Cusco: Urbanism and Archaeology in the Inka World

Abstract

The approach also allows Stuven and Cid to identify a number of key moments in Chile's independence struggle and its aftermath. Such moments occurred when political debates took on a definitive feature, shifted points of emphasis, or became emblematic of a larger trend in transatlantic political discourse. One of the moments that stood out to me came during the meeting of the Cádiz Cortes (1810-1814), at which time Henríquez, Irisarri, and others in Chile published detailed arguments in favor of greater American representation in that body, demonstrating that they were already working out plans for electoral representation and organization in Chile.One problem with this approach is that it largely leaves out the political activities that occurred between these key moments. We do not get a clear picture of how the political field was shaped by the actions of men interacting with the changing institutions of the state. Bernardo O'Higgins is discussed because he left behind writings and proclamations, but José Miguel Carrera is left out; José Miguel Infante gets attention for his writings and congressional speeches, but Francisco Antonio Pinto is hardly mentioned. I was happy to see the ideas of the radical printer Santiago Ramos included, but, oddly, there is not a single mention of Diego Portales, even in the chapter on order, the only chapter that extends into the 1830s and 1840s. Thus the process of how we go from the Patria Vieja to the Patria Nueva or from the Constitution of 1828 to the Constitution of 1833 is not really explained. We see only a reflection of that history in the mirror of political ideas.Nevertheless, that reflection is absolutely essential to grasping the significance of Chilean political thought in the history of the wider Atlantic republican world. This book delivers on its promise to raise the international profile of Chilean political thought in the nineteenth century. james a. wood,