which Spanish Americans became aware of their own identity, conscious of their own culture, and jealous of their own resources. He traces the forces of independence as they gathered momentum and spread across the subcontinent in two great waves converging on Peru. He also explains why the heroic liberators, among them San Martín, Bolívar, and O'Higgins, were unable to prevent the revolutions from ultimately turning into counterrevolutions that frustrated their efforts to create new societies. In the second edition, Lynch adds a section on Central America and incorporates the latest work being done on the origins and aftermaths of these revolutions. Contents 1. The origins of Spanish American Nationality The new imperialismAmerican responsesIncipient nationalism2. Revolution in Río de la PlataMerchants and militiaThe May revolutionBuenos Aires and the interiorRivadavia and the new economyEstancieros and the new society3. Revolution against Río de la PlataIndependence of UruguayParaguay, the impenetrable dictatorshipThe war of guerrillas in Upper Peru4. Chile, Liberated and LiberatorThe Patria ViejaSan Martín and the army of the AndesFrom O´Higgins to PortalesThe beneficiaries5. Peru, the Ambiguous RevolutionRoyalists and reformistsThe rebellion of PumacahuaSan Martín and the liberating expeditionThe protectorateThe Guayaquil interview6. Venezuela, the Violent RevolutionFrom colony to republicWar to the deathThe revolution livesNew masters, old structures7. Liberation, a New Site in ColombiaThe grievances of a colonyLiberation of New Granada, conquest of QuitoColombia, one nation or three?The liberal society8. The Last Viceroy, the Last VictoryPeru, reluctant republicBolivia: independence in search of a nation“America is ungovernable”9. Mexico: The Consummation of American IndependenceSilver and societyThe insurgentsThe conservative revolutionNew mule, same riderCentral America: independence by default10. The Reckoning