Jorge Dominguez is a well-established professor and researcher who chaired the Harvard Academy for International and Area Studies while serving as Harvard University vice provost for international affairs. Among Jorge Dominguez’s well-received books was Insurrection or Loyalty: The Breakdown of the Spanish American Empire (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1980).
The book looks at the core reasons why certain Spanish American colonies selected paths of insurrection from Spain, while other remained essentially loyal to that nation. With Mexico, Chile, Cuba, and Venezuela examined in depth, varied explanations are weighed, from those proposed by historians to popular political science theories about rebellion.
Explanations rejected by Dr. Dominguez include those that center on social mobilization and a popular demand for free foreign trade. Rather, he hones in on ethnic relations that evolved in the decades leading up to the 19th century independence movements. In addition, the relationships between local governments and the elites taking part in politics proved key to the route toward independence taken.
These sociological elements are scrutinized in a volume described by Foreign Affairs as “competent historical analysis” that yields "unexpectedly helpful ways” of illuminating issues that continue to define contemporary society.
