Encyclopedias, Dictionaries, Biographies
The reference books listed here provide general information to help get your thoughts going as you start a research project. Note: These can be found in the Library's reference area only (1st floor).

The Cambridge encyclopedia of Latin America and the Caribbean.  Ed. by Simon Collier, Thomas E. Skidmore, and Harold Blakemore.  New York: Cambridge University Press, 1985.
(REF F1406 .C36 1992)
Contains lengthy “History” section covering pre-Columbian times to 1980s.

Dictionary of twentieth century culture: Hispanic culture of South America.  Peter Standish.  Detroit, MI: Gale Research, 1995.
(REF F2237 H57 1995)
Contains descriptions of cultural figures, terms and events in twentieth century South American countries.  "Culture" in this context refers to art, newspapers and magazines, fiction, theater and music.  "South America" includes Colombia to the southernmost tip of Chile.

Encyclopedia of contemporary Latin American and Caribbean cultures.  Ed. by Daniel Balderston, Mike Gonzalez and Ana M. López. London ; New York : Routledge, 2000.
(REF F1406 E515 2000)
For short, quick answers to primarily twentieth-century questions about culture.  Includes summaries of each decade in Latin America and the Caribbean from the 1920s-1990s.

Encyclopedia of Latin American history and culture.  Ed. by Barbara A. Tenenbaum, Georgette Magassy Dorn, et al.  New York : C. Scribner's Sons: 1996.
(REF F1406 .E53 1996)
Five-volume history and culture encyclopedia with topical entries, plus entries for each Latin American country.  Some entries followed by bibliographies.

Encyclopedia of Cuba: people, history, culture.  Ed. by Luis Martinez-Fernandez, et al.  Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 2003.
(REF F1754 .E53 2003)
Two-volume history and culture encyclopedia with more than 700 entries presenting an objective, balanced view of Cuba including Cuban exiles in the United States. Appendice include U.S, Laws relating to Cuba.  Some entries followed by "Further Readings" bibliographies.

Encyclopedia of Mexico: history, society & culture.  Ed. by Michael S. Werner.  Chicago : Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers, 1997.
(REF F1210 .E63 1997)
A very comprehensive source for almost any topic about Mexico.  Detailed entries written by scholars in the field, and many have bibliographies that will lead you to more useful sources.

Encyclopedia of the Mexican-American War.  Ed. by Mark Crawford; David S. Heidler and Jeanne T. Heidler.  Santa Barbara, Calif.: ABC-CLIO, 1999.
(REF E404 .C93 1999)
An excellent source of information about this war which took place between 1846 and 1848, and resulted in the U.S. acquisition of Texas, New Mexico and California.  Entries include biographies of soldiers (mostly U.S.), battle sites, concepts such as "manifest destiny," political figures, and many images from the war.  Also contains chronology.

Explorers and discoverers of the world. Ed. by Daniel B. Baker.  Detroit: Gale Research, 1993.
(REF G200 .E88 1993)
Encyclopedia of explorers from all over the world in modern history.  Many explorers and conquistadores of Latin America are included.  Also contains selected bibliographies, a general bibliography, a chronology, and photographs and maps.

Latin America: a political dictionary.Ernest E. Rossi, Jack C. Plano. Santa Barbara, Calif.: ABC-CLIO, 1992.
(REF F1406 .R67 1992)
More like an encyclopedia than a dictionary.  Defines terms, ideas and events that took place in Latin America, cross-references terms, and sometimes describes their "Significance," such as what they mean in individual countries.  Entries range from "Shining Path," to "Revolution," to "Legitimacy Vacuum," to "Antiyankeeism."

Notable twentieth-century Latin American women: a biographical dictionary. Ed. by Cynthia Margarita Tompkins and David William Foster. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 2001.
(REF CT3290 .N68 2001)
Focuses on Latin American, Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking women, mostly born after 1900.  Includes lengthy biographies and suggestions for further reading.

The Oxford encyclopedia of Mesoamerican cultures: the civilizations of Mexico and Central America.  Ed. by Davíd Carrasco.  Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press, 2001.
(REF F1218.6 .O95 2001)
Detailed entries with bibliographies about the Olmecs, Mayas, Aztecs and other Mesoamerican cultures.

The Penguin history of Latin America.  Ed. by Edwin Williamson.  London; New York: Penguin Books, 1992.
(REF F1410. W572 1992)
For a very broad but comprehensive overview of the history of Latin America, from the conquistadores to the 1990s.

