The Latin American History Podcast

Epizódy

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  The Bandeirantes - Part 2 23.08.2026 22min

  Today we look at the origins of the bandeirante phenomenon, including the social and economic features which created it and it's link to the city of Sao PauloSupport this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-latin-american-history-podcast/exclusive-contentAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
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  The Bandeirantes - Part 1 02.08.2026 19min

  We have devoted a great deal of time on this podcast to the conquistadors and the Spanish invasions of Latin America. Despite it's size and importance however, we have not looked much at how Brazil became Portuguese.In this episode we discuss the reasons for this and recap what history there has been to cover so far when it comes to Portuguese America. Most importantly, we introduce the bandeirantes - the people who did more than any other to expand Brazil's borders and create settlement beyond the narrow coastline by looking at what they were - and what they weren't.Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-latin-american-history-podcast/exclusive-contentAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
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  Chile: Embers of the Past - An Interview with Joseph Doherty. 05.07.2026 37min

  Today we have a special interview episode with Joseph Doherty about his experiences living through the coup in Chile which brought Pinochet to power. Joseph not only experienced the atmosphere in the lead up to the seizure of power by the military, and the events of the coup itself, but he found himself personally caught up in crackdown which followed, being arrested and held in the national stadium by the junta.Joseph has published an account of his experiences and it is available here:https://www.amazon.com/CHILE-Embers-Past-Joseph-Doherty-ebook/dp/B0GSFPQGSTSupport this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-latin-american-history-podcast/exclusive-contentAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
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  West Indian Central America - Part 5 07.06.2026 23min

  In the final episode in this series we look at the legacy of the migrations from the British West Indies to Central America. We look at how many people stayed in Panama and why, as well as what life was like for them once the canal was finished. We also examine how they changed Central America and how Central America changed the country's which those who did go home returned to.Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-latin-american-history-podcast/exclusive-contentAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
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  West Indian Central America - Part 4 25.05.2026 19min

  Once the French canal project had collapsed, it was time for the Americans to step in. This meant the final wave of migration from the West Indies, but this time the experience of the work would be very different. In this episode we will look at the society built in the canal zone alongside the canal itself, it's strict hierarchies, it's military-style routines, and how it almost eliminated mosquito-borne disease across the width of Panama as a side project.Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-latin-american-history-podcast/exclusive-contentAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
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  West Indian Central America - Part 3 08.03.2026 27min

  Today we look at the next two waves of West Indian migration to Central America. The end point of the first was Costa Rica, where a new industry was emerging. The second was back in Panama and it was inspired by the first, little known, French attempt to build a canal there.Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-latin-american-history-podcast/exclusive-contentAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
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  West Indian Central America - Part 2 05.12.2025 22min

  Today we look at the first wave of migration from the West Indies to Central America. Instigated by the construction of railway, this arduous work saw extremely high death rates among the imported labour force, and a collection of lawless towns grew up alongside the route of the track.Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-latin-american-history-podcast/exclusive-contentAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
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  West Indian Central America - Part One 19.10.2025 21min

  Today we start a new series looking at the wave of migration that saw people from the English speaking Caribbean moving to Central America 100-150 years ago. Many parts of the coastline of Costa Rica and Panama still have large populations of English speakers, and the legacy of this movement can be found everywhere from the Panama Canal to Reggaeton.Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-latin-american-history-podcast/exclusive-contentAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
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  A Flower Traveled in my Blood - An Interview with Haley Cohen Gilliland 23.09.2025 23min

  In today's episode we talk to Haley Cohen Gilliland about her new book. Based on interviews with the protagonists of this recent and continuing piece of Argentine history, the book looks at the Grandmothers of the Plaza de Mayo and their search for their disappeared family members. The story is a fascinating one, and the book traces through several generations, from the 20th century context which provided the context for the military junta to emerge, the complex personal struggles which still take place today when someone discovers their links to one of Argentina's darkest episodes, and that they are not who they thought they were.Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-latin-american-history-podcast/exclusive-contentAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
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  A New Australia in Paraguay - Part 5 14.09.2025 21min

