Revista de historia.
type: channel
description: ISSN: 1012-9790 / EISSN: 2215-4744 The Journal of History is a publication orientated to the dissemination of research that contributes to the development of historical discipline, as well as interdisciplinary studies with a historical perspective. Its purpose is to promote discussion, dissemination, problematization, theoretical debate and constant historiographic review of articles or research advances specific to the discipline or related to the social sciences. Consists of five sections: América Latina Section, Costa Rica Section, Theoretical-Methodological Contributions, Documentary Section y Bibliographic Critique Section. This Journal is indexed in Latindex, DOAJ, REDIB among others. Its main target audience, as authors and readers, are professionals in history and other social sciences, as well as university students of humanities and social sciences. Publisher: School of History, Universidad Nacional, Costa Rica. Descriptors: history, historiography, history of Costa Rica, history of Central America, history of Latin America. Contact: Dra. Marcela Otárola-Guevara, Co-Editor. Email: revistadehistoria@una.cr
publisher: Universidad Nacional, Costa Rica
language: en
publication name: Revista de historia.
issn: 1012-9790
copyright: Los autores que publican en esta revista están de acuerdo con los siguientes términos: 1. Los autores conservan los derechos de autor y garantizan a la revista el derecho de ser la primera publicación del trabajo bajo una Licencia Creative Commons Atribución-NoComercial-CompartirIgual 4.0 Internacional (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/) que permite a otros compartir el trabajo con un reconocimiento de la autoría del trabajo y la publicación inicial en esta revista (componente BY o atribución). Coincidente con la política de Acceso Abierto, no se podrán hacer usos comerciales de los contenidos publicados por esta revista (componente NC). Se permitirán las obras derivadas (remezcla, transformación o creación a partir de la obra original) siempre y cuando sean distribuidas bajo la misma licencia de la obra original (componente SA). 2. Los autores pueden establecer por separado acuerdos adicionales para la distribución no exclusiva de la versión original de la obra publicada en la revista (por ejemplo, situarlo en un repositorio institucional o publicarlo en un libro), siempre y cuando: a) sea reconocida la publicación original en esta revista (componente BY); b) no se haga uso del material de reuso con propósitos comerciales (componente NC); c) el material de reuso sea distribuido bajo la misma licencia de la obra original (componente SA). 3. Se permite y se anima a los autores a difundir sus trabajos electrónicamente (por ejemplo, en repositorios institucionales o en su propio sitio web) antes y durante el proceso de envío, ya que puede dar lugar a intercambios productivos, así como a una citación más temprana y mayor de los trabajos publicados (Véase The Effect of Open Access) (en inglés).
items: Sociopolitical Themes in the Revista de Historia Fifty Years After Its Founding: A Proposed Overview
items: Book review: La nación pixelada. Costa Rica en Guanacaste: del multiculturalismo nacional a la transculturación latinoamericana, by Antonio Álvarez Pitaluga
items: Agrarian Landscape Transformations in León Cortés, Costa Rica (1963–2014): Grains, Coffee and Pastures
items: A Newspaper to «Serve Everyone Everywher»: The Management of the Weekly Eco Católico During Its Early Decades (1931-1965)
items: Informal Learning and Indigenous Intellectuals in New Spain: the Case of Domingo Chimalpahin (1579-after 1640)
items: Alonso de Zorita, his major works and the Indian politics of Philip II (1561-1585)
items: Demographic Dynamics and Agricultural Development in the Coquimbo Region, Chile: A Look at Its Modernization Process (1930-1960)
items: «The Journal of History fulfilled its purpose of imparting knowledge». Interview with Rodrigo Quesada Monge
items: I was also a founder of UNA
items: The “anticlerical laws” of 1884 in Costa Rica: between secularization?, the State, and the Catholic Hierarchy, a long-term analysis (1821-1949)
items: The Journal of History: a legacy of five decades, built upon continuities and challenges
items: 50 years of disseminating historical knowledge: The Revista de Historia
items: Indigenous peoples confront modern conservation in Costa Rica (1970-2020). An approach from the critical sociology of power
items: Learning to be a historian. A journey through influences, trials and errors
items: Making Universal and Justice History at the National University, Costa Rica (2015-2025)
items: Between past and future: Current challenges and significance of the geohistorical study of Society and its relationship with Nature at various geographic- and time-scales
items: The El Derecho student society and the emergence of scientific unionism in Central America, 1898–1904
items: Power relations and agrarian struggles in coffee-growing regions: questions and reflections.
items: Electoral Inclusion and Democratic Filters: A Historical Analysis of Suffrage in Latin America (1811-2005)
items: Geopolitics, Theater, and Higher Education: Beginnings and Politicization of the School of Performing Arts, Universidad Nacional (UNA), Costa Rica
items: An army of crime professionals. Press and robbers in Montevideo during the first hal of the 1910s
items: Real estate market and coffee legacy in Costa Rica: case of the metropolitan area of Heredia
items: Tropical cyclones in the Atlantic-Caribbean. A balance from climatological history
items: Hidden politicization: labor conflicts and antagonisms during the first cycle of peasant mobilization in Curicó, Chile (1938-1947)
items: The history of Mexico in the speech of President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, the dogma of the nationalist historiography 2018-2024
items: «This is our task as intellectuals, at the service of the community and committed to reality». Interview with Marta Elena Casaús Arzú
items: Fieldwork notes: an experience among the Tojolabals of Las Margaritas, Chiapas
items: An Argentine military-historical place of memory around the monument of General San Martín
items: The 1918 influenza in Chiapas (Mexico). Actions and remedies to face an unknown illness
items: Honduras and the Central American Confederation (1838-1844)