A Reference guide to Latin American history. Ed. by James D. Henderson,... [et al.].  Armonk, NY: M.E. Sharpe, 2000.
(REF F1410 .R395 2000)
Provides an overview of Latin American history from the earliest civilizations to the year 1999.  Divided into three parts: a general chronology, a chronology by topic, and biographies.

World explorers and discoverers.  Ed. by Richard E. Bohlander.  New York : Macmillan; Toronto: Maxwell Macmillan Canada; New York: Maxwell Macmillan International, 1992.
(REF G200 .W67 1992)
Another encyclopedia of explorers from all over the world in modern history.  Also includes many of the Latin American conquistadores, in addition to a bibliography, and lists of the explorers by nationality and by area of exploration.

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Materials in the Stacks
To find books and other items in the Ely Library, use the Ely Library Catalog, http://catalog.lib.wsc.ma.edu/.  For information about Latin American History, the following are just a few Library of Congress Subject Headings that may help you:
"Latin America History"
"Central America History"
"South America History"

You can also search by individual country, such as:
"Chile History"

There could be many different terms that work for your search, so for more help, go to the Searching the Ely Library Catalog guide, or just ask one of the Ely librarians!

Suggested Titles
The following are some suggested book titles that we have in the stacks - but these are just suggestions!  Do not limit yourself to these:

The Argentina reader: history, culture, politics. Ed. by Gabriela Nouzeilles and Graciela R. Montaldo. Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 2002.  F2810 .A646 2002

Bad neighbor policy: Washington's futile war on drugs in Latin America.  Ted Galen Carpenter.  New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2003.  HV5825 .C34 2003

Born in blood and fire: a concise history of Latin America.   John Charles Chasteen.  New York : Norton, 2001.  F1410 .C4397 2001

Drugs and money: laundering Latin America's cocaine dollars.  Robert E. Grosse.  Westport, Conn.: Praeger, 2001. HV8079.M64 G75 2001

Indians, oil, and politics: a recent history of Ecuador.  Allen Gerlach.  Wilmington, Del.: SR Books, 2003.  F3738.2 .G47 2003

Latin America: a concise interpretive history.  E. Bradford Burns. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice Hall, 1994. F1410 .B8 1994

Latin America in the era of the Cuban Revolution. Thomas C. Wright.  Westport, Conn.: Praeger, 2001.  F1414.2 .W75 2001

Modern Latin America.  Thomas E. Skidmore.  New York: Oxford University Press, 2001. F1413 .S55 2001

The second century : U.S.--Latin American relations since 1889.  Mark T. Gilderhus. Wilmington, DE: Scholarly Resources, 2000. F1418 .G4873 2000

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Databases: Library Catalog and Periodical Indexes
Ely Library catalog  For BOOKS, VIDEOS and more at the Ely Library
http://catalog.lib.wsc.ma.edu/
Use the subject headings as described above, or search by author, title or keyword.  For help with using the catalog, go to the Searching the Ely Library Catalog guide, or ask a librarian at the reference desk.

Handbook of Latin American Studies  Free to the public
http://memory.loc.gov/hlas/
A bibliography of scholarly books, articles and conference papers on Latin American social sciences and humanities topics, including history.  Unique because it includes titles published in countries around the world, and in English as well as Spanish, Portuguese and other languages.  Maintained by the Library of Congress.

History Resource Center: U.S.   Limited to WSC community use
http://www.lib.wsc.ma.edu/dbalpha.htm#History Resource
Has limited amount of information on Latin American topics.  A unique aspect is its full text of some primary documents, such as The Treaty of Tordesillas which divided the "New World" between Spain and Portugal in 1494.

JSTOR  Limited to WSC community use
http://www.lib.wsc.ma.edu/dbalpha.htm#JSTOR
This database contains the PDF full text of many scholarly journals.  There are retrospective collections of Latin American Studies and History journals, including The Americas, Latin American Research Review, Latin American Perspectives, and Hispanic American Historical Review, among others.

Historical Abstracts  Limited to WSC community use
Provides historical coverage of the world from 1450 to the present (excluding the United States and Canada) by providing citations to over 1,700 journals, books, and dissertations published worldwide in over forty languages. The database provides full-text links to many journal articles when they are available in linked databases. Historical Abstracts is committed to covering every significant historical journal published anywhere in the world, as well as journals with historical content published in closely related social science fields. Abstracts are carefully edited for clarity and precision.
 