  In the final episode of the series we trace the protracted decline of utopia. Split into rival settlements, the inhabitants will gradually abandon their communal ethos. Meanwhile, legal and financial problems in Australia will further undermine the project and its ideals. Finally, we look at what happened afterwards - William Lane's strange political U-turn, the scattered countries where New Australians ended up, and the lives of the descendants of those who remain in Paraguay to this day.Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-latin-american-history-podcast/exclusive-contentAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
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  A New Australia in Paraguay - Part 4 08.09.2025 15min

  Today's episode covers the moment when the New Australia project cracked and splintered into separate settlements. We look at the reasons for this split, and how it manifested itself. Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-latin-american-history-podcast/exclusive-contentAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
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  A New Australia in Paraguay - Part 3 01.09.2025 23min

  The third part of the story of New Australia is marked by conflict. In this episode the divisions within the colonists deepen, and lead to open revolt against Lane's leadership, and even instances of physical violence. Could the colony survive the turmoil?Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-latin-american-history-podcast/exclusive-contentAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
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  A New Australia in Paraguay - Part 2 27.07.2025 18min

  In part two of the series the idealistic Australians travel to South America and up the River Plate to the land on which they will found their utopia. Then, they begin the actual work of building it. While this was all done without any major drama, things do not go as smoothly when it came to internal dynamics. Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-latin-american-history-podcast/exclusive-contentAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
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  A New Australia in Paraguay - Part 1 13.07.2025 23min

  At the end of the 1800s a group of Utopianist Australians decided to set off to build a worker's paradise in the remote Paraguayan hinterlands. It didn't quite go to plan, but their story is one of those bizarre and unexpected one that Latin American history frequently throws up.In the first episode we look at the political, social, and economic context of the scheme to understand why it happened. We introduce its main proponent, and the idealistic laws which would govern the colony.Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-latin-american-history-podcast/exclusive-contentAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
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  The Mines of Potosi - Part 6 29.06.2025 23min

  In the final episode of the series, we look at how Potosi declined from being the rich source of most of the world's silver, to a forgotten and impoverished place. We track the town through the late colonial era, the wars of independence, and the 20th century.Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-latin-american-history-podcast/exclusive-contentAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
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  The Mines of Potosi - Part 5 22.06.2025 23min

  Today we discuss one of the greatest incidents in Potosi's history - the Great Mint Fraud. This story reads partially like a political investigative thriller, and partially like a mafia expose. It's effects will reverberate around the world, disrupting the global economy, and it will damage Potosi itself for decades.Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-latin-american-history-podcast/exclusive-contentAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
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  The Mines of Potosi - Part 4 15.06.2025 27min

  Potosi was an archetypal mining boomtown, filled with hard-working and hard-living characters hoping to make their fortune, and attempting to drown out their tough and dangerous existence with wild parties while they waited. To get a sense of what it might have been like to live there, in today's episode we discuss the city's growth, its population - both rich and poor, and the escapades of some of its most outlandish residents.Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-latin-american-history-podcast/exclusive-contentAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
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  The Mines of Potosi - Part 3 08.06.2025 31min

  In today's episode we zoom out and look at the astounding impact Potosi had on even the furthest flung reaches of the world. Among other things, its silver helped provoke dynastic regime change in China, wars in Iran, and a 500% increase in the price of bread in France. It helped create the golden age of piracy, globalisation, and the birth of the study of economics. It's no exaggeration to say that Potosi changed the course of history and therefore the world we live in today.Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-latin-american-history-podcast/exclusive-contentAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
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  The Mines of Potosi - Part 2 01.06.2025 30min

  In this episode we take a closer look at the mines themselves, as well as the ore refining industry which surrounded it. We examine the terrible toll it took on those who worked in these jobs, as well as who was actually doing this work, and who owned the mining enterprises. Along the way we discuss who the Spanish adapted and re-used a couple of existing Inca social systems.Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-latin-american-history-podcast/exclusive-contentAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
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  The Mines of Potosi - Part 1 25.05.2025 20min

  It is hard to overstate the impact one lonely peak high up on the Bolivian altiplano had on world history - the silver which was dug from within it changed the world. It is however, largely forgotten today.In this first part of a short series on the subject, I describe Potosi today using my observations from when I visited. It is a strange place, haunted by it's history and marked by poverty. Crumbling Spanish buildings hint at its former wealth, and the miners still enter the hill and work in dangerous conditions which feel like they haven't changed much since the colonial era.Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-latin-american-history-podcast/exclusive-contentAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy