4. LATIN AMERICAN LITERATURE, the literature of the various nations and peoples on the American continents speaking the Latin languages, In this wide sense the term em braces the Spanish, French and Portuguese countries and, therefore, includes the literary productions of French Canada and other French colonial possessions in America, past and pres ent. In the restricted sense in which the term is employed •in this article, however, it deals only with the literatures of the Spanish and Portuguese countries of the New World which have achieved national existence and which have, consequently, been for years facing each the problems of its national life and producing a national literature. In a general sense the literatures of all the Latin-American countries are very much alike, just as the literatures of all English-speaking countries have a marked resemblance. The heritage of language, cus toms, laws, government, social usages and liter ature have made this necessarily so. Yet the differences are, in most cases, as marked as the resemblances. In a general way the literature of the Spanish-American countries holds the same relation to that of Spain that American literature does to that of England. It repre sents the multiple and varying interests of the great Spanish colonial land in the New World. It has ever clung to the literary traditions of the mother country, and Spain's influence upon Spanish-American literature has been, in a sense, paramount. But just as Spanish colonial America has ever been different from British colonial America, so this difference is reflected in the literatures of the two countries. Eng land never had a very strong hold upon her colonial possessions in America; and she con sequently never entered very fully into their lives.
But the conditions under which the Spanish American colonies grew up were quite different from those of the English-American colonies. From the early days of her contact with the New World Spain not only identified herself with her colonies but she kept such a firm hand upon their government that the colonies them selves were never anything but an echo of the mother-country. The vast Indian population of the Spanish-American colonies made their government a very serious problem, which for the first century following the conquest made interests nterests of Spaniards in America identical with those of Spain. During the three centu ries of Spanish rule in the New World, Mexico and Peru gave birth to by far the greater part of the Spanish-American literature. The lit erary productions of these countries, while ex hibiting a certain amount of individuality, is during this period essentially Spanish; and the greater part of it is the work of Spaniards or of sons of Spaniards born in America. This Latin-American literature, whether it treat of things American or Spanish, is markedly a re echo of the literary life and ideals of Spain. Nevertheless it is interesting and of very con siderable importance because of the fact that, while it invariably followed Spanish literary models, it necessarily very frequently treats of things American in a way that reveals the life of the colonies and the relation of the Spanish adventurers and of the Spanish government to the natives of the New World. An important part of it also deals with the history, customs, habits, religion, traditions and superstitions of the American races preceding and immediately following the discovery of the New World and the contact of Europe with America.
The Colonial The two favorite colonies of Spain in America were Mexico and Peru, the former, because it was the first great territory conquered; and the latter, because of its wealth in the precious metals which gave it material importance over all the other Spanish American colonies. The early prominence of
these two colonies attracted to them great num bers of Spaniards of all classes, among them many of high title, family connection and ex cellent education. To these, to priests and friars and to native Indian writers we owe a great part of the early colonial literature. Mexico's part in this colonial literature is fully discussed in the article on Mexican Literature (q.v.). In general this early literature con sists of letters and similar documents relating to the conquest, settlement and administration of the colonies, to the customs and habits of the Indians and to their pre-conquest history. The literature contributed by the priests and monks consists of works largely relating to the Chris tianizing of the natives and it includes invalu able texts of a religious nature written in the numerous native tongues of the aborigines. Some of these works are of a much more ex tensive, ambitious and valuable nature than others. Among these are the 'Historia de las Indias' of Fray Bratolome de Las Casas (q.v.) ; the 'Historia General de las Cosas de Nueva
of Padre Bernardino de Sahagiin and other works on the antiquities of Mexico by the same author;
natural y moral de las Indias,' by Padre de Acosta (1580) ; the
India' of Padre Torquemada (1615) (q.v.) ; the