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In the early nineteenth century, thousands of volunteers left Ireland behind to join the fight for South American independence. Lured by the promise of adventure, fortune, and the opportunity to take a stand against colonialism, they braved the treacherous Atlantic crossing to join the ranks of the Liberator, Simón Bolívar, and became instrumental in helping oust the Spanish from Colombia, Panama, Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia. Today, the names of streets, towns, schools, and football teams on the continent bear witness to their influence.
But it was not just during wars of independence that the Irish helped transform Spanish America. Irish soldiers, engineers, and politicians, who had fled Ireland to escape religious and political persecution in their homeland, were responsible for changing the face of the Spanish colonies in the Americas during the eighteenth century. They included a chief minister of Spain, Richard Wall; a chief inspector of the Spanish Army, Alexander O'Reilly; and the viceroy of Peru, Ambrose O'Higgins.
Whether telling the stories of armed revolutionaries like Bernardo O'Higgins and James Rooke or retracing the steps of trailblazing women like Eliza Lynch and Camila O'Gorman, Paisanos revisits a forgotten chapter of Irish history and, in so doing, reanimates the hopes, ambitions, ideals, and romanticism that helped fashion the New World and sowed the seeds of Ireland's revolutions to follow.
"[An] important and, I believe, necessary volume on the role played by Irish men and women in the emergence of the new, modern and independent republics of Latin America. . . . [This is] a welcome contribution to the literature on the history of our exiles and their descendants . . . [and] an exciting and accessible book that is a pleasure to read." —from the foreword by Michael D. Higgins, president of Ireland
"Tim Fanning's book provides the first comprehensive overview of the diverse roles played by the Irish in Latin America from Mexico to Argentina. It is essential reading for the general reader and for specialists alike. His findings point to the undiscovered riches yet to be revealed in archives throughout the region and beyond." —Dermot Keogh, professor emeritus of history, University College Cork
Tim Fanning is a Dublin-based freelance author and journalist. His books include The Fethard-on-Sea Boycott and Paisanos, which has been published in Irish, Argentinian, and Colombian editions.
Acknowledgements
Note
Maps
Foreword by President Michael D. Higgins
Introduction
Part 1. Exile
1. Wild Geese
2. Remaking the New World
3. A New Model Army
4. The King of Peru
5. Spain Under Siege
6. The Propagandist Priest
7. Merchants, Sailors, Soldiers, Spies
Part 2. Revolution
8. The Battle for the River Plate
9. General O’Higgins
10. Bolívar’s Irish Volunteers
11. The Hibernian Regiment and the Irish Legion
12. Death in the Andes
13. The San Patricios
14. The Kingdom of God
Part 3. Home
15. After the Revolution
16. The ‘New Erin’
17. Making History
18. The ‘Spiritual Empire’
Bibliographical note
Abbreviations
Sources
Notes
Index