Review

Author(s): Watt Stewart

Review by: Watt Stewart
Source: The Hispanic American Historical Review, Vol. 28, No. 1 (Feb., 1948), pp. 104-105
Published by: Duke University Press
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2508215
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104 THE HISPANIC AMERICAN HISTORICAL REVIEW

and Spanish America, and some seventeen of the valuable documents

thus discovered are reproduced in the appendix. Sr. Lohmann's addic-
tion to primary sources is so strong that, sometimes, it almost becomes
a fault. When, for example, an episode of his story has been treated
elsewhere, he is likely to omit a recital of the incident and simply refer
the reader to the other work. Hence, his account, offering only new
materials unearthed in his own research, is not always as fully rounded
as an occasional reader might demand. But none will fail to appreciate
the wealth of new and significant information which this thoroughly
documented study presents in palatable form garnished with appropriate
illustrations, indices, and appendices.

The Uniiversity of Michigan. IRVING A. LEONARD.

Historia de la Rep,6blica del Peru'. Tomo I, 1822-1866. Tomo II,

1866-1908. By JORGE BASADRE. (Lima: Editorial Cultura Antarc-
tica, S. A. [Talleres Graficos P. L. Villanueva], 1946. 3a. edici6n
revisada y aumentada. Pp. x, 462; vii, 348. Paper. U. S. $8.00.)
[Distribuidores exclusivos: Libreria Internacional del Perul, S. A.]

Dr. Basadre continues in this work the task he has set himself of
writing the history of his country since independence. He began with
the two volumes of his Iniciacion de la rep7iblica (1929, 1930), and has
continued in the three editions of the present work. This edition
presents a considerably expanded account of the years since 1866.
While some of the subject matter of the present second volume was
touched upon in the first edition, that which is repeated is greatly
augmented. The portion relating to the twentieth-century years is
entirely new. A further volume is projected to carry the story forward
to the date of publication-which, it may be hoped, will be an early one.
The publisher's blurb correctly declares that "Basadre is the most
highly qualified cultivator of the history of republican Peru, although
he has also explored with his characteristic sagacity and maturity the
fields of the history of the Incas and of colonial law."* Dr. Basadre
himself states, in his preliminary note to the first edition (reproduced
in the third), that the general tendency of the work is narrative. It
would be a mistake, however, to think of the work as non-interpretative.
For instance, one probably could not find in Peruvian literature appre-
ciations more balanced and concise than those wvhi&h he gives us of
Ram6n Castilla (I, 367-381) and of Nicolas de Pierola (II, 255-267).
To the same class belongs his brief essay on the significance of the
government of Manuel Pardo (II, 73-76). The two volumes abound
in comparisons or contrasts of one period or movement with another.
Its interpretations are a very valuable feature of the work.

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 BOOK REVIEWS 105

While the political parts of the narrative take the most prominent
place, the reviewer has discovered no element of Peruvian life of the
period concerned which does not receive some attention-economic,
social, cultural. The Dreyfus contract of 1869, so important a feature
of the economic history of Peru in the fifteen years following, receives
considerable attention. The problem of the native Indian is not omit-
ted, though its importance might have warranted somewhat more atten-
tion. The state of education and the laws and decrees designed to
improve it are discussed. The gradual tendency toward religious free-
dom appears in the narrative. The founding of periodicals and news-
papers is noted, along with the political affiliation of each and the
identity of founder or founders. This is truly synthetic history of a
high order.
A new feature of this edition are its illustrations. Some are re-
productions of contemporary caricatures, a form of art in which Peru
was not at all deficient. Others are reproductions of old engravings or
photographs of oil paintings. They add interest and meaning to the
work.
In common with most Latin-American editions, the work lacks an
analytical index, the tool so useful to the scholar who uses works of
this type. The lack is somewhat obviated, however, by the "Indice
onomdstico," and by the fact that the table of contents (called "Indice"
in the work, however) is so full. While footnotes are not employed, an
excellent classified bibliography is appended.
The volumes are written in Dr. Basadre's customary clear and read-
able style. The format is good and, while typographical errors in some
number are present, one observes an improvement in the work of the
Peruvian printer and editor. On the whole, the work is excellent and
it will contribute much to a comprehension by both Peruvian and for-
eigner of the history and problems of Peru in the period which it covers.
WATT STEWART.
State College for Teachers,
Albany, New York.

Las ideas politicas en Chile. By RICARDO DONOSO. [Colecci6n Tierra

Firme, 23.] (Mexico'City: Fondo de Cultura Economica. 1946. Pp.
526. Paper. $13.00 m/n.)

Sr. Donoso deals with "political ideas" rather than personal poli-
tics. Nevertheless his vivid character sketches form some of the best
portions of his text. His penetrating analyses and mature conclusions
are based on long years of archival and editorial work. The judgments

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