Excerpt from Guide to Latin-American History Most of the purposes of this handbook are obvious. It is intended primarily to furnish a means of access to the various aspects of development of those states which are collectively termed Latin America. Until lately little attempt has been made to study the evolution and international importance of our southern neighbors, as the paucity of comprehensive works on Hispanic America witnesses. Only with the increasing com mercial importance of these states have we become aware of the existence of a number of large and potentially wealthy and pow erful nations at our very door; and it must be confessed that as the origin of this interest was commercial, the basis of our concern continues to be primarily economic. Hence, we have been studying latin-american social and cultural development largely for the purpose of understanding latin-american busi ness methods and opportunities. We are coming to realize, however, that these southern te publics have more to offer than mere opportunities for commer cial and financial exploitation. It becomes increasingly evident that here are great nations in the making, having their own distinct types of institutions and culture, their own likes and dislikes, and, withal, a growing consciousness of self-depend ence and strength which makes them constantly more worthy of consideration as friends or foes. In a careful, sympathetic study of these budding nations we have the true germs of genuine pan-americanism. Only by thorough mutual understanding can all the nations of the western hemisphere develop a spirit of international coopera tion based no longer on diplomatic expression of good will, but upon the recognition of common aims and interests toward'the promotion of the common welfare. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.