Our America: A Hispanic History of the United States
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- £8.99
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- £8.99
Publisher Description
“A rich and moving chronicle for our very present.” —Julio Ortega, New York Times Book Review
The United States is still typically conceived of as an offshoot of England, with our history unfolding east to west beginning with the first English settlers in Jamestown. This view overlooks the significance of America’s Hispanic past. With the profile of the United States increasingly Hispanic, the importance of recovering the Hispanic dimension to our national story has never been greater.
This absorbing narrative begins with the explorers and conquistadores who planted Spain’s first colonies in Puerto Rico, Florida, and the Southwest. Missionaries and rancheros carry Spain’s expansive impulse into the late eighteenth century, settling California, mapping the American interior to the Rockies, and charting the Pacific coast. During the nineteenth century Anglo-America expands west under the banner of “Manifest Destiny” and consolidates control through war with Mexico. In the Hispanic resurgence that follows, it is the peoples of Latin America who overspread the continent, from the Hispanic heartland in the West to major cities such as Chicago, Miami, New York, and Boston. The United States clearly has a Hispanic present and future.
And here is its Hispanic past, presented with characteristic insight and wit by one of our greatest historians.
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
Many of us learn a version of America’s origins that jumps from Christopher Columbus to the English pilgrims to the Founding Fathers—but that’s not the full story. In this eye-opening chronicle, historian Felipe Fernández-Armesto dives into Spain’s colonization efforts in America, which predated and ran parallel to those of England. We were fascinated by the revelations that he uncovers, such as how Puerto Rico actually housed the first European settlers in the early 16th century. The book reframes America’s formation and hundreds of years of history, especially when it comes to the origins of Florida, Texas, and California. Fernández-Armesto draws a connection from the past to the present to the future, presenting an optimistic look at how America can embrace its diverse history. Our America shares an important aspect of American history that shouldn’t be overlooked.
