The Latin American History Podcast aims to tell the story of Spanish and Portuguese America from its very beginnings up until the present day. I believe that Latin America is a fascinating place and its history is equally interesting. It is the product of a unique (and not always happy) blending of many different peoples, and each has brought their own elements to the mix. There are interesting th
ings to be learnt from every stage of its history. Its pre-colombian people for example, can teach us a lot about what it is to be human – developing as they did isolated from the rest of the world. They found unique ways of dealing with the problems which faced them and their technology developed in a completely different direction to our own. The Mesoamericans for example had some of the biggest cities on earth and complex legal systems that rivalled our own. They did not however, have some of the things which we consider basic, such as the wheel. In some ways they can be seen as savage (human sacrifice for example), but in other ways they were less savage then their European contemporaries. Their myths and beliefs can also teach us much about humanity, and challenge some of our assumptions about what we consider to be universal truths. Latin America’s history is home to some of the most exciting and unbelievable stories of adventure and exploration, and this podcast will tell these stories in all their glory. It will examine colonial society, slavery, and what life was like for the region’s inhabitants during this period. We will look at what caused the wars of independence, how they were won, and what Latin America looked like afterwards. The region’s twentieth century history was marked by extremes – in political ideas, in levels of wealth, and in cultural expression. It was a time of guerrillas, dictators, death squads, powerful corporations, and turmoil. The cold war was played out in extreme here – although filtered through the legacy of colonialism and the region’s own unique heritage. All this and more make Latin American history a fascinating story, and one worth telling. Join me on this podcast as I set about doing so.
