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The Principle of Consent in Latin and Anglo-American Independence

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 August 2004

JOSÉ CARLOS CHIARAMONTE
Affiliation:
Instituto de Historia Argentina y Americana ‘Dr. Emilio Ravignani’, Facultad de Filosofía y Letras, Universidad de Buenos Aires.

Abstract

This commentary aimed originally to compare the function of the principle of consent in Latin and Anglo-American history. Yet, as it developed, I could no longer ignore the reasons behind the neglect of the close links between the principle of consent and the law of nature and nations. I grew increasingly interested in a comparison between this and another equally interesting anomaly emerging from it: the limitations nationalism has imposed on historians in studying their national histories. The end result has been to use my original subject as a means to reflect on some of the presuppositions that can limit historical research.

Type
Commentary
Copyright
2004 Cambridge University Press

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Footnotes

This commentary was translated by Ian Barnett. An earlier version of this work, now appreciably modified, appeared in the Anuario del IEHS, Universidad del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires, no. 17, 2002. The current article is based in part on the fruits of a sojourn at The John Carter Brown Library, Brown University, Providence. This was made possible by a Lampadia-Adams Foundation Fellowship granted by that institution, to which I express my appreciation. I owe a debt of gratitude to James Muldoon and the Library's director, Norman Fiering, for the useful information they provided during my stay, and to the Library staff for their unstinting efficiency and helpfulness. Bernard Bailyn, Jack Greene and Gordon S. Wood have also been of great value to my work, despite the reservations expressed. I would like to acknowledge the invaluable assistance of Nora Souto and Fernando Racimo from the Ravignani Institute of the Universidad de Buenos Aires in hunting down complementary material and in commenting on the rough draft.