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 [0xc000d3f800 0xc000d52e40 0xc001869050 0xc001a89b90 0xc001be1080 0xc001c9f530 0xc001ee3020 0xc000766270 0xc00007e8a0 0xc0002a5230 0xc0002e2d50 0xc0002fcab0 0xc0004f0ae0 0xc00065a360 0xc0003aae70 0xc0001af920 0xc000ae2900 0xc0006671a0 0xc0008b6d50 0xc000903da0 0xc00091e7e0 0xc000b88480 0xc000be0ab0 0xc000bf8000 0xc0009e6360 0xc0001a5dd0 0xc0006bd6e0 0xc0011214a0 0xc0015f3830 0xc001ac2db0 0xc001e33680 0xc000202a50 0xc000235cb0 0xc0008c9500 0xc00096e690 0xc0009edc50 0xc00220b2c0 0xc002519f20 0xc00255a4b0 0xc00255b1d0 0xc0005d6060 0xc00063fb60 0xc000dc9260 0xc001840120 0xc001840780 0xc0019a37d0 0xc001a24b40 0xc0021b6870 0xc00264bd70 0xc002976ab0] 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
