Chapter I: Front Matter

A SYLLABUS
OF
Hispanic-American
History

BY

WILLIAM WHATLEY PIERSON, Jr., Ph. D.

PROFESSOR OF HISTORY IN THE
UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA

(THIRD EDITION)
PRICE 50 CENTS

PUBLISHED BY
THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA

COPYRIGHT, 1916, 1920
by the
UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA
(Revised and Reprinted)

INTRODUCTORY NOTE

"In the establishment of the independence of Spanish America
the United States have the deepest interest. I have no
hesitation in asserting my firm belief that there is no
question in the foreign policy of this country, which has ever
arisen, or which I can conceive as ever occurring, in the
decision of which we have had or can have so much at
stake."--Henry Clay, _The Emancipation of South America_.

This syllabus is designed primarily for the use of students of the University of North Carolina as a guide to the introductory study of Hispanic-American history. In it an effort has been made to provide for as general and comprehensive a study of Hispanic-American civilization as the time limits of a single one year's course would permit. In such a process, of course, selection and rejection of data were necessary. The student seeking to specialize will, therefore, find it possible and easy to elaborate and amplify each of the chapters and sections into which the outline has been divided. Despite such comprehensiveness as was mentioned, the writer has endeavored to emphasize the institutional and economic aspects. The necessity of elimination and the effort at emphasis have resulted in the relegation of political history, particularly that of the colonial period, to a position of comparatively less prominence and significance than some might expect. For this the writer must plead necessity.

In view of the great contemporary interest in Hispanic America no case for the study of its history need be made--if such, indeed, is required for any field of history. That interest in the United States has been in part due to the construction of the Panama Canal and to the increasing importance in diplomacy of the Caribbean area, and in part it may be ascribed to the exigencies and effects of the World War which have made people conscious of trade opportunities formerly non-existent or, if existent, not fully recognized; and many have thus concluded that the diplomatic, political, and economic importance of Hispanic America has made of prime necessity a thorough study and a sympathetic understanding of its past history and institutions. These facts and this new consciousness may indicate the opening of another period in the history of the Western Hemisphere, which will doubtless have a distinctly inter-American emphasis. The field of Hispanic-American history has until recent years been little known to and too often neglected by the undergraduate student in the universities,--if, indeed, courses in such history have been offered. It is, in the opinion of the writer, however, a field not lacking in comparative importance, interest, and cultural value with those better known. It is hoped and confidently expected that the interest in the history and institutions of the Hispanic-American countries recently engendered by the consciousness that these countries have become potent economic and political factors in the modern world will be abiding. Hispanic-American history as a standard course will have much justification, for the part which the peoples of the southern republics will play in the future, as Viscount Bryce recently said, "must henceforth be one of growing significance for the Old World as well as for the New."

The course as outlined in this syllabus provides for the study of the history, geography, political and social institutions, and the economic development and possibilities of Hispanic-American countries. A careful analysis and investigation will thus be made of the Spanish and Portuguese colonial systems and colonial experience in order to explain the wars of independence and the existing political and social conditions. Attention will then be directed to the development of republics, the struggle for political stability, and the exploitation of resources. The course will also include some study of the international relations--political and economic--and diplomatic problems which have arisen in recent Hispanic-American history.

At the outset the prospective student is warned that as yet there exists no single text-book devoted to the Hispanic-American republics which satisfactorily and adequately presents their history, describes their present conditions and discusses their institutions. This absence, of necessity, determines that the course will be based largely upon material to be found only in a number of books, public documents, and scientific reports. An effort has been made in this syllabus to meet this difficult situation. Lectures following the outline of the syllabus and explanatory of it, and recitations based on assigned readings, will constitute the class work. On these lectures and readings the students will be expected to take notes. In addition, they will be required to make certain class reports and at least once during the year to prepare, after consultation with the instructor, an essay on some topic of the syllabus or allied phase of the work.

Students will be required to provide themselves individually with a copy of this syllabus and with W. R. Shepherd's _Latin America_ (Holt & Company). It is strongly recommended that they purchase also F. Garcia Calderon's _Latin America: Its Rise and Progress_ (Scribners). For the general student and reader the following list of books, written in English, may be found useful:

For description, geography, travel, peoples and social conditions:

James Bryce, _South America: Observations and Impressions_.
(Macmillan).

G. E. Church, _Aborigines of South America_. (Chapman and
Hall.)

C. R. Enock, _The Republics of Central and South America_.
(Dent & Sons).

A. H. Keane, _Stanford's Compendium of Geography and Travel:
Central and South America_. (2 Vols., Lippincott.)

_Atlas America Latina_, (English, Spanish, Portuguese; General
Drafting Co.).