Sociopolitical Themes in the Revista de Historia Fifty Years After Its Founding: A Proposed Overview
type: item
description: <span style="caret-color: #1f2937; color: #1f2937; font-family: Gotham, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.03); text-decoration: none; display: inline !important; float: none;">This article presents an overview of the publications on sociopolitical topics in the Revista de Historia between 1975 and 2024. By its nature, the main source for this study is the journal itself, which is available in both physical and digital formats. Methodologically, the first step involved a comprehensive review of all the journal’s issues to identify publications relevant to the topic of interest. Secondly, several exercises were carried out to systematize the information and create categories for analysis. Three main conclusions can be drawn: a) sociopolitical history has been written primarily by men, b) the two most dynamic lines of publication during the period were related to categories such as Power, Democracy and Institutions, and Conflicts and Consensus, and c) there is a thematic evolution from approaches focused on specific events, institutions, and individual figures toward others concerned with complex processes and the inclusion of new historical actors. This reflects not only disciplinary progress but also a clearer concern for the social use of history.
subject: 50th anniversary of the Revista de Historia (peer-reviewed section)
  topic: section
subject: Costa Rica
  topic: keywords
subject: historiography
  topic: keywords
subject: publication
  topic: keywords
subject: research
  topic: keywords
subject: sociopolitical history
  topic: keywords
creator: Maximiliano López López
rights: Copyright (c) 2026 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0
date: 2026-04-06
publication date: 2026-04-06
starting page: 1
ending page: 31
doi: 10.15359/rh.93.1

Book review: La nación pixelada. Costa Rica en Guanacaste: del multiculturalismo nacional a la transculturación latinoamericana, by Antonio Álvarez Pitaluga
type: item
description: This review provides a general assessment of the selected work. It does so by providing a panoramic analysis of its four chapters, based on their sections and contents, as well as the main theses and ideas supported and developed throughout its pages. It is assumed that the book proposes a new interpretation, from Latin America cultural history, of the role of Guanacaste in the national formation of Costa Rican culture and history, drawing on a non-traditional logic in contrast to the hegemonic narrative of national creation. Thus, it is accepted that the book can generate interesting debates among historians and other specialists. It also disagrees with certain reflections the author presents in the work. Finally, it concludes with a final interpretative assessment.
subject: Bibliographical Analysis (not peer reviewed section)
  topic: section
subject: culture
  topic: keywords
subject: Guanacaste, Costa Rica
  topic: keywords
subject: hegemony
  topic: keywords
subject: history
  topic: keywords
subject: identity
  topic: keywords
creator: Víctor Julio Baltodano Zúñiga
rights: Copyright (c) 2025 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0
date: 2025-07-01
publication date: 2025-07-01
starting page: 1
ending page: 14
doi: 10.15359/rh.92.14

