Summary of Eduardo Galeano's Open Veins of Latin America

By IRB Media

Get the Summary of Eduardo Galeano's Open Veins of Latin America in 20 minutes. Please note: This is a summary & not the original book. Original book introduction: Since its U.S. debut a quarter-century ago, this brilliant text has set a new standard for historical scholarship of Latin America. It is also an outstanding political economy, a social and cultural narrative of the highest quality, and perhaps the finest description of primitive capital accumulation since Marx.

Rather than chronology, geography, or political successions, Eduardo Galeano has organized the various facets of Latin American history according to the patterns of five centuries of exploitation. Thus he is concerned with gold and silver, cacao and cotton, rubber and coffee, fruit, hides and wool, petroleum, iron, nickel, manganese, copper, aluminum ore, nitrates, and tin. These are the veins which he traces through the body of the entire continent, up to the Rio Grande and throughout the Caribbean, and all the way to their open ends where they empty into the coffers of wealth in the United States and Europe.

• Language: English
• Publisher: IRB Media
• Release date: Nov 29, 2021
• ISBN: 9781638159155

IRB Media

With IRB books, you can get the key takeaways and analysis of a book in 15 minutes. We read every chapter, identify the key takeaways and analyze them for your convenience.

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Insights on Eduardo Galeano's Open Veins of Latin America

Contents

Insights from Chapter 1

Insights from Chapter 2

Insights from Chapter 3

Insights from Chapter 1

#1

When Christopher Columbus crossed the Atlantic Ocean in 1492, he believed he had reached Asia. In reality, he had discovered a completely new continent.

#2

The conquest of America was a holy war, a crusade against the Devil. The riches of the New World were there for the taking, and Spain took them by force.

#3

While some explorers, like Columbus, believed they had reached Asia, most explorers during this time period believed they had reached the Garden of Eden or the kingdom of the mythical King Midas.

#4

The conquest of America was a business, and the Spanish monarchs saw themselves as the ultimate bosses. They treated the native populations with extreme brutality.

#5

The conquest and colonization of Latin America was made easier by the fact that the inhabitants there had practically no defenses against European invaders.

#6

The conquistadors were not only brutal, but also extremely cunning. They used politics and religion to their advantage. They allied themselves with the Tlaxcalans against Montezuma, and effectively exploited the Inca's internal strife between the brothers Huascar and Atahualpa.

#7

The Spanish conquistadors were happy when they finally got their hands on gold. It was a great temptation for them, and they spent their lives searching for it.

#8

The city of Potosi, Bolivia, was one of the world's wealthiest due to the large amounts of silver that were mined there.

#9

The town of Potosi in the Andes Mountains of Bolivia was the center of the world's silver supply for a long time. It became an extremely wealthy city, but its wealth was derived from the exploitation and suffering of the indigenous people it had subjugated.

#10

The Spanish Empire was fueled by the massive exploitation of Latin America's resources, mainly silver. The wealth that was generated was largely transferred to foreign lenders.

#11

The Spanish Empire was run by the Crown, which was extremely wasteful. The empire drained Latin America of its treasure for the religious wars that the Holy Roman Empire wages.

#12

The expulsion of the Moors and Jews did not help Spain at all in industrial development. On the contrary, it