From colonialism to modern populism, from the failures of nineteenth-century liberalism to the limits of contemporary liberalism, from Caudillism to authoritarianism, Loris Zanatta retraces the complex history of Latin America, marked by sweeping transformations and strong elements of continuity, unity and centrifugal forces. United by the Iberian legacy of language and culture, but also torn by profound ethnic and social fissures, its convulsive history suspended between Europe and America, it remains all too often a misunderstood chapter of history.