This innovative text offers a clear and concise introduction to Latin America since independence. Thomas C. Wright traces continuity and change in five central colonial legacies: authoritarian governance; a rigid social hierarchy based on race, color, and gender; the powerful Roman Catholic Church; economic dependency; and the large landed estate. He shows that the outcomes of debate and contestation over these colonial legacies have been crucial in shaping contemporary political systems, economies, societies, and religious institutions in a richly diverse region. These unifying themes guide the reader through each period. The text's user-friendly illustrations, maps, chapter summaries, and suggestions for further reading enrich student understanding of a major part of the world.