Born in Blood and Fire

John Charles Chasteen is professor of history emeritus at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and author of Born in Blood and Fire, the best-selling history of Latin America. John Charles Chasteen is professor of history emeritus at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and author of Born in Blood and Fire, the best-selling history of Latin America.

CHAPTER ONE
Chronicles of the Encounter


The Caminha Letter, Pero Vaz de Caminha

A Brief Account of the Destruction of the Indies,
Bartolomé de las Casas

A General History of the Indies, Francisco López de
Gómara

Chronicle of New Spain, Francisco Cervantes de Salazar

The True History of the Conquest of New Spain, Bernal
Díaz del Castillo

A General History of New Spain, Bernardino de
Sahagún




CHAPTER TWO


Colonial Transculturation


Royal Commentaries of the Incas, Garcilaso de la
Vega

The First New Chronicle, Felipe Guaman Poma de Ayala

Happy Captivity, Francisco Núñez de Pineda y
Bascuñán

An Account of the Jesuit Missions, José Cardiel

A Guide for Inexperienced Travelers, Alonso Carrió de
la Vandera




CHAPTER THREE


Early Nineteenth-Century Travel Accounts


Personal Narrative of a Journey, Alexander von
Humboldt

Travels in Brazil, Henry Koster

Journal of a Residence in Chile, Maria Graham

Life in Mexico, Frances Calderón de la Barca




CHAPTER FOUR


Inventing National Ethnicities


Facundo, Domingo Faustino Sarmiento

Memoirs of a Militia Sergeant, Manuel Antonio de
Almeida

A Self-Portrait of Mexico City, Various Authors

Bolívar's Justice, Ricardo Palma

María, Jorge Isaacs




CHAPTER FIVE


Progress and Its Discontents


Evolution, Joaquim Maria Machado de Assis

Birds Without a Nest, Clorinda Matto de Turner

No Direction, Eugenio Cambaceres

The Inauguration of the Railway from Mexico City to Texcoco,
Ignacio Manuel Altamirano

The Stock Market, Julián Martel

The Beehive, Aluísio Azevedo




CHAPTER SIX


In Search of Authenticity


Ariel, José Enrique Rodó

The Backlands, Euclides da Cunha

Santa, Federico Gamboa

Facing the Barbarians, José María Vargas
Vila

Black Stuff, Vicente Rossi




CHAPTER SEVEN


The Return of the Natives


Runa Yupay, José María Arguedas

Three Silver Sucres and The New Saint, José de la
Cuadra

Arid Lives, Graciliano Ramos




CHAPTER EIGHT


Cold War Visions


Weekend in Guatemala, Miguel Angel Asturias

Declassified Communiqué, Central Intelligence
Agency

Memory of Fire, Eduardo Galeano




CHAPTER NINE


Guerrillas and Torturers


Diary of A Guerrilla, Jacobo Arenas

Zarpazo, Evelio Buitrago Salazar

The Tupamaros in Action, Movement for National
Liberation

They Won't Take Me Alive, Claribel Alegría

Confessions of a Torturer, Nancy Guzmán