![]() ![]() While the Spanish and British featured prominently in the first part of the book as foreign figures with power and control over Latin American exports, it was eventually the US that took over as the most dominant Western country overseeing the region’s production. Eventually, the Europeans would mine the lands for silver, tin, and petroleum before forcing a monoculture of sugar and coffee production. It was the discovery of gold in Latin America that captured interests of Spain and other European countries. The arrival of the Spanish brought violence, disease, and forced labor to the native people of Latin America. In Part 1, Galeano provides a comprehensive overview of how Spanish colonization of the Americas led to the continuous exploitation of its resources in present-day Latin America. In three parts, Open Veins of Latin America tackles different aspects of Latin American political and economic history, beginning with the discovery and exploitation of resources of Latin America, the transition from primarily European to US foreign investment in the region, and a reflection on Latin American politics seven years after the book’s first publication. Eduardo Galeano sets out to write a book that will incite the most marginalized people of Latin America towards a social revolution in which there will be the “overthrow of its masters, country by country” (281). ![]()
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