These objectives give insight as to what a student should be able to accomplish upon completion of each chapter.

Chapter 1: Ancient America
Chapter 2: The Hispanic Background
Chapter 3: The Conquest of America
Chapter 4: The Economic Foundations of Colonial Life
Chapter 5: State, Church, and Society
Chapter 6: Colonial Brazil
Chapter 7: The Bourbon Reforms and Spanish America
Chapter 8: The Independence of Latin America
Chapter 9: Dictators and Revolutions
Chapter 10: The Triumph of Neocolonialism
Chapter 11: Society and Culture in the Nineteenth Century
Chapter 12: The Mexican Revolution--and After
Chapter 13: Argentina: The Failure of Democracy
Chapter 14: The Chilean Way
Chapter 15: Republican Brazil
Chapter 16: Storm over the Andes: The Struggle for Land and Development
Chapter 17: The Cuban Revolution
Chapter 18: Revolution and Counterrevolution in Central America: Twilight of the Tyrants?
Chapter 19: Lands of Bolívar: Venezuela and Colombia in the Twentieth Century
Chapter 20: The Two Americas: United States-Latin American Relations
Chapter 21: Latin American Society in Transition