After Mexico gained its independence from Spain in 1821, it began the work of forging its identity as an independent nation, a process that would endure throughout the crucial nineteenth century. A weakened Mexico faced American territorial ambitions and economic pressure, and the U.S.-Mexican War t[...]

This text describes the living, evolving cultural experience of Latin America. The authors place key elements to understanding both the region's history and its present, people, places, politics, economics, and cultures, into historical perspective.[...]