Agrarian Landscape Transformations in León Cortés, Costa Rica (1963–2014): Grains, Coffee and Pastures
type: item
description: Between 1963 and 2014, the canton of León Cortés, located in the Los Santos region, in San José, Costa Rica, underwent substantial changes in its agricultural landscape, including modifications in crop types and farming practices. The cultivated area tripled, driven by the growth of coffee production and the decline of basic cereal crops. Cattle farming also grew during the 1960s and 1970s but reached its peak around the 1984 agricultural census year, after which it began a sharp decline. This article analyzes the transformation in the landscape of the canton through a quantitative methodology supported by agricultural censuses and other statistical sources. The results indicate an increase in the number of farms, land fragmentation up to 1984, followed by a process of land concentration. These transformations are connected to agricultural policies, credit access, global market fluctuations, and environmental programs. The study concludes that coffee specialization reconfigured land use, resulting in tensions between agriculture, livestock farming, and environmental conservation.
subject: Costa Rica (peer reviewed section)
  topic: section
subject: Costa Rica
  topic: keywords
subject: history
  topic: keywords
subject: agricultural landscape
  topic: keywords
subject: censos
  topic: keywords
subject: cattle farming
  topic: keywords
subject: coffee
  topic: keywords
creator: Michael David Solano Mora
rights: Copyright (c) 2025 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0
date: 2025-07-01
publication date: 2025-07-01
starting page: 1
ending page: 51
doi: 10.15359/rh.92.12

A Newspaper to «Serve Everyone Everywher»: The Management of the Weekly Eco Católico During Its Early Decades (1931-1965)
type: item
description: The objective of this article is to analyze the production and distribution process of the weekly Eco Católico, taking into account the various actors involved. Two basic sources were used for its construction: the copies of this Catholic weekly and the accounting books preserved in the Bernardo Augusto Thiel Archdiocesan Historical Archive. The study concludes that, although distant in time, this weekly followed the trend of «good press», that priests played a decisive role in its production process, while lay people contributed to its distribution, and that it had two basic sources of financing: sales and advertising.
subject: Costa Rica (peer reviewed section)
  topic: section
subject: Costa Rica
  topic: keywords
subject: history
  topic: keywords
subject: Catholic Church
  topic: keywords
subject: newspaper
  topic: keywords
subject: journalism
  topic: keywords
subject: press
  topic: keywords
creator: Eugenio Quesada Rivera
rights: Copyright (c) 2025 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0
date: 2025-07-01
publication date: 2025-07-01
starting page: 1
ending page: 39
doi: 10.15359/rh.92.11

Informal Learning and Indigenous Intellectuals in New Spain: the Case of Domingo Chimalpahin (1579-after 1640)
type: item
description: Using the modern distinction between formal and informal education, this history of education article proposes some avenues of informal learning that Indigenous intellectuals in colonial Mexico pursued outside of formal schooling. Domingo Chimalpahin (1579-after 1640), the most productive Nahuatl-language writer and historian in colonial Mexico, is a clear and relevant case study. Since we lack much of Chimalpahin’s biographical data, previous research has suggested that elucidating specific details about his education can contribute to a better interpretation of his writings and a deeper understanding of the education of non-formally schooled Indigenous intellectuals in colonial Mexico. While it is hypothesized that Chimalpahin had at least basic formal schooling, this article argues that informal learning, in the form of (1) intergenerational learning, (2) work-related learning, and (3) intellectual networking, provided Chimalpahin with the education he needed to craft his works.
subject: Latin America (peer reviewed section)
  topic: section
subject: informal education
  topic: keywords
subject: New Spain
  topic: keywords
subject: colonial education
  topic: keywords
subject: Mexico
  topic: keywords
subject: history
  topic: keywords
subject: indigenous education
  topic: keywords
creator: Carlos Diego Arenas-Pacheco
rights: Copyright (c) 2025 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0
date: 2025-07-01
publication date: 2025-07-01
starting page: 1
ending page: 31
doi: 10.15359/rh.92.10

