Between 1850 and 1930, Latin America's integration into the area financial system in the course of the export of uncooked fabrics reworked the quarter. This come across was once approximately as dramatic because the conquistadors' epic war of words with local American civilizations centuries sooner than. An emphasis on international markets and capital changed protectionism and self-sufficiency because the hemisphere's guiding rules. in lots of methods, the ability hired in this interval to tie Latin the USA extra heavily to western Europe and North the United States resemble innovations at the moment fashionable. a lot could be realized from reading the 1st time that Latin american citizens embraced export-led growth.

This publication specializes in the effect of 3 key export commodities: espresso, henequen, and petroleum. The authors pay attention to those instead of on nationwide economies simply because they illustrate extra concretely the interplay among the surroundings, average and human assets, and the realm economic system. through examining how varied items spun complicated webs of relationships with their respective markets, the essays during this e-book light up the tensions and contradictions present in the usually conflictive courting among the neighborhood and the worldwide, among organization and the not-so-invisible hand. eventually, the participants argue that the result of the "second conquest" weren't one-sided as Latin american citizens and foreigners jointly solid a brand new monetary order—one riddled with contradictions that Latin the United States continues to be trying to get to the bottom of today.