Latin American History August 2012 Archive

The Mexican Revolution (1910-1920) was supposed to wipe Mexico clean of corruption once and for all. That didn't work: many of the revolutionaries themselves, once they had seized power, proved ... Read More

John Phillips was an honest seaman in 1722 when his ship was taken by pirate Thomas Anstis. He joined the pirates for a while but then decided to give honest ... Read More

In 1846, the USA and Mexico went to war: after two years, Mexico was defeated and was forced to give up much of the present-day USA. About fifteen years later, ... Read More

Davy Crockett was born on August 17, 1786. He grew up in rural Tennessee and became a talented scout and frontiersman. He also acquired a gift for telling tall tales ... Read More

The Ancient Maya were avid merchants and traders who controlled a vast trade network of dozens of far-flung city states centuries before the arrival of the Spanish to Mexico and ... Read More

On August 10, 1809, a determined group of Quito's leading citizens made their way to the Captain-General of the Royal Audience of Quito (the ranking Spanish officer in the city) ... Read More

Simon Bolivar won some impressive battles during South America's struggle for Independence. He defeated the Spanish wherever he found them for fifteen years, from the steamy riverbanks of Venezuela to ... Read More

Gabriel Garcia Moreno was President of Ecuador from 1860 to 1865 and again from 1869 to 1875. While he was president, he stabilized the economy, improved education, modernized agriculture and ... Read More

On August 3, 1492, three ships set sail from Spain under the command of Genoese navigator Christopher Columbus. I think we all know what happened next! Columbus found lands previously ... Read More

William B. Travis was born on August 1, 1809 in South Carolina and grew up in Alabama. His name, however, will be forever associated with Texas, where he met his ... Read More