Alonso de Zorita, his major works and the Indian politics of Philip II (1561-1585)
type: item
description: This article takes into consideration the lines of research proposed by the Indian and Novo-Hispanic historiography of the second half of the 16th century, in which the circulation of royal information through manuscripts presented by officials of the Audiences of the New World to the peninsular courts is highlighted. The case study proposed for this research is the documentary corpus of the Cordovan Alonso de Zorita (¿1512-1585?), who served as oidor of the Audiencias of Santo Domingo, Guatemala and Mexico for almost twenty years (1556-1566). Each of the works to be analyzed here reflects a particular political situation of the Indian Orb, since the topics dealt with in them are closely related to the problems dealt with by the Hispanic Crown during the second half of the 16th century. Those years coincide with a period of reforms, all of them made with the intention of improving the Indian economic and political administration; and, also, with the intentions of an oidor to join the possible benefits resulting from those changes. Finally, our purpose is to study, relying on textual criticism, historiography and ecdotics, the diverse historical and political contexts in which Zorita’s work was created and, thus, to create a proposal of reading sense that allows every reader interested in these topics to find an accompaniment in the analysis of this type of documentary sources.
subject: Latin America (peer reviewed section)
  topic: section
subject: history
  topic: keywords
subject: Indian historiography
  topic: keywords
subject: manuscripts
  topic: keywords
subject: colonial period
  topic: keywords
subject: Indian politics
  topic: keywords
subject: 16th century
  topic: keywords
creator: José Enrique Atilano Gutiérrez
creator: María Isabel Terán Elizondo
rights: Copyright (c) 2025 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0
date: 2025-07-01
publication date: 2025-07-01
starting page: 1
ending page: 42
doi: 10.15359/rh.92.9

Demographic Dynamics and Agricultural Development in the Coquimbo Region, Chile: A Look at Its Modernization Process (1930-1960)
type: item
description: The article analyzes the demographic dynamics and the behavior of agricultural activity in the Coquimbo region between 1930 and 1960. During this period, marked by economic modernization in urban areas and industrial growth in Chile, the Coquimbo region exhibited particular characteristics that have not been widely considered in general accounts. The hypothesis suggests that the region experienced slow demographic growth, accompanied by a gradual transition towards urbanization. In this context, Coquimbo developed its own transformation process, which did not align with global trends. This process focused on strengthening agriculture, which became a key activity for regional development by the mid-20th century. Finally, the demographic and productive trends of the region are analyzed, based on national censuses and Agricultural Yearbooks from 1930 to 1960.
subject: Latin America (peer reviewed section)
  topic: section
subject: agriculture
  topic: keywords
subject: Chile
  topic: keywords
subject: population growth
  topic: keywords
subject: history
  topic: keywords
subject: modernization
  topic: keywords
creator: Daniel Briones Molina
creator: Valentina Santa Cruz
rights: Copyright (c) 2025 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0
date: 2025-07-01
publication date: 2025-07-01
starting page: 1
ending page: 32
doi: 10.15359/rh.92.8

«The Journal of History fulfilled its purpose of imparting knowledge». Interview with Rodrigo Quesada Monge
type: item
description: The interview captures the memories of Costa Rican historian Rodrigo Quesada Monge (1952), who recalls the role of Dr. Germán Tjarks (1919-1997), one of the founders of the Revista de Historia de la Escuela de Historia (History Journal of the School of History). Through anecdotes and events, it takes a look at the founding process and the context in which it was organized, as well as mentioning other founders and reflecting on the role of the discipline of history from 1975 to the present. It also highlights the importance of disseminating history and how it fulfills its role of promoting Latin American historiography in the academic sphere. The interview also includes contributions from Maritza Chaves, Quesada Monge’s wife. This project is part of the commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the Revista de Historia de la Universidad Nacional.
subject: 50th anniversary of the Revista de Historia (non-refereed section)
  topic: section
subject: Costa Rica
  topic: keywords
subject: historical dissemination
  topic: keywords
subject: Germán Tjarks
  topic: keywords
subject: history
  topic: keywords
creator: Daniela Pacheco Calderón
creator: Francisco Javier Núñez-Marín
rights: Copyright (c) 2025 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0
date: 2025-07-01
publication date: 2025-07-01
starting page: 1
ending page: 14
doi: 10.15359/rh.92.7

