The Latin American History Podcast

At the end of the 1800s a group of Utopianist Australians decided to set off to build a worker's paradise in the remote Paraguayan hinterlands. It didn't quite go to plan, but their story is one of those bizarre and unexpected one that Latin American history frequently throws up.

In the first episode we look at the political, social, and economic context of the scheme to understand why it happened. We introduce its main proponent, and the idealistic laws which would govern the colony.

In the final episode of the series, we look at how Potosi declined from being the rich source of most of the world's silver, to a forgotten and impoverished place. We track the town through the late colonial era, the wars of independence, and the 20th century.

Today we discuss one of the greatest incidents in Potosi's history - the Great Mint Fraud. This story reads partially like a political investigative thriller, and partially like a mafia expose. It's effects will reverberate around the world, disrupting the global economy, and it will damage Potosi itself for decades.

Potosi was an archetypal mining boomtown, filled with hard-working and hard-living characters hoping to make their fortune, and attempting to drown out their tough and dangerous existence with wild parties while they waited. To get a sense of what it might have been like to live there, in today's episode we discuss the city's growth, its population - both rich and poor, and the escapades of some of its most outlandish residents.

In today's episode we zoom out and look at the astounding impact Potosi had on even the furthest flung reaches of the world. Among other things, its silver helped provoke dynastic regime change in China, wars in Iran, and a 500% increase in the price of bread in France. It helped create the golden age of piracy, globalisation, and the birth of the study of economics. It's no exaggeration to say that Potosi changed the course of history and therefore the world we live in today.

In this episode we take a closer look at the mines themselves, as well as the ore refining industry which surrounded it. We examine the terrible toll it took on those who worked in these jobs, as well as who was actually doing this work, and who owned the mining enterprises. Along the way we discuss who the Spanish adapted and re-used a couple of existing Inca social systems.

It is hard to overstate the impact one lonely peak high up on the Bolivian altiplano had on world history - the silver which was dug from within it changed the world. It is however, largely forgotten today.

In this first part of a short series on the subject, I describe Potosi today using my observations from when I visited. It is a strange place, haunted by it's history and marked by poverty. Crumbling Spanish buildings hint at its former wealth, and the miners still enter the hill and work in dangerous conditions which feel like they...

In the final part in our series on Brazil and World War 2, we look at what happened after war. We examine if the country achieved the geo-political, military and economic aims it had set out as its reason for participating, and how their involvement influenced the following decades of internal politics. We also discuss what life was like the soldiers of the Expeditionary Force themselves upon their return home - unfortunately the answer to that last question was often not particularly good.

Having looked at what the Brazilian soldiers and pilots did on foreign soil during the war, it's now time to turn our attention towards the impact the conflict had on the country itself. These impacts were many and varied. Today we look at blackouts, secret invasion plans, and the huge sacrifices made by the "rubber soldiers" - more of whom died in Brazil than of their compatriots doing the actual fighting.

Today we look at the Brazilian military campaign in detail. We follow the progress of the Smoking Cobras across Italy, and recount their challenges and most important battles.

Uniquely among Latin American nations, and often forgotten, the Brazilian army fought in WW2, sending troops to fight in Europe. The Smoking Cobras faced numerous challenges, but they proved themselves to be extraordinarily brave and held their own during their time fighting.

This is the first of a four part series on Brazil's experience of the Second World War. Today we look at the state of the military before they started to fight, the challenges that needed to be overcome to get them there, and the events which led the country into the war.<...

Today we have a special interview episode in which Stephanie Schmidt (Associate Professor in the department of Romance Languages and Literatures at the University at Buffalo) tells us about her new book Child Martyrs and Militant Evangelization in New Spain.

The book examines a set of tragic stories which occurred in the years following the conquest of Mexico, involving the use of high-class indigenous children by missionaries to aid in the conversion of the colony. Through these stories we gain a fascinating glimpse into life in those early years. The tell us a lot, not just about...

In the second part of our look at the Manila galleon trade we look at the people whose lives were impacted by it, and how this has affected the very genetics of Mexico and the Philippines. These people include convicts, Portuguese traders, Jews from Iberia escaping persecution, Japanese Samurai, and pirates from Britain and the Netherlands.

