General History of Latin America

Objectives and main themes

The General History of Latin America is a new approach to the historical evolution of Latin America. It sets out to capture both the unity and the diversity of the region and outlines the great contributions made by Latin American societies (indigenous and others) to the progress of humanity. Latin America has become one of the world’s major geocultural regions. Its importance on the world cultural scene is beyond dispute. The region is recognized for its ongoing and increasingly successful efforts to develop as a group of modern, democratic societies. Latin America as a comprehensive entity is an historical reality.

Coordinated and directed by UNESCO and an International Scientific Committee consisting of 240 prominent researchers and scholars from all over the world, the outcome of this project has been the publication of nine volumes of comprehensive studies and information on ideas, civilizations, societies, and institutions covering the development of Latin American societies from the pre-Columbian era

to the twentieth century. Using methodological instruments of current historiography, these volumes present indigenous Latin American societies, their contacts with European culture, the colonial orders, and the participation of African communities in the region to highlight the history of inter-continental interactions in Latin America.

Published in Spanish and launched in 1983, the fundamental aim of the General History of Latin America, is to help heighten the historical awareness of the region.

History

As a central part of its mandate, UNESCO is committed to promoting mutual understanding and to facilitating discussion and dialogue amongst peoples and nations. The General History of Latin America makes a significant contribution to this objective. This project was initially suggested in the recommendations of a meeting of experts convened by the Director-General of UNESCO in Lima, Peru, in 1967. In 1983 a Drafting Committee of 21 members (two-thirds of whom were specialists from Latin America) was established and the project was completed in 2009.

Volumes

Volume I: The Indigenous Societies (Las Sociedades Originarias)

Edited by Teresa Rojas Rabiela and John V. Murra

Volume II: Early Contact and the Creation of New Societies (El Primer Contacto y la Formación de Nuevas Sociedades)

Edited by Franklin Pease, G.Y. and Frank Moya Pons

Volume III: Consolidation of the Colonial Order (Consolidación del Orden Colonial)

Edited by Alfredo Castillero Calvo and Allan Kuethe

Volume IV: American Processes Towards Colonial Redefinition (Procesos Americanos Hacia la Redefinición Colonial)

Edited by Enrique Tandeter and Jorge Hidalgo Lehuedé

Volume V: The Structural Crisis in Societies (La Crisis Estructural de las Sociedades Implantadas)

Edited by Germán Carrera Damas and John V. Lombardi

Volume VI: The Construction of the Latin American Nations (La Construcción de las Naciones Latinoamericanas)

Edited by Josefina Zoraida Vázquez and Manuel Miño Grijalva

Volume VII: National Latin American Projects: Instruments and Articulation (1870–1930) (Los Proyectos Nacionales Latinoamericanos: Sus Instrumentos y Articulación (1870–1930))

Edited by Enrique Ayala Mora and Eduardo Posada Carbó

Volume VIII: Latin America Since 1930 (América Latina Desde 1930)

Edited by Marco Palacios and Gregorio Weinberg

Volume IX: Theory and Methodology in the History of Latin America (Teoraí y Detodología en la Historia de América Latina)

Edited by Estevão de Rezende Martins and Héctor Pérez Brignoli