Affiliation:
1. Temple University
2. University of Oxford
3. École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales, Paris, Mondes Américains clement.thibaud@ehess.fr
4. University of Essex
Abstract
A book forum featuring The End of Iberian Rule on the American Continent, 1770–1830 by Brian R. Hamnett. His 2017 volume argues that the origins of Ibero-American Independence must be found in the interplay between the Spanish and Lusitanian monarchies and the American empires ruled by them. It was internal conflict within these empires that led to independence, not revolution, separatist sentiment, or the emergence of American nation-states. Monica Ricketts, Eduardo Posada-Carbó, Clément Thibaud strongly commend the work while offering constructive criticism and analysis. Reviewers raise questions about socio-cultural forces and changes, the role of politics, the exclusion of an Atlantic perspective, and the lack of attention to revolutionary thought and nationalism. The book is celebrated for its breadth, its historiographical contribution, and the strength of its argument for the continuities from the Iberian monarchies and empires to the nation states that grew out of them. Hamnett responds to the reviewers.