Part 1: The colonial experience. A colonial memoir: Madame Mendeville recalls Viceregal Buenos Aires ; A scholarly polemic: Clavijero refutes the myth of Americano inferiority ; Documents from a rebellion: Túpac Amaru sparks an indigenous uprising in Peru ; Minutes of a meeting: Guatemala's Friends of the Country host a patriotic gala ; A protest to the king: the Caracas City Council obeys but does not execute ; Papers of a career revolutionary: Miranda hatches proposals and plans in London ; A song for América: an echo of the French Revolution reaches Venezuela ; An open letter to América: Viscardo calls for continental independence ; Documents from Brazilian conspiracies: tooth-pullers and tailors are caught in the act
Part 2: The crucible of war. A letter to the editor: Mier writes to El Español ; A liberal blueprint for the Spanish world: the Cádiz Constitution of 1812 ; Broadsides from the war: fighting begins in New Spain ; A proclamation of total war: fighting intensifies in Venezuela ; Editorials from the revolutionary press: the Buenos Aires junta finds its voice ; Federalist papers from the far south: Artigas takes a stand in Uruguay ; Family correspondence from exile: letters among Chile's Carreras ; A refugee's petition: Bolívar's sister shows her royalist colors ; Bolívar's vision of an orderly republic: the Angostura address ; A patriot war diary: Drummer Vargas recounts the guerrilla war in upper Peru ; The literature of political outreach: the gaucho persona in the Río de la Plata ; Diplomatic reports from Rio de Janeiro: the Austrian ambassador writes to Metternich ; A vote against ratification: Brother Caneca criticizes Brazil's proposed constitution ; Memoir of the final battle at Ayacucho: John Miller publishes the account of his brother the General
Part 3: Nations and commemorations. A diplomatic proposal: Bolívar's confederation initiative ; Claims on independence: petitioners and others invoke the Republican cause ; The Padilla affair: racial politics in Colombia, 1828 ; Bylaws of a women's political society: the New Amazons of Pará ; Commemorative verse: Chileans find new meaning in Chacabuco ; Speeches for Independence Day: a national ritual in Mexico and elsewhere ; A historian's assessment: Lucas Alamán reaches dark conclusions ; Biography as history: Mitre compares San Martín and Bolívar ; A traditional view of patriot women: Palma portrays Sáenz and Campusano ; A fictional retrospective: Ismael by Acevedo Díaz ; A final fictional retrospective: The red lances by Uslar Pietri.
