Reference for History

Latin American History

This is a brief guide to material at BC providing reference (dictionaries, encyclopedia, biographies, bibliographies, indices, and more) on historical topics.

Reference in Latin American History

This page provides access points to BC's subscriptions to reference material on Latin American history. Here, you can find resources for finding definitions (e.g., dictionaries); suggested scholarly material (e.g., bibliographies); as well as background material and explanations written by experts in their fields (e.g., encyclopedia and handbooks).

What's on This Page

This page has a lot on it. You can use the following anchors (links down the page) to jump straight to a relevant box.

List of Countries

North And Central America

Belize
Costa Rica
El Salvador
Guatemala
Honduras
Mexico
Nicaragua
Panama

South America

Argentina
Bolivia
Brazil
Chile
Colombia
Ecuador
French Guiana (département of France)
Guyana
Paraguay
Peru
Suriname
Uruguay
Venezuela

Caribbean

countries

Cuba
Dominican Republic
Haiti

dependencies and constituent entities

Guadeloupe
Martinique
Puerto Rico
Saint-Barthélemy
Saint-Martin

Find Definitions

Oxford Reference Online This link opens in a new window
A collection of reference titles to search for dictionary definitions, facts, figures, people, places, dates, and quotations simultaneously or select a subject or title to search. Subject areas include: Archaeology, Art & Architecture, Bilingual dictionaries, Classical studies, Encyclopedias, English Dictionaries and Thesauri, History, Language, Law, Linguistics, Literature, Media studies, Medicine and health, Music, Names studies, Performing arts, Philosophy, Quotations, Religion, Science and technology, Social sciences, Society and culture.

Individual Titles

Dictionary of Caribbean and Afro-Latin American biography by Franklin W. Knight ; Henry Louis Gates Jr. (eds.)
Call Number: Oxford Reference Library
Publication Date: 2016
Covering the entire Caribbean, and the Afro-descended populations throughout Latin America, including people who spoke and wrote Creole, Dutch, English, French, Portuguese, and Spanish. It also encompasses the full scope of history, with entries on figures from the first forced slave migrations in the sixteenth centuries to entries on living persons such as the Haitian musician and politician Wyclef Jean and the Cuban author and poet Nancy MorejØn.

Nahuatl Dictionary (U of Oregon)
Interface in English. Words in Nahuatl, Spanish, and English.
This is an online, searchable, vocabulary list.
Open Access.

Find Scholarly Material

Oxford Bibliographies Online This link opens in a new window
Includes access to the Oxford Bibliographies Online: Latin American Studies as well as the Oxford Bibliographies Online: Latino Studies and more. Cross-searchable (search box on right) with filters on the left.
Hispanic American Periodicals Index (HAPI) Online This link opens in a new window
The HAPI bibliographic database covers political, economic, and social issues and information about Central and South America, Mexico, the Caribbean basin, the United States-Mexico border region, and Hispanics in the United States.
Foreign Language Periodicals in America, 1684-1904 This link opens in a new window
The Foreign Language Periodicals in America, 1684-1904 presents periodicals published in foreign languages primarily from the 18th and 19th centuries. These publications cut across subjects -- and include religious, literary, and political magazines -- speaking to and reflecting the interests and concerns of immigrant and ethnic communities. In addition to works published in the United States, titles also come from Paris, Montreal, London, Hamburg, Leipsig, and Mexico; languages including French, Spanish, Norwegian, German, Swedish, and Welsh are represented.
Latin Americanist Periodicals Table of Contents Project (LAPTOC) This link opens in a new window
Provides access to the tables of contents of journals published in Latin America and the Caribbean; consists of 975 academic and research journals published in 29 countries in the region, including bibliographic references to more than 340,000 articles in the areas major languages. Most of the articles indexed in LAPTOC were published between 1994 and 2009. LAPTOC is hosted at Vanderbilt University.

Social Sciences (including Anthropology and Political)

Anthropology Plus This link opens in a new window
A comprehensive index to journal articles and reports in anthropology, archeaology, and related disciplines. Coverage goes back to the early 19th century.
PAIS International This link opens in a new window
An index to the literature of public policy, social policy, and the social sciences in general from all over the world
Worldwide Political Science Abstracts This link opens in a new window
Includes citations and abstracts of the international serials literature in political science and its complimentary fields, including international relations, law, and public administration and policy.

Find Biographical Information (Who's Who)

Biography in Context This link opens in a new window
Biographical information on thousands of people throughout history and from around the world.
Marquis Biography Online This link opens in a new window
International in scope, this database includes biographies of people in business, law, science, medicine, the arts, government, and entertainment. Updated daily, this source also includes biographies that have appeared in 24 Marquis Who's Who print titles since 1985, plus historical biographies from our Who Was Who in America volumes from 1607-1985.

Find Background Information

Oxford Research Encyclopedias This link opens in a new window
Includes access to Oxford Research Encyclopedias: Latin American history, which "describes Latin America's peoples and experiences from pre-Columbian to contemporary times. Its essays make the region's compelling past come alive by using the latest analyses, and by taking advantage of opportunities not available to traditional printed encyclopedias, such as incorporating sights and sounds, and offering links to original sources."

