The Poverty Of Progress: Latin America In The Nineteenth Century

If the victors truly write history, then E Bradford Burns’ The Poverty of Progress: Latin America in the Nineteenth Century seeks to give voice to those who lost. Burns highlights the price of progress, namely increased reliance on Europe and a declining quality of life for the masses. Furthermore, he questions the traditional metrics of progress, suggesting that the oft-praised modernization and growth of the era hindered potential development.

Burns’ brief preface states an ambitious goal: to introduce a more complex perspective of modernization in nineteenth century Latin America. He introduces three negative effects of modernization: the increased dominance of European ideals at the expense of the American and Iberian; deepening economic dependency on Europe; and a declining quality of life for the majority. Furthermore, Burns asserts that in the nineteenth century, modernization and progress truly meant Europeanization, specifically importing European ideas, technologies, and capitalist system.

The first chapter, “The Nineteenth Century: Progress and Cultural Conflict” describes the sociopolitical system of nineteenth century Latin America. It highlights the immense power held by elites at the expense of the folk populations. Burns explains how
The elites wished to model Europe by industrializing the nation and civilizing the people. Moreover, historians of the time were ideologically similar men of European background focusing on contemporary history and promoting Europeanization, while denigrating traditional folk cultures. The historiographical approach of the time only served to reinforce the goals of elites, ignoring increasing dependency on Europe and poverty among the