Latin American History

Latin American History

According to Chasteen (2006 , Latin America can be regarded as either having a single history or not . The twenty countries can be said to have a common history due to them being similar in more ways than one . When looked at from a different perspective , they can also be said not to have a single history because these countries ' history cannot be accurately and fully described in one story . This article will explore Chasteens ' views with the aim of establishing if his views are accurate .Jose Maria Caicedo was the

first one to refer to this geographical region as `Latin America ' The introduction of this name encompassed both the Spaniards and French speaking people occupying the lands . Latin America is comprised of countries found in the south of the United States of America and maybe sub-divided into regions namely Carribean Central America , South America and North America . Latin America is the 4th largest Continent on planet Earth . History shows that the entry and exit of regions into and out of Latin America was a gradual transition that cannot be traced to specific dates

One common feature of these countries is the European conquest and colonization . Christopher Columbus arrived there in 1942 , consequently opening them up to the world . Eventually , the region was taken over by European powers comprised of Portugal and Spain , who introduced diseases such as small pox in to weaken the indigenous populace . Many died while the survivors were subjected to forced labor . Eventually...