David Brading is one of the foremost historians of Latin America in the United Kingdom. The essays in this volume convey the enduring nature of many of the questions raised by his work. They reflect the wide range of his interests: from Mexican Baroque and post-Tridentine Catholicism to studies of the dynamics of state building in nineteenth- century Mexico and of the problem of Mexican national identity. The contributions represent a wide chronological spread from the late seventeenth century to the twentieth century, as well as geographical diversity (Mexico City, Queretaro, and Puebla). Part I comprises an autobiographical essay by David Brading, an appreciation of him by Enrique Florescano, and an historiographical assessment of Brading's work by Eric Van Young. Part II gathers together six essays by former students (Susan Deans-Smith and Ellen Gunnarsdottir) and colleagues (Brian Hamnett, Marta Garcia Urgarte, Guy Thomson, and Alan Knight).

David A. Brading recently retired from a chair in history at the University of Cambridge, UK where he directed the Latin American Centre. He is the author of dozens of articles and a number of widely praised volumes, including The First America: The Spanish Monarchy, Creole Patriots, and the Liberal State, 1492-1867 (Cambridge University Press, 1991).