List of maps; General preface; Preface to Volume 3; Part I. Independence: 1. The origins of Spanish American Independence John Lynch; 2. The Independence of Mexico and Central America Timothy Anna; 3. The Independence of Spanish South America David Bushnell; 4. The Independence of Brazil Leslie Bethell; 5. International politics and Latin American Independence D. A. G. Waddell; A note on the church and the Independence of Latin America Leslie Bethell; Part II. The Caribbean: 6. Haiti and Santo Domingo: 1790–c.1870 Frank Moya Pons; 7. Cuba from the middle of the eighteenth century to c.1870 Hugh Thomas; Part III. Spanish America after Independence: 8. Economy and society in post-Independence Spanish America Tulio Halperín Donghi; 9. Politics, ideology and society in post-Independence Spanish America Frank Safford; 10. Mexico from Independence to 1867 Jan Bazant; 11. Central America from Independence to c.1870 R. L. Woodward; 12. Venezuela, Colombia and Ecuador: the first half-century of independence Malcolm Deas; 13. Peru and Bolivia from Independence to the War of the Pacific Heraclio Bonilla; 14. Chile from Independence to the War of the Pacific Simon Collier; 15. The River Plate Republics from Independence to the Paraguayan War John Lynch; Part IV. Brazil after Independence: 16. Brazil from Independence to the middle of the nineteenth century Leslie Bethell and José Murilo de Carvalho; 17. Brazil from the middle of the nineteenth century to the Paraguayan War Richard Graham; Part V. Cultural Life: 18. The literature, music and art of Latin America from Independence to c.1870 Gerald Martin; Bibliographical essays; Index.

"A particularly commendable feature of this scholarly undertaking lies in the fact that the corps of historians who have contributed to these volumes have, in many cases, read one another's essays, and have commented critically and offered helpful suggestions as the project went forward. This has resulted in an optimum degree of competency and high level of scholarship. The material presented and the varying interpretaions offered combine to form a highly readable text and most enjoyable experience for the reader. A carefully detailed index is to be found in each volume. In addition, all three tomes, taken together, contain more than 200 pages of richly documented bibliographic materials, based on the subject matter of each chapter." - Revista Canadiense De Estudios Hispanicos