I was also a founder of UNA
type: item
description: This text is a reflection on the author’s experience at the National University (UNA) of Costa Rica, an institution that provided him with professional orientation, ideological and human formation. He mentions how the world context provoked several ideological crises, which overthrew his convictions on political and military issues and, of course, his own vision of the world. He highlights his participation in different activities related to communism, as well as the new perspectives that political conditions forced him to seek: conservatism and liberalism. His trajectory in the UNA took it as a fundamental step for his development, observing it as a space for intellectual reflection in the midst of the political and social chaos that the country went through during the decades that marked the twentieth century.
subject: 50th anniversary of the Revista de Historia (non-refereed section)
  topic: section
subject: communism
  topic: keywords
subject: conservatism
  topic: keywords
subject: history
  topic: keywords
subject: ideology
  topic: keywords
subject: liberalism
  topic: keywords
creator: Rodrigo Quesada Monge
rights: Copyright (c) 2025 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0
date: 2025-07-01
publication date: 2025-07-01
starting page: 1
ending page: 17
doi: 10.15359/rh.92.6

The “anticlerical laws” of 1884 in Costa Rica: between secularization?, the State, and the Catholic Hierarchy, a long-term analysis (1821-1949)
type: item
description: This article carried out a long-term analysis of the so-called “anticlerical laws” decreed in Costa Rica in 1884. This was achieved by reinterpreting the concept of secularization and reviewing the relationships of collaboration and dependence between the State and the Catholic Church in Costa Rica during the period between 1821 and 1949. This allowed us to present and, therefore, understand the real meaning and impact that these laws had on the aforementioned relationships. To this end, primary sources were consulted from the physical and digital newspaper archives of the Biblioteca Nacional de Costa Rica (BNCR), the Archivo Nacional de Costa Rica (ANCR), and the ecclesiastical archives of the Archdiocese of San José (AHABATH) and Alajuela (AHDA). Additionally, data was collected from the Vatican archives, including the Vatican Apostolic Archive (AAV), the Archive of the Secretariat of State (AAEESS), the Archive of the Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith (APF), the Dominican Historical Archive (AHOP), and the Historical Archive of the Society of Jesus (AHSI). All of this led to the conclusion that, in the Costa Rican case, secularization is much more than the separation of powers and is rather linked to the relationships that both institutions developed in their various roles in the history of Costa Rica during the period under study.
subject: 50th anniversary of the Revista de Historia (peer-reviewed section)
  topic: section
subject: Costa Rica
  topic: keywords
subject: State
  topic: keywords
subject: history
  topic: keywords
subject: Catholic Church
  topic: keywords
subject: secularization
  topic: keywords
subject: society
  topic: keywords
creator: José Aurelio Sandí Morales
rights: Copyright (c) 2025 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0
date: 2025-07-01
publication date: 2025-07-01
starting page: 1
ending page: 58
doi: 10.15359/rh.92.4

The Journal of History: a legacy of five decades, built upon continuities and challenges
type: item
description: Issue 92 of Revista de Historia commemorates its 50th anniversary of uninterrupted publication, a legacy that began in 1975 to spread knowledge and encourage debate about the past in Costa Rica and Central America. This milestone consolidates it as a historiographical benchmark, thanks to the dedication of researchers, the trust of authors, the rigor of anonymous reviewers, and the guidance of editorial boards. This special edition includes a section coordinated by Dr. José Aurelio Sandí Morales on the history established at the National University, as well as seven articles addressing various topics, from the Costa Rican press and colonial scholars to environmental conflicts, productive transformations in Latin America, and analysis of national identity. Looking ahead, the journal is committed to the open science paradigm and joins the discussion on the ethical integration of artificial intelligence in research, while reaffirming its vocation to be a vital space for academic exchange and the construction of collective memory.
subject: Editorial: 50th anniversary of the Revista de Historia (non-arbitrated section)
  topic: section
subject: historiography
  topic: keywords
subject: Costa Rica
  topic: keywords
subject: Latin America
  topic: keywords
subject: history
  topic: keywords
subject: research
  topic: keywords
subject: editorial management
  topic: keywords
creator: Marcela Otárola-Guevara
rights: Copyright (c) 2025 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0
date: 2025-07-01
publication date: 2025-07-01
starting page: 1
ending page: 5
doi: 10.15359/rh.92.16

