Page:The republics of Latin America (IA republicsoflatin00jame).djvu/13

 PREFACE

present book is an attempt to bring within the compass of a single volume an account of the history, government, and economic development of the twenty American republics lying south of the United States. To these nations the term Latin America or Hispanic America is applied. The term Spanish America is inexact and misleading, as it embraces only the eighteen states of Spanish origin. The expression Hispanic America—from Hispania, the name given by the Romans to the Iberian peninsula—is more accurate as it includes Portuguese-speaking Brazil. It ignores, however, the little Republic of Haiti, whose existence is due to France and whose present-day problems are of such serious concern to the United States. Despite certain well-founded objections to the use of the term it has seemed best to defer to current usage and include our sister republics under the blanket designation of Latin America.

As the title would indicate, the emphasis has been placed on the period subsequent to the achievement of independence. At the same time an effort has been made to describe the foundations on which the national life of the Latin- American states has been built. To an introductory chapter have been assigned such preliminary topics as the European background, the classification and distribution of the most important American Indian stocks with which the Spaniards and Portuguese came into contact, and the period of discovery and exploration. These topics are discussed with such brevity as is consistent with clearness. Thus in describing the European background attention is centered on those basic institutions which were subsequently adapted to New World conditions ; while the European conquest, where the story for a time merges into the larger history of the Americas, is sketched only in the briefest outline. The somewhat more com- vii