Individual Titles

Encyclopedia of the African Diaspora by Carole Boyce-Davies; Carole Elizabeth Boyce Davies (eds.)
Call Number: Ebook Central (limited users)
Publication Date: 2008
The authoritative source for information on the people, places, and events of the African Diaspora, spanning five continents and five centuries. More than 500 A-Z entries.
Encyclopedia of Transitional Justice by Lavinia Stan; Nadya Nedelsky (eds.)
Call Number: Cambridge Core
Publication Date: 2014
This comprehensive three-volume reference work collects and summarizes the wealth of information available in the field of transitional justice. Transitional justice is an emerging domain of inquiry that has gained importance with the regime changes in Latin America after the 1970s, the collapse of the European and Soviet communist regimes in 1989 and 1991, and the Arab revolutions of 2011, among others.
Etiquette and Taboos Around the World by Ken Taylor; Victoria Williams (eds.)
Call Number: GALE
Publication Date: 2017
"This book includes topics such as greeting and meeting, appearance and dress, table manners, body language, social situations and hospitality, verbal communications, business etiquette, religious etiquette, gift-giving, and even 'netiquette' regarding social media."
Global Encyclopedia of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer (LGBTQ) History by Howard Chiang; Anjali R. Arondekar (eds.)
Call Number: Gale Cengage Virtual Reference Library
Publication Date: 2019
Covers LGBTQ topics in Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean, and the Middle East, as well as North America, and takes an interdisciplinary approach to the subject, using film, literature, human rights, politics, landmark legislation, activism, the arts, language, sports, and historical events as points of entry into the content.
The Oxford Encyclopedia of Latinos and Latinas in the United States by Suzanne Oboler (Editor); Deena J. González (Editor); Deena J. González (Editor)
Call Number: Oxford Reference Premium Collection
ISBN: 9780195156003
Publication Date: 2005
This landmark scholarly work offers comprehensive, reliable, and accessible information about the fastest growing minority population in the United States.
The Oxford Encyclopedia of Mesoamerican Cultures by David Carrasco (Editor)
Call Number: Oxford Reference Premium Collection
Publication Date: 2001
Comprehensive reference source to chronicle Pre-Hispanic, colonial, and modern Mesoamerica, defined as the lands stretching from Mexico to the southern tip of Central America.
The Oxford Encyclopedia of Mexican History and Culture by William H. Beezley (Editor)
Call Number: Oxford Reference
Publication Date: 2019
This work provides a compendium of the best available scholarship on Mexico’s rich history and culture. Themes include the expected topics of politics and economics, combined with powerful articles on biography, environment, gender, and culture, including music, art, and cinema.
Tweeting to Freedom: An Encyclopedia of Citizen Protests and Uprisings around the World by Jim Willis; Anthony R. Fellow
Call Number: GALE
Publication Date: 2017
"This book looks at the issues regarding the use of the Internet and social media by activists in more than 30 countries, and how governments in these countries are trying to blunt these efforts to promote freedom. It examines the use of social media for political activism: the media freedom practiced; the methods by which governments block access to information; and the ways in which activists use the media—especially social media—to advance their cause of greater freedoms."

Handbooks & Companions

Cambridge Companions Online This link opens in a new window
Cambridge Collections Online offers subject or theme based collections of content. At present, there are two collections comprising the Cambridge Companions in Literature and Classics and the Cambridge Companions in Philosophy, Religion and Culture. Each collection is updated with new Companions on publication and are cross-searchable.

Individual Titles

Cambridge History of Latin America
Call Number: Cambridge Core
Publication Date: 1984+
"...is the first authoritative large-scale history of the whole of Latin America - Mexico and Central America, the Spanish-speaking Caribbean (and Haiti), Spanish South America and Brazil, from the first contacts between the native peoples of the Americas and Europeans in the late-fifteenth and early-sixteenth centuries to the present day. An important feature of The Cambridge History of Latin America is the bibliographical essays which accompany each chapter. The essays from Volumes I–IX, revised and updated, are brought together in Volume X: Bibliography."
A Companion to Latin American History by Thomas H. Holloway (ed.)
Call Number: Blackwell reference
Publication Date: 2011
"Collects the work of leading experts in the field to create a single-source overview of the diverse history and current trends in the study of Latin America. Presents a state-of-the-art overview of the history of Latin AmericaWritten by the top international experts in the field."
The Histories of the Latin American Church by Joel M. Cruz
Call Number: JSTOR
ISBN: 9781451465648
Publication Date: 2014-11-15
"An ideal resource, this handbook is designed as an accompaniment to reading and research in the field. After a generous overview to the history and theology of the region, the text moves nation-by-nation, providing timelines, outlines, and substantial introductions to the politics, people, movements, and relevant facts of Christianity as experienced in that nation. The result is an informative and eye-opening introduction to a kaleidoscope of efforts to articulate the meanings and implications of Christianity in the context of Latin America."
The Oxford Handbook of Slavery in the Americas by Robert L. Paquette (Editor); Mark M. Smith (Editor)
Call Number: Oxford Handbooks Online
Publication Date: 2010
The Oxford Handbook of Slavery in the Americas offers penetrating, original, and authoritative essays on the history and historiography of the institution of slavery in the New World. With essays on colonial and antebellum America, Brazil, the Caribbean, the Indies, and South America, theHandbook has impressive geographic and temporal coverage.

O'Neill Library

Bapst Library

Burns Library

Educational Resource Center

Law Library

Social Work Library

Theology & Ministry Library

O'Connor Library

Institute for Advanced Jesuit Studies

Reference for History

Latin American History

Reference in Latin American History

What's on This Page

List of Countries

North And Central America

South America

Caribbean

Find Definitions

Individual Titles

Find Scholarly Material

Social Sciences (including Anthropology and Political)

Find Biographical Information (Who's Who)

Find Background Information

Individual Titles

Handbooks & Companions

Individual Titles