The History of Argentina

Argentina has one of the most dramatic histories in Latin America, full of indigenous civilizations, European colonization, wars of independence, civil conflict, cycles of economic ambition and collapse, and political upheaval that shaped the country Argentines live in today. This book covers all of it in a single, readable narrative. Starting from the pre-Columbian peoples who inhabited the region before Spanish arrival, the narrative moves through the colonial era, the independence movement led by San Martin, the long nineteenth century struggle to build a nation, and into the turbulent twentieth century marked by military coups, the Dirty War, and the rise of Peronism. The final chapters bring the story into the present, looking at how Argentina continues to wrestle with its past. From indigenous peoples and Spanish colonization to the Wars of Argentine Independence, from Peron and the Dirty War to economic crises and democratic transitions. A clear account of how one of South America's most complex and fascinating nations came to be.