Description
Central America is a region defined primarily by its geographical configuration as a canal-friendly isthmus, and its three-century history as the Spanish Kingdom of Guatemala. Having gained independence in 1821, the Kingdom broke up into the nations of Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica after two turbulent decades as a federated republic. Political instability and violence, poverty and inequality, ethnic strife, military rule, and a historic economic dependence on the export of coffee and bananas marked the region's history. Owing to its isthmian geography and political strife, Central America became a frequent target of US government intervention. Intense US political, economic, and military action both preceded and accompanied the revolutionary civil wars of the 1970s and 1980s. With British Honduras's independence from Great Britain in 1981 as Belize, and the acquisition by Panama of full sovereignty over its territory in 1999, Central America increasingly defined itself as a region of seven countries.The Oxford Handbook of Central American History analyzes major themes in the historiography of this seven-nation region of Latin America. Individual chapters interpret the histories of each of the seven countries. Most concentrate on themes that cut across national boundaries, beginning with the history of the region's diverse natural environment, and continuing with the Indigenous peoples, the Spanish conquest and colonial rule, and the independence process. Nine chapters focus on region-wide problems that emerged with great salience after independence, including the economy, US relations, the armed forces, the Cold War, religion, and literature, among others. Together, the book's twenty-five chapters illuminate Central America's coherence as a region of Latin America while emphasizing its diversity within and across national boundaries.
Table of Contents
OXFORD HANDBOOK OF CENTRAL AMERICAN HISTORYIntroduction: Interpreting the History of a Region in CrisisRobert H. HoldenPart I: Human and Territorial Contexts1 Land and Climate: Natural Constraints and Socio-Environmental TransformationsAnthony Goebel McDermott2 Regaining Ground: Indigenous Populations and TerritoriesPeter H. Herlihy, Matthew L. Fahrenbruch, Taylor A. Tappan3 The Ancient CivilizationsWilliam R. Fowler4 Marginalization, Assimilation, and Resurgence: The Indigenous Peoples since IndependenceWolfgang GabbertPart II: Conquest, Colonialization, and the Path to Self Rule5 The Spanish Conquest?Laura E. Matthew6 Spanish Colonial RuleStephen Webre7 The Kingdom of Guatemala as a Cultural CrossroadsBrianna Leavitt-Alcántara8 From Kingdom to Republics, 1808-1840Aaron PollackPart III: Challenges of Modernity since c. 1840 (Regional Frame)9 The Political EconomyRobert G. Williams10 State Making and Nation BuildingDavid Díaz Arias11 Central America and the United StatesMichel Gobat12 The Cold War: Authoritarianism, Empire, and Social RevolutionJoaquín M. Chávez13 Central America since the 1990s: Crime, Violence, and the Pursuit of DemocracyChristine J. Wade14 The Rise and Retreat of the Armed ForcesOrlando J. Pérez and Randy Pestana15 Religion, Politics, and the StateBonar L. Hernández Sandoval16 Women and Citizenship: Feminist and Suffragist Movements, 1880-1957Eugenia Rodriguez Sáenz17 Literature, Society, and PoliticsWerner MackenbachPart IV: Challenges of Modernity since c. 1840 (National Frame)18 GuatemalaDavid Carey Jr.19 HondurasDario A. Euraque20 El SalvadorErik Ching21 NicaraguaJulie A. Charlip22 Costa RicaIván Molina23 PanamaMichael E. Donoghue24 BelizeMark MobergContributorsIndex
