C HAPTER 1 : So C LOSE AND Y ET S O D IFFERENT
A good discussion of the Spanish exploration of the Rio
de La Plata is Rock (1992), chap. 1. On the discovery and
colonization of the Guaraní, see Ganson (2003). The
quotations from de Sahagún are from de Sahagún (1975),
pp. 47–49. Gibson (1963) is fundamental on the Spanish
conquest of Mexico and the institutions they structured. The
quotations from de las Casas come from de las Casas
(1992), pp. 39, 117–18, and 107, respectively.
On Pizarro in Peru, see Hemming (1983). Chaps. 1–6
cover the meeting at Cajamarca and the march south and
the capture of the Inca capital, Cuzco. See Hemming
(1983), chap. 20, on de Toledo. Bakewell (1984) gives an
overview of the functioning of the Potosí mita , and Dell
(2010) provides statistical evidence that shows how it has
had persistent effects over time.
The quote from Arthur Young is reproduced from
Sheridan (1973), p. 8. There are many good books that
describe the early history of Jamestown: for example, Price
(2003), and Kupperman (2007). Our treatment is heavily
influenced by Morgan (1975) and Galenson (1996). The
quote from Anas Todkill comes from p. 38 of Todkill (1885).
The quotes from John Smith are from Price (2003), p. 77
(“Victuals …”), p. 93 (“If your king …”), and p. 96 (“When
you send …”). The Charter of Maryland, the Fundamental
Constitutions of Carolina, and other colonial constitutions
have been put on the Internet by Yale University’s Avalon
Project, at avalon.law.yale.edu/17th_century.
Bakewell (2009), chap. 14, discusses the independence
of Mexico and the constitution. See Stevens (1991) and
Knight (2011) on postindependence political instability and
presidents. Coatsworth (1978) is the seminal paper on the
evidence on economic decline in Mexico after
independence. Haber (2010) presents the comparison of
the development of banking in Mexico and the United
States. Sokoloff (1988) and Sokoloff and Khan (1990)
provide evidence on the social background of innovators in
the United States who filed patents. See Israel (2000) for a
biography of Thomas Edison. Haber, Maurer, and Razo