Preliminary Note. Press, Public Opinion and Southern American Independences

Abstract

This monographic issue compiles some of the most recent lines of research on the Spanish American press during the Independence period, covering the broad span from 1770 to 1825, allowing for an analysis of the formation of public opinion within the Creole elite. The geographical area defined is South America, primarily the major political centers of Peru and the Río de la Plata, with forays into territories such as the Captaincy General of Chile, New Granada, and Venezuela. Written by leading specialists in the study of the nascent periodical press of Spanish America, the six articles in this monograph trace a range of topics, from general aspects—an overview of South American newspapers during the broader independence period, the study of prospectuses as a journalistic genre, and the American reception of the debate between Blanco White and Father Mier in El Español—to specific historical details, such as the Cádiz-based newspaper La Triple Alianza and the work of Juan Antonio Olavarrieta and Ambrosio Cerdán y Pontero as editors.