50 years of disseminating historical knowledge: The Revista de Historia
type: item
description: As part of the celebrations for the fiftieth anniversary of the School of History at the National University of Costa Rica (UNA), the 50th anniversary of its History Journal is also being commemorated. The journal has established itself as one of the most important publications on historical knowledge in Central America. With 92 issues, the journal has reflected regional historiographical change and has transcended borders, publishing articles on various countries in the Americas, from Uruguay to the United States, becoming an essential and accessible source thanks to the digitisation of its collection. It is a crucial reference point for Costa Rican historiography, serving as a launching pad for multiple generations of established and emerging historians, and to a certain extent, it was a meeting point between the history schools of the UNA and the UCR between 1986 and 2012. To commemorate its half-century of existence, a special dossier was produced with articles by UNA professors and academics exploring a variety of topics, from institutional experiences (Rodrigo Quesada, José Daniel Gil) to in-depth research on Central American scientific unionism (Margarita Silva), the socio-natural relationship on multiple scales (Mario Samper), the history of justice (Amando Torres), and secularisation in Costa Rica (José Aurelio Sandí), reaffirming the role of the journal as an essential bastion for the dissemination and innovation of historical knowledge.
subject: Editorial: 50th anniversary of the Revista de Historia (non-arbitrated section)
  topic: section
subject: historiography
  topic: keywords
subject: Costa Rica
  topic: keywords
subject: Latin America
  topic: keywords
subject: history
  topic: keywords
subject: research
  topic: keywords
subject: editorial management
  topic: keywords
creator: José Aurelio Sandí Morales
rights: Copyright (c) 2025 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0
date: 2025-07-01
publication date: 2025-07-01
starting page: 1
ending page: 7
doi: 10.15359/rh.92.15

Indigenous peoples confront modern conservation in Costa Rica (1970-2020). An approach from the critical sociology of power
type: item
description: This article highlights relevant findings and insights of a pedagogical and investigative experience in the Wildlife Conservation and Management Graduate Program of the National University of Costa Rica. Through its publication as a book, the research experience contributes, from the critical Sociology of power, to the contemporary environmental and political histories of the indigenous peoples and territories in Costa Rica. It synthesizes, with an academic dissemination purpose, some fundamental outcomes found and discussed in the three major parts of the research report: a) the political and environmental historical context, b) the protected areas and the Bribri/Cabecar peoples in Ditsö-ké (Talamanca Range), and c) the cooperation and conflict relationships between modern conservation and the Brunka, Maleku and Chorotega peoples. Several documents with primary and secondary information from different types of archives were compiled and analyzed, including published texts by the indigenous movement.
subject: Costa Rica (peer reviewed section)
  topic: section
subject: colonization
  topic: keywords
subject: environmental history
  topic: keywords
subject: History
  topic: keywords
subject: indigenous peoples
  topic: keywords
subject: indigenous resistance
  topic: keywords
subject: protected areas
  topic: keywords
creator: Emilio Vargas Mena
rights: Copyright (c) 2025 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0
date: 2025-07-01
publication date: 2025-07-01
starting page: 1
ending page: 27
doi: 10.15359/rh.92.13

