Brute New World

Using original letters and journals, this presents the reactions of 19th-century Westerners who flocked to the newly-independent countries of Latin America, only to see their dreams of instant wealth fade in the face of the civil strife, corruption, and "barbarism" they found there.

British and American soldiers, naval officers, mining engineers, merchants, businessmen and wealthy travellers flocked to the countries of Latin America following their independence from Spain and Portugal. Most such travellers were entirely ignorant of the continent and expected instant success: easy money, the cheap acquisition of fertile land, military glory or vast mineral wealth. Few of them realized their ambitions, for the overthrow of the old regimes had not brought peace, liberalism and the social conditions in which foreign investment could thrive. To their shock and disgust, they encountered the same civil strife, corruption, squalor and "barbarism", religious intolerance and petty jealousies that had prevailed in earlier centuries. The experiences of these travellers, as noted in their diaries, journals and letters, are presented in this book. It should be of interest to modern-day travellers as well as to historians and students of Latin America. A strength of the book is its coverage of political, business and civilian history as well as military life, throughout the continent.