Britain & Latin America in the 20th Century: British Communities in Latin America with David Rock

Canning House in conjunction with the Institute of Latin American Studies is pleased to announce a new series of talks taking a look at Britain’s relationship with Latin America throughout the 20th Century. This is the fourth instalment of the series.

The British community in Argentina is the oldest and still the largest in Latin America.  The talk will discuss its two principal phases, first as a mercantile community before 1880 and secondly as a community formed mainly by investment.  In early days, British governments led by George Canning encouraged the British to separate themselves from the Argentines in the interests of British trade, and they developed in this isolated, endogamous forms.  At this point,they were mostly people from the north of England, Scots and Irish.  The investment phase brought a shift in recruitment to the midlands and south of England to reflect the rise of the railways.  In recent times, the Anglos have been very successful in preserving a bilingual and middle class identity.

David Rock is a Latin Americanist historian, who specialises in the history of Argentina. He has been described as a "leading scholar in the field" of 19th century Argentine political history. His history of the country from the sixteenth to the twentieth centuries was adjudged as "a comprehensive, clearly written and intelligent account of the evolution of Argentina which will undoubtedly remain the standard work for years to come." Rock's first book, Politics in Argentina, 1890-1930: The Rise and Fall of Radicalism on the Conference on Latin American History Bolton prize for the best book in English. He is professor emeritus of History at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

This event will take place at the Woburn Suite (Room G26/22)  at Senate House. The talk will be followed by a wine reception.