Learning to be a historian. A journey through influences, trials and errors
type: item
description: In this article, the author outlines and explains the influences, the continuities, the changes, and the ruptures he has experienced in learning and practicing his craft, all of which have allowed him to mature as a human being and as a historian. He reveals his specialty within history, his subjects of interest, and the ever-present, ever-changing, never definitive questions and answers that have arisen throughout his career, allowing him to understand the purpose of history, the social utility of historical knowledge, the role of the historian in a society such as ours, and how analysis is structured from a historical perspective.
subject: 50th anniversary of the Revista de Historia (non-refereed section)
  topic: section
subject: history of mentalities
  topic: keywords
subject: microhistory
  topic: keywords
subject: participatory action research
  topic: keywords
subject: popular education
  topic: keywords
subject: social history
  topic: keywords
subject: total history
  topic: keywords
creator: José Daniel Gil Zúñiga
rights: Copyright (c) 2025 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0
date: 2025-07-01
publication date: 2025-07-01
starting page: 1
ending page: 39
doi: 10.15359/rh.92.5

Making Universal and Justice History at the National University, Costa Rica (2015-2025)
type: item
description: This paper summarises the research itinerary of its author. It deals with subjects related to the History of Justice and the so-called Universal History, as they have been developed by the author in the framework of his research projects, financed by the Universidad Nacional (UNA), Cost Rica.
subject: 50th anniversary of the Revista de Historia (peer-reviewed section)
  topic: section
subject: Costa Rica
  topic: keywords
subject: history of justice
  topic: keywords
subject: medieval history
  topic: keywords
subject: historiography
  topic: keywords
subject: power
  topic: keywords
creator: Armando Torres Fauaz
rights: Copyright (c) 2025 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0
date: 2025-07-01
publication date: 2025-07-01
starting page: 1
ending page: 42
doi: 10.15359/rh.92.3

Between past and future: Current challenges and significance of the geohistorical study of Society and its relationship with Nature at various geographic- and time-scales
type: item
description: An interpretive essay on collaborative and institutional approaches to the study of significant changes in human societies and in their relations with Nature, at various geographic- and time-scales, in connection with historical research and training in History and Social Studies since the 1970s at the History Department of Universidad Nacional and in its graduate program in Applied History. Based on the author´s direct experience, this overview focuses primarily on a thirty-year period after the mid-70s, with certain references to interactions with related academic processes at Universidad de Costa Rica and collaboration with the Central American Historical Research Center. This essay also explores certain international relations and influences, and addresses -more briefly- recent academic work on specific topics, with an emphasis on historical-geographic aspects.
subject: 50th anniversary of the Revista de Historia (peer-reviewed section)
  topic: section
subject: Costa Rica
  topic: keywords
subject: historical geography
  topic: keywords
subject: historiography
  topic: keywords
subject: history
  topic: keywords
subject: university
  topic: keywords
creator: Mario Samper Kutschbach
rights: Copyright (c) 2025 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0
date: 2025-07-01
publication date: 2025-07-01
starting page: 1
ending page: 26
doi: 10.15359/rh.92.2

The El Derecho student society and the emergence of scientific unionism in Central America, 1898–1904
type: item
description: This article examines the student movement that emerged from the Sociedad El Derecho, at the University of San Carlos de Guatemala, led by the Nicaraguan Salvador Mendieta at the dawn of the twentieth century. For this research, an extensive review of primary documentary and printed sources in various archives of Central America was carried out, which were analyzed using the historical method and prosopography to determine the social composition of the movement. In the development of the work, the participation of students in national politics as opponents of the authoritarian rulers of the time and their interest in applying the scientific principles of the Social Sciences to politics and the project of regional union is demonstrated. It is concluded that this movement is the precursor of the current of Central American scientific unionism, whose objective was to create a cultural unity through civic education that would promote Central American identity and provide spaces of power to young intellectuals considered individuals prepared to exercise power and transform the region into a strong, free and independent state.
subject: 50th anniversary of the Revista de Historia (peer-reviewed section)
  topic: section
subject: Central America
  topic: keywords
subject: history
  topic: keywords
subject: identity
  topic: keywords
subject: intellectuals
  topic: keywords
subject: political power
  topic: keywords
subject: student movement
  topic: keywords
creator: Margarita Silva Hernández
rights: Copyright (c) 2025 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0
date: 2025-07-01
publication date: 2025-07-01
starting page: 1
ending page: 37
doi: 10.15359/rh.92.1

