Region, Race, and Class in the Making of Colombia

""In this myth-busting classic on the formation of the Colombian nation, Alfonso Múnera brilliantly decenters traditional understandings of the archive by viewing it from the perspective of the country’s Caribbean region. Far from being the straightforward realisation of an ""imagined community"", Múnera argues that nation-building in Colombia was a deeply-fractured process in which the interests of the region’s elites played a crucial role, alongside the vital but oft-neglected influence of the subaltern classes, the artisans and mulatos of Cartagena. This English translation now makes an influential text accessible to an even wider audience."" Peter Wade, University of Manchester ""What a pleasure to see the long-overdue translation of this classic work of Latin American and Atlantic history. Alfonso Múnera has been one of the leading voices in promoting the inclusion of Black agency and actors in the region’s history. English-speaking audiences now have access to his pathbreaking research and to his lucid and compelling storytelling."" George Reid Andrews, Distinguished Professor of History, University of Pittsburgh