Although often forgotten, the Manila Galleon trade route between the Philippines and Mexico was hugely important to Latin America, Asia, and the rest of the world. For hundreds of years this trade across the Pacific helped drive globalisation and fund both Spain and China.

In today's episode we outline how the trade worked and the deep cultural influences it had on all those involved.

Today we finish of our overview series of Latin American history by looking at the region's most recent events. Among the subjects covered are the Washington Consensus, the Left Turn, populism and migration.

The fall of the Soviet Union sent shock waves around the world, and moved the global geopolitical situation into new territory. Having been a cold war battle ground, Latin America experienced this change as abruptly as anywhere.

Compounding things was the fact that this was coupled with a severe economic crisis, and so this episode we examine how these factors led to the end of most dictatorships, as well as the dampening of many left-wing insurgencies.

The 1990s were a time of democracy and orthodox liberal economics. There were - and still are - lingering...

While many countries were experiencing left-wing insurgencies during the cold war decades, some were also coming under the rule of dictators. Of these, some waged 'dirty wars' on their populations to either combat the guerillas or stifle any chance of them emerging.

To finish our look at the cold war, we tie up some of the loose ends. We discuss a couple of exceptions to the dictatorship phenomenon - the so called 'perfect dictatorship' of Mexico where power was concentrated in a party rather than a person and elections were still held, and Panama where a left-wing...

The Cold War period was one of turmoil in Latin America. Local political trends and outside involvement by superpowers fighting their global battle of ideologies combined to create social conflict waged by both left and right. In this episode we look at the insurgencies which swept the region. Some, like the one in Cuban would result in socialist governments. Others, like that of Colombia, resulted in prolonged civil war.

We begin though, by looking at the Latin American contribution to the world wars.

By 1900 the world had become truly globalised, and so Latin America was affected by the rise of the same competing ideologies as Europe and the USA. This was an the age of workers movements and nationalism, where the economic struggles caused by the Great Depression saw people look for alternatives to the established order.

Of course, these political ideas were adapted to the conditions of Latin America, and so they manifested themselves in unique and interesting ways. In this episode we look at the rise of the 20th century dictators, the Mexican Revolution, the rise of working...

Today we move northwards, to look at Central America, Mexico, and the Caribbean during the immediate decades after independence from Spain.

We follow the Central American nation's on-off relationship with each other, and the rise of the USA. The later will lead to war with Mexico, and intervention to win independence for Spain's last remaining colonies, and an independent adventurer to invade Nicaragua on his own accord.

Now that Latin America was independent, what kind of countries would its leaders build? And how big or small would those countries be?

Today we look at the major disagreements which created conflict - between liberal republicans and conservative traditionalists, and between centralists and federalists.

We also look at the future of slavery, and the series of wars which swept South America as the new countries defined their borders.

Latin America's independence was a long and drawn out affair, involving multiple decades of war to achieve. It also, bizarrely, happened almost by accident.

In today's episode we look at the causes behind the biggest change in Latin America since colonisation began, as well as the men who waged the campaign against Spain. We also examine the very different path which Brazil took when it broke with Portugal.

Having broken from the previous chronological format of this podcast, one of things I have been thinking about is the potential lack of context for subsequent episodes.

This then, is a series which provides a very rough overview of the major events and ideas which shaped Latin America from the end of the conquests to the present day. Hopefully it will help listeners place future episodes into the greater story, and make them more enjoyable.

This first episode looks at the colonial era.

Guatemala is not usually thought of as an oil county, and that is of course, largely because it is not one. Today’s interviewee however, traces the fascinating story of a largely forgotten – and largely unrealised – oil rush which threatened to take place there, based on a resource which wasn’t there – or to put it more precisely – wasn’t there in the quantities needed to properly exploit.

There is much more to this story, however. Connected to that interest in oil and the desire of US corporations to make profit from it, were the games of the cold war a...

Today’s story is not about a specific event, but rather an overview of a place which might have been about as far from the forefront of the big events in Latin American history as it is possible to get, yet which saw a succession of bizarre occurrences across its history.

