Race and Nation in Modern Latin America by Nancy P. Appelbaum et al. (review)

Book Reviews 99 BOOK REVIEWS Race and Nation in Modern LatinAmerica. By Nancy P.Appelbaum , Anne S. Macpherson & Karin Alejandra Rosemblatt (eds.). Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2003, p. 329, $19.95. The editors of this book analyze the post-independence period in Latin America from the late 1800s to the early 1900s. They focus on the process of nation building, when national and racial identities were developed. The editors propose that the meanings of nation and race are not fixed; instead, they are actually in motion, and they could be redefined at any given moment as they are shaped by the social and historical context (p.x). The issue of race was ignored after independence, based on the hypocrisy of the founding fathers following liberal ideologies, but certainly not advocating freedom for everyone. It is worth noting that the issue of slavery was carefully neglected in all the initial national constitutions in the Americas. The articles are well documented using mostly primary sources, and the topics are more complex than the usual theme of racial discrimination. They include documents from National Archives in La Havana, Lima, and Bogota, as well as some regional repositories in Arequipa, Peru and Cauca, Colombia. The authors also use legal court transcripts and police records in Brazil. The book certainly goes beyond the traditional debate of whether racial discrimination is practiced in Latin America or not. It also goes further than the usual comparison of the racial systems between the U.S. and Latin American nations. The different articles analyze how the definitions of race have changed over time, and how racial dichotomies have created marked geographical differences even within the same nation. The historical significance of the book is grounded on four specific contributions that the editors skillfully offer to enhance the study of race and nation building. First, they explore the regional differences and how concepts of race have shaped the definition of a national character. Second, they offer a historical account of how racial definitions and classifications have morphed over time, even within the same nation. Third, they analyze the concept of “national community” and explore different patterns of how it has been defined using parameters such as a shared history, I00 The Latin Americanist 9 Spring 2005 racial identification, and geographical areas. Finally, the authors explore how gender and sexuality have shaped racialized conceptions of nationhood, mostly by studying the use of language and metaphors used in written documents during the nation-building period. One of the most salient features of this book is the notion that subordinated peoples also had an active role in defining “race,” and thus defining themselves. Such argument reveals that race was not only a social construct developed by the elite groups to he used as a tool of domination. To illustrate his claim, James Sanders cleverly studies the construction of the Indigenous identity in Southern Colombia. After independence was accomplished , the Cauca Indians faced the challenge of finding a place for themselves in Colombia, where the Liberal and Conservative political parties quickly emerged. To be accepted as citizens, the Caucas were offered to abandon their Indian heritage in order to be incorporated into the general national agenda. They refused, and instead, they actively pursued a racialized discourse where they even reinforced Indian stereotypes and placed themselves above other groups like slaves and women. The Cauca Indians quickly realized that both political parties wanted to enlist their support, and they skillfully played them one against the other. One advantage for the Indians was that they lived in resguardos, which were communal landholdings they had received since the colonial period. They quickly became aware that if they gave up their “Indianess,” they would also have to give up their protected lands, which the criollos and mestizos wanted. The Cauca sought protection from the government while also asking to be included as full citizens. So, they wisely remained neutral during the numerous civil wars that erupted in Colombia. They also attempted to have political influence while retaining the benefits of a colonial past, such as their communal lands. The struggle for collective rights paid off for the Cauca Indians. The 1991 Constitution granted them special rights...