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Latin American History

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Latin American History in Memoir

This is a guide to getting started in research in Latin American history at Boston College.

Finding Memoirs

This page is a starting point for finding autobiographical material (diaries, memoirs, autobiographies, journals, letters, correspondence, and more) by people living in or traveling through Latin America. The texts linked here are suggestions and sit alongside links to even more material available through Boston College's O'Neill and Burns Libraries. The first texts are available in O'Neill to be checked out. The material listed in the "Burns Box" is part of our special collections and must be read in Burns Library.

What's on This Page

    Searching Boston Libraries' Catalog

    You can use Boston College Libraries' catalog to search for Latin American autobiographical materials.

    If you want to search broadly, keep in mind that "Latin America" includes multiple states. If you want to cast a wide net, try:

    Peru OR Venezuela OR Chile OR Guatemala OR Ecuador OR Cuba OR Bolivia OR Haiti OR “Dominican Republic” OR Honduras OR Paraguay OR El Salvador OR Nicaragua OR “Costa Rica” OR Panama OR “Puerto Rico” OR Uruguay OR Guadeloupe OR Martinique OR “French Guiana” OR “Saint Martin” “Saint Barthelemy” OR Mexico OR “South America” OR “Latin America”

    To search for material, try looking for:

    memoir* OR diar* OR autobiography OR letters OR correspondence OR journal* OR "description and travel"

    You can take a look at what an advanced search using those search strings looks like through this link to our catalog's advanced search page

    17th Century and Earlier Autobiographies, Diaries, Journals, and Memoirs

    18th Century Autobiographies, Diaries, Journals, and Memoirs

    19th Century Autobiographies, Diaries, Journals, and Memoirs

    20th Century Autobiographies, Diaries, Journals, and Memoirs

    Burns Box

     

    In our very own special collections library (Burns), you'll find a selection of material on your topic. Consider visiting the library and seeing history in your hands. To do so, you should start by searching for material through BC Libraries' catalog and then ordering it (if you haven't registered, you'll be prompted). For a guide on the process, check out the "Finding Burns Material" page.  You might also check out the following recommendations: 

    1711 Map of South America

    1711 British Map of South America
    Moll Herman, A New & Exact Map of the Coast, Countries and Islands Within Ye Limits of Ye South Sea Company, from Ye River Aranoca to Terra Del Fuego, and from Thence Through Ye South Sea, to Ye North Part of California &c. with a View of the General and Coasting Trade-Winds and Perticular Draughts of the Most Important Bays, Ports &c., Map (London, 1711), Library of Congress.

    Want memoirs with female authors? Try our Women in Early Modern Latin America research page.