R. Reyes, _The Two Americas_. (Stokes.)

A. Ruhl, _The Other Americans_. (Scribners.)

H. Bingham, _Across South America_. (Houghton Mifflin Co.)

For history:

T. C. Dawson, _The South American Republics_. (3 Vols.,
Putnam.)

A. H. Noll, _A Short History of Mexico_. (McClurg.)

F. Palmer, _Central America and its Problems_. (Moffat, Yard &
Co.)

For institutions and history:

E. G. Bourne, _Spain in America_. (American Nation Series,
Harpers.)

B. Moses, _The Establishment of Spanish Rule in America_.
(Putnam.)

----, _South America on the Eve of Emancipation_. (Putnam.)

----, _Spanish Dependencies in South America_. (Harpers.)

F. L. Paxson, _The Independence of the South American
Republics_. (2nd Ed., Ferris and Leach.)

W. S. Robertson, _The Rise of the Spanish American Republics_.
(Appleton.)

W. R. Shepherd, _Hispanic Nations of the New World; A Chronicle
of Our Southern Neighbors_. (Yale Press.)

For literature:

Alfred Coester, _The Literary History of Spanish America_.
(Macmillan.)

Isaac Goldberg, _Studies in Spanish American Literature_.
(Brentano.)

For trade relations:

W. E. Aughinbaugh, _Selling Latin America_. (Small, Maynard &
Company.)

E. B. Filsinger, _Exporting to Latin America_. (Appleton.)

A. H. Verrill, _South and Central American Trade Conditions of
Today_. (Dodd, Mead & Company.)

For individual countries:

P. Denis, _Brazil_. (Scribners.)

P. J. Eder, _Columbia_. (Unwin or Scribners.)

G. F. S. Elliott, _Chile_. (Scribners.)

C. R. Enock, _Mexico_. (Scribners.)

W. A. Hirst, _Argentina_. (Scribners.)

W. H. Koebel, _Argentina, Past and Present_. (Dodd, Mead & Co.)

----, _Paraguay_. (Scribners.)

----, _Uruguay_. (Scribners.)

----, _Central America_. (Scribners.)

W. L. Scruggs, _The Colombian and Venezuelan Republics_.
(Little, Brown & Co.)

M. R. Wright's Books on _Bolivia_; _Brazil_; _Chile_; and
_Peru_. (Cazenove & Son.)

The monthly _Bulletin_ and other publications of the Pan-American Union (Washington, D. C.), offer excellent and reliable information respecting all of these divisions, and are recommended.

Students wishing to make a more detailed study than this brief list would provide for can easily find extensive bibliographies on the subject in English, Portuguese and Spanish which are of great value. They will do well to consult P. H. Goldsmith, _A Brief Bibliography_ (Macmillan), although it is admittedly incomplete in its list of books and contemptuously harsh in its judgment of many of those included. More comprehensive and valuable are the _Bibliographie Hispanique_ (annual, New York) published by the Hispanic Society of America, and the lists and catalogues of books, pamphlets, periodicals, and maps prepared by the Pan-American Union and printed by the United States Government,--first, the list relating to Central America by P. Lee Phillips, 1902; secondly, the catalogue of books, periodicals, etc., in the Columbus Library, which appeared successively in 1905, 1907, 1909, and 1914. Many lists respecting individual Hispanic-American countries have been published, including Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, Cuba, Ecuador, Colombia, Mexico, Peru, and Paraguay. Reference also must necessarily be made to the exhaustive and scholarly _Biblioteca Hispano-Americana_ and other compilations of José Toribio Medina, the great bibliographer of Chile. _The Hispanic American Historical Review_ is commended to the student not only for its own articles and reviews, but for the great service rendered to the bibliography of this subject by publishing with each issue a list of books and articles pertaining to the field which have recently appeared.

The writer would anticipate the criticism that the list of books specified in the syllabus for reading is incomplete. Since these readings are designed for class purposes and are selected as being practicable, the incompleteness was scarcely avoidable. The specialist will again find it easy to enlarge. In the list of readings, in order to conserve space, the author's name and full title of the book are stated when the first reference is made; thereafter only the author's name is employed, except in such cases in which the author has written more than one book or in which clearness seems to demand complete or partial repetition.

The author wishes to make acknowledgment of his indebtedness to Professor William R. Shepherd, of Columbia University, whose advice and inspiration have been of incalculable service to him. Professor Shepherd generously made suggestions for this edition of the syllabus. Chapel Hill, N. C., June, 1920.

A SYLLABUS OF HISPANIC-AMERICAN HISTORY