Open Veins of Latin America
Five Centuries of the Pillage of a Continent
Galeano, Eduardo
Publisher: Monthly Review Press, New York
Year First Published: {22894 Open Veins of Latin America OPEN VEINS OF LATIN AMERICA Five Centuries of the Pillage of a Continent Galeano, Eduardo Monthly Review Press New York A political economy, a social and cultural narrative, and a powerful description of primitive capital accumulation. 1971 1973 360pp $18 BC22894-Galeano-OpenVeins.jpg B Book 978-0-85345-991-0 Originally banned in Brazil, Uruguay, and Chile, Open Veins of Latin America has undergone multiple printings since its first publication in 1971, a testament to the importance and continued relevance of this work. Galeano passionately recounts the exploitation of Latin America from conquest through to neocolonialism. Challenging the victors' version of history, he brings together the work of historians, sociologists, economists and anthropologists to provide a very different account. Galeano describes the current struggles of Latin America against poverty and underdevelopment as product of a history of oppression. He does so in a lucid narrative that is accessible and interesting, with a clear interest in restoring pride, dignity and hope.
<br>
<br>Galeano shows that wealth and freedom do not exist in a vacuum but are inextricably linked to their opposites, poverty and enslavement. It was through plunder, slavery and genocide that the capitalist centres of our world were spawned, with Latin America functioning as an intermediary, never really participating in the international market but supplying desired raw material.
<br>
<br>The conquest of Latin America began as a New World crusade where conquistadores served dual majesties, God and the Crown, to exploit the paradise of mineral and plant resources they found. This feudal system has remained essentially unchanged from colonialism through independence. Countries which attempt reform or advocate any anti-imperialist policy are controlled through international monetary loans and military action.
<br>
<br>The zero-sum system that keeps Latin America subjugated is a human system. Exposing this as neither natural nor necessary, Galeano demonstrates that change is possible.
<br>
<br>[Abstract by Diana Canning]
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>Table of Contents
<br>
<br>Introduction: 120 Million Children in the Eye of the Hurricane
<br>
<br>Part I: Mankind's Poverty as a Consequence of the Wealth of the Land
<br>1. Lust for Gold, Lust for Silver
<br>2. King Sugar and Other Agricultural Monarchs
<br>3. The Invisible Sources of Power
<br>
<br>Part II: Development is a Voyage with More Shipwrecks than Navigators
<br>4. Tales of Premature Death
<br>5. The Contemporary Structure of Plunder
<br>
<br>References
<br>Index CX8610 1 true true false CX8610.htm [0xc000160150 0xc000161770 0xc000258c30 0xc000159440 0xc000138690 0xc0004cc930 0xc000440c00 0xc0004a1230 0xc0007300f0 0xc00022c390 0xc0002dfdd0 0xc000347b30 0xc000ad7410 0xc000d04bd0 0xc0005710e0 0xc000f534d0 0xc00106e960 0xc000bc4c90 0xc000dee750 0xc000e3f6e0 0xc000e7a120 0xc000f03b60 0xc000f71f80 0xc0010074d0 0xc000e03aa0 0xc0015eeab0 0xc000cc7bc0 0xc0013faf00 0xc00159b200 0xc001cc6ff0 0xc001ebf560 0xc001fd03c0 0xc001fd9590 0xc000994540 0xc0009a36b0 0xc0009dab10 0xc001eecea0 0xc0025124b0 0xc00254e780 0xc00254f4a0 0xc001442b40 0xc0024aff20 0xc000904cc0 0xc00128d110 0xc00128d740 0xc0014842a0 0xc0014ad4d0 0xc001bce990 0xc002073320 0xc002831650] Cx}
Year Published: 1973
Pages: 360pp Price: $18 ISBN: 978-0-85345-991-0
Resource Type: Book
Cx Number: CX8610
A political economy, a social and cultural narrative, and a powerful description of primitive capital accumulation.
Abstract:
Originally banned in Brazil, Uruguay, and Chile, Open Veins of Latin America has undergone multiple printings since its first publication in 1971, a testament to the importance and continued relevance of this work. Galeano passionately recounts the exploitation of Latin America from conquest through to neocolonialism. Challenging the victors' version of history, he brings together the work of historians, sociologists, economists and anthropologists to provide a very different account. Galeano describes the current struggles of Latin America against poverty and underdevelopment as product of a history of oppression. He does so in a lucid narrative that is accessible and interesting, with a clear interest in restoring pride, dignity and hope.
Galeano shows that wealth and freedom do not exist in a vacuum but are inextricably linked to their opposites, poverty and enslavement. It was through plunder, slavery and genocide that the capitalist centres of our world were spawned, with Latin America functioning as an intermediary, never really participating in the international market but supplying desired raw material.
The conquest of Latin America began as a New World crusade where conquistadores served dual majesties, God and the Crown, to exploit the paradise of mineral and plant resources they found. This feudal system has remained essentially unchanged from colonialism through independence. Countries which attempt reform or advocate any anti-imperialist policy are controlled through international monetary loans and military action.
The zero-sum system that keeps Latin America subjugated is a human system. Exposing this as neither natural nor necessary, Galeano demonstrates that change is possible.
[Abstract by Diana Canning]
Table of Contents
Introduction: 120 Million Children in the Eye of the Hurricane
Part I: Mankind's Poverty as a Consequence of the Wealth of the Land
1. Lust for Gold, Lust for Silver
2. King Sugar and Other Agricultural Monarchs
3. The Invisible Sources of Power
Part II: Development is a Voyage with More Shipwrecks than Navigators
4. Tales of Premature Death
5. The Contemporary Structure of Plunder
References
Index
Subject Headings