Despite being uninhabited for most of human history, this remote atoll has drawn in everyone from pirates to presidents on fishing trips, would-be tyrants and people hoping to make their fortune collecting animal dung.

Several nations have claimed it, and its story has been shap...

Today we have a special interview episode with Marcos Colón about his new book The Amazon in Times of War.

The book is a collection of essays which detail Marcos' work in the Amazon rainforest, and chronicle the threats which the region, its people, and its non-human inhabitants face.

In the interview we talk about how Brazil's recent political history, the pandemic, its colonial legacy, and how popular and scientific conceptions have impacted the Amazon and its prospects for the future.

More information about the book can be found here: https://practicalactionpublishing.c...

In the final part of our mini-series on Juan de Onate's time in New Mexico we follow him on his third journey, westwards in search of the Pacific Ocean, and then look at his fate and that of his colony.

Onate faces the first real resistance to his colony, and takes it badly. The Acoma massacre is probably the event of his conquests for which he is most well known.

Today we start a three part series on the conquest of New Mexico. In this first episode we introduce Juan de Onate - the conquistador tasked with incorporating the territory into the Spanish empire, and follow him through the deserts of northern Mexico.

In the second and final part of our mini-series on Mesoamerican food, we look at how West Africa, the USA, and the rest of Latin America have influenced the region's cuisine.

Then, we look at drinks. Everyone and everything from protectionist tax laws and Filipino immigrants to Russian religious sects and smuggler-priests have played a role in the liquids consumed in Mesoamerica.

The food of Mesoamerica (Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras) is perhaps the best in all of Latin America. In part one of two on the history of the region's cuisine, we look at how indigenous and European influences combined to create such a deep food culture.

Today we look at a concept known as the black legend. There is no question that the Spanish conquests of Latin America were bloody affairs, and that conquest as a whole is not exactly pleasant. There is however a school a thought which argues that the Spanish were vilified for geo-political reasons, often hypocritically by those doing the vilifying.

In this episode we examine the varied peoples who have had political reasons to perpetuate what some call the black legend, and discuss the problems inherent in creating truly neutral history.

In this second and final part about the kingdom of the Itza, we tell the story of how it was conquered. Involved is an ambitious Spanish governor, some unauthorized diplomacy, and a recreation of the assault on Tenochtitlan

In remote northern Guatemala is a beautiful old city built onto an island. The shores of the lake which surrounds it are peppered with unexcavated Maya ruins.

Almost two centuries after the fall of the Aztec, a transplanted Maya kingdom ruled from this island, unmolested by the Spanish empire which had taken over most of the rest of the continent.

In this episode we look at the Itzá - the builders of the famous Chichén Itzá in Mexico, how they relocated to retain their independence, and the kingdom they built once they had done so...

In 1695 Scotland decided to have a go at the new world colonisation which seemed to be benefiting its neighbours so much. They settled on Panama as they place to do it and almost the whole country was involved in funding the scheme. The story of the Darien colony would have a profound impact on the country - one which continues to define Scotland to this day.

In 1911 American explorer Hiram Bingham stumbled upon the lost city of Machu Picchu - forgotten since it was abandoned by the Inca centuries before.

That's the story at least, the reality is much more complex. Could he have done it without the help of Peruvians? Was he really the first outsider to get there? And what does it really mean for a ruin to be 'lost'?

A wave of disease is spreading, leading to the implementation of a vaccination campaign. Some among the population are suspicious and take to the streets to make their opposition clear. This story did not take place during the recent pandemic however, this episode is about an obscure uprising which took place in 20th century Brazil.

This is just a quick message to give an update a few changes I am planning to make to the podcast.

In the second part of our look at Latin America's musical traditions we examine the role that music plays in some fascinating indigenous traditions. We also see how European waltz and even medieval troubadour culture came to influence the sound of the region. Finally I talk about some of my favourite Latin artists making music today.

To celebrate the 100th episode of the Latin American History Podcast, today we have a special episode (the first of two parts) on Latin American music.

In this one we look at the significant contribution made by Latin America's Afro-descended populations on many of the region's genres. We discuss some of the musical techniques used in genres such as Salsa, Son, Cumbia, Samba and Bachata, the anthropological reasons that these grew up, as well as the social history within which these genres were birthed.