Project Muse   Limited to WSC community use
http://www.lib.wsc.ma.edu/dbalpha.htm#Project Muse
Contains the full text of several thousand articles about Latin American History (in general), in scholarly journals only.  Journals include The Americas, Hispanic American Historical Review, and Latin American Research Review.

Biography Resource Center  Limited to WSC community use
http://www.lib.wsc.ma.edu/dbalpha.htm#Biography Resource
Contains primarily biographies but also a limited number of magazine articles about many well-known Latin American figures.  Rigoberta Menchu (human rights activist), Túpac Amaru (revolutionary), Fidel Castro (Cuban leader), Jorge Luis Borges (writer) and Pancho Villa (revolutionary) are just a few examples.

Expanded Academic ASAP   Limited to WSC community use
http://www.lib.wsc.ma.edu/dbalpha.htm#Expanded Academic
A multi-disciplinary database containing many scholarly, popular and news articles.  Has several hundred articles under the subject "Latin America."

Academic Search Premier   Limited to WSC community use
http://www.lib.wsc.ma.edu/dbalpha.htm#Academic
A multi-disciplinary database that includes many articles in full text.  Use keywords to search for articles on almost any aspect of Latin American history, society, and culture.

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Recommended Websites

General:

LANIC: Latin American Network Information Center – Social Sciences - History
http://lanic.utexas.edu/la/region/history/
Well-known, extensive directory of websites on Latin American History, compiled by the Latin American Network Information Center at the University of Texas-Austin.

Sources and General Resources on Latin America - History
http://www.oberlin.edu/faculty/svolk/latinam.htm
Provides links to Latin American History sites from Pre-Conquest period to the present.  Created by a History professor at Oberlin College.

Country Studies and Area Handbooks
http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/cshome.html
Detailed national histories, and a wide range of other information, about countries around the world are provided on this site created by the Library of Congress.

More specific:

Spain, the United States & the American Frontier: Historias paralelas
http://international.loc.gov/intldl/eshtml/eshome.html
Virtual exhibit made by the Library of Congress comparing the similar histories of Spain, the United States and their settlement in the Americas.

Vistas: Visual Culture in Spanish America, 1520-1820
http://www.smith.edu/vistas/index.html
A NEW website as of 2003.  A virtual gallery of manuscripts, paintings, religious objects and other items from colonial Latin America difficult to view anywhere else.  Each image accompanied by “discussion,” a bibliography and glossary of terms.

Perry-Castañeda Map Collection – Maps of the Americas
http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/americas.html
An impressive collection of contemporary and historical maps of most countries in the Americas.  You can zoom in to some of the maps for closer study.

The National Security Archive – Declassified U.S. Government Documents
http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/
Nongovernmental organization that collects declassified U.S. government documents.  The archive houses many documents that relate to Latin America.  Website lists and describes the documents, but does not provide their full-text online.

Political Database of the Americas
http://www.georgetown.edu/pdba/
Website created by Georgetown University on all kinds of political information in the Americas, such as “Political Parties,” “Electoral Systems,” and “Constitutions,” among others.  Can be searched by topic or by country.

The Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz Project
http://www.dartmouth.edu/~sorjuana/
Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz was a seventeenth century Mexican poet, writer and nun who became famous for promoting the intellectual abilities of women in an extremely patriarchal society.  Includes bibliography and searchable online catalog of her works, bibliography of criticism, and list of Sor Juana scholars.

Ice Treasures of the Inca: An Interactive Expedition – National Geographic Society
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/mummy/index.html
Narrated "slide show" of a 1995 Andean mountain expedition that resulted in finding a 500-year-old Inca mummy.

Christophorus Columbus
http://www.win.tue.nl/~engels/discovery/columbus.html
A gateway to other websites about Christopher Columbus, containing essays, riddles, theories, navigation methods and plenty of other information about the discoverer’s life.

PBS Michael Wood's "Conquistadors"
http://www.pbs.org/conquistadors/
Based on Michael Wood's book and PBS TV Series about the conquistadores, this website provides chronological, illustrated narratives about four of the many Spanish adventurers: Cortés, Pizarro, Orellana and Cabeza de Vaca.  You can also learn about the conquistadores' effect on Mexico, Peru, Amazonia and North America by clicking on   "Resources."

Page Maintained by B. Hubbard