Volume 2 in The Cambridge History of Latin America examines the history of colonial Latin America before its independence.

a landmark event to be celebrated by all readers, interested in any aspect of the history, culture and society of Latin America ... the first time a single editor has been given responsibility for the planning, coordination and editing of an entire Cambridge History ... a massive undertaking ... some truly remarkable essays ... several of the chapters, in these two volumes may well stand for some time as classic essays on their topic. All the chapters exhibit a uniformly high level of both scholarship and clarity ... the two volumes now in, hand shew a remarkable consistency of editorial craftsmanship and cohesiveness, to say nothing of a very high level, of scholarly achievement ... marks a giant step forward ... a celebration of the maturation of the field and a stimulant to fresh discovery and thought. - Canadian Journal of History
The Cambridge History of Latin America is a large-scale authoritative study of Latin America's unique historical experience. This is a major work of collaborative international scholarship and an event to be celebrated....After having perused volume II of the series, this reviewer can only look forward eagerly to the appearance of the remaining volumes. - Revista Canadiense de Estudios Hispanicos
Prospective readers who want a wide ranging collection of modern, high level essays on colonial Latin America will welcome this work warmly. - American Historical Review
...the essential reference and review work in Latin American history. - American Historical Review
The historical scholarship, judgement and writing displayed in these pages are of a superior kind and will ensure that the work stands supreme for many decades to come. The editor and his authors are to be applauded for producing a history which honours the profession, serves the subject and deserves a great number of readers. We are in the presence of a major historical enterprise - Bulletin of Latin American Research
will inform and guide the study of colonial society for years to come. - Hispanic American Historical Review
... [a] magisterial work ... the best in. Latin American scholarship on the colonial period ... a comprehensive history of Latin America that is most unlikely to be superseded ... a monumental work of learning. - British Book News
... fresh outlook, painstaking scholarship, and fine writing style ... Superior and authoritative, this work will lead in the field ... for years to come. - Library Journal
a major synthesis of current scholarship on colonial Latin America? the most detailed, comprehensive and authoritative work on the subject available. - Library Journal Best Reference Books of 1985
a classic work for which generations will be grateful. - Financial Times
Leslie Bethell has done a remarkable job ... nowhere else, will the reader find so comprehensive an account of nearly every aspect of the history of Central and South America from the remotest past to the eve of Independence, ... the most detailed, extensive and authoritative general account of Latin America to date. - Times Literary Supplement
... impressed by the international nature of the research on the region, the range of the themes discussed, the sophistication. of the methods and interpretations developed ... the two volumes show the cosmopolitan nature of the methodological and theoretical influences on the colonial history of Latin America. - Times Higher Education Supplement
It is remarkable how one individual ... is planner, coordinator and editor of the entire set ... Throughout his work we find the ultimate in scholarship, expressed simply, precisely and clearly. The editing as well as the physical presentation are first rate? the set promises to be a treasure trove. - Inter American Review of Bibliography
An up-to-date synthesis of the best scholarship in the field. - Luso-Brazilian Review
a truly impressive project ... Leslie Bethell is to be complemented on the overall high quality of the 34 contributions ... the organization and format of these volumes and the Herculean labor of general editorship. - Southeastem Latin Americanist

List of maps; List of figures; Note on currency and measurement; General preface; preface to volumes I and II; Part I. Population: 1. The population of colonial Spanish America Nicolas Sanchez-Albornoz; 2. The population of colonial Brazil Maria Luiza Marcilio; Part II. Economic and Social Structures: Spanish America: 3. The urban development of colonial Spanish America Richard M. Morse; 4. Mining in colonial Spanish America Peter Bakewell; 5. The formation and economic structure of the hacienda in New Spain Enrique Florescano; 6. The rural economy and society of colonial Spanish South America Magnus Moerner; 7. Aspects of the internal economy of colonial Spanish America: labour; taxation; distribution and exchange Murdo J. MacLeod; 8. Social organization and social change in colonial Spanish America James Lockhart; 9. Women in Spanish American colonial society Asuncion Lavrin; 10. Africans in Spanish American colonial society Frederick P. Bowser; 11. Indian societies under Spanish rule Charles Gibson; Part III. Economic and Social Structures: Brazil: 12. Colonial Brazil, c.1580-c.1750: plantations and peripheries Stuart B. Schwartz; 13. Indians and the frontier in colonial Brazil John Hemming; 14. Colonial Brazil: the gold cycle, c.1690-1750 A. J. R. Russell-Wood; 15. Late colonial Brazil, 1750-1808; Part IV. Intellectual and Cultural Life: 16. Literature and intellectual life in colonial Spanish America Jacques Lafaye; 17. The architecture and art of colonial Spanish America Damian Bayon; 18. The architecture and art of colonial Brazil J. B. Bury; 19. The music of colonial Spanish America Robert Stevenson; A note on the music of colonial Brazil Robert Stevenson; Bibliographical essays; Index.