Power relations and agrarian struggles in coffee-growing regions: questions and reflections.
type: item
description: If we analyze and compare agrarian structures and social relations in historical-geographical areas where coffee has long been the main cash crop, rather than any uniformity or similarity, what stands out is a remarkable heterogeneity in terms of the types of productive units and the links of association or conflict between collective actors in these areas. However, it is not only a question of interregional variations, but also of profound transformations within the same area from one period to another, e.g., through processes of concentration or subdivision of property, gradual or abrupt transitions from one type of labor to the predominance of another, changing power relations that give rise to new alliances and confrontations, etc.
subject: Latin America (peer reviewed section)
  topic: section
creator: Mario Samper Kutschbach
rights: Copyright (c) 2025 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0
date: 1994-07-01
publication date: 1994-07-01
starting page: 189
ending page: 200
doi: 10.15359/rh.30.1

Electoral Inclusion and Democratic Filters: A Historical Analysis of Suffrage in Latin America (1811-2005)
type: item
description: Early political regimes in Latin America granted significant portions of the adult population the formal right to vote, but the evolution of electoral provisions was neither uniform over time nor consistent across countries. Electoral engineering employed mechanisms such as indirect and public voting, which shaped the extent of mass involvement in public affairs. Drawing on an original database containing information on political institutions and events, this article systematically analyzes, through descriptive inference and bivariate analysis, long-term patterns of electoral inclusion in 19 Latin American countries, from independence to 2005.
subject: Latin America (peer reviewed section)
  topic: section
subject: democratization
  topic: keywords
subject: elections
  topic: keywords
subject: history
  topic: keywords
subject: Latin America
  topic: keywords
subject: political institutions
  topic: keywords
subject: political participation
  topic: keywords
creator: Carolina Curvale
rights: Copyright (c) 2025 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0
date: 2025-01-01
publication date: 2025-01-01
starting page: 1
ending page: 78
doi: 10.15359/rh.91.4

Geopolitics, Theater, and Higher Education: Beginnings and Politicization of the School of Performing Arts, Universidad Nacional (UNA), Costa Rica
type: item
description: This article compiles some of the findings from the research on the processes of politicization within the School of Performing Arts at the National University. In addition to analyzing historical events, it also involves an approach from the perspective of institutionalization processes, which requires an evaluation of the forces in power and the influence of elites in 1970s Costa Rica. Elites operate within a specific socio-historical context to ensure the ideological sustenance of the system. This context allows, on the one hand, an analysis of politicization through the strategies of hegemonic sectors and their impact on the institution of higher education, and, on the other hand, the identification of how the National University, and specifically the School of Performing Arts, becomes established based on the foundations built by those in power and existing social contradictions. By determination, we refer to how higher education institutions are shaped according to the participation of individuals over an extended historical period, and how contradictions give rise to complex processes that leave a mark and reshape social structures, which are reproduced in a continuum, albeit not without nuances. To understand this process, it is essential to analyze it within a broader framework, which requires a geopolitical analysis to comprehend how Costa Rica, which gave birth to the National University, is situated in a world driven by deep contradictions.
subject: Costa Rica (peer reviewed section)
  topic: section
subject: Costa Rica
  topic: keywords
subject: geopolitics
  topic: keywords
subject: higher education
  topic: keywords
subject: history
  topic: keywords
subject: performing arts
  topic: keywords
subject: politics
  topic: keywords
subject: theater
  topic: keywords
creator: Edda E. Rodríguez Jiménez
rights: Copyright (c) 2025 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0
date: 2025-01-01
publication date: 2025-01-01
starting page: 1
ending page: 82
doi: 10.15359/rh.91.6

An army of crime professionals. Press and robbers in Montevideo during the first hal of the 1910s
type: item
description: During the first half of the 1910s, the Montevideo press began to highlight the gradual emergence of a new criminal mode of action. These were groups of professional criminals who were characterized by their level of organization and the incorporation of modern technologies to their craft. Particularly the use of cars. During the period in question the local newspapers installed a debate that revolved around the presence of the french criminal known as the “apache”. In the present paper I propose to analyze, through the newspapers called El Siglo and La Tribuna Popular, the readings that they made about the possible appearence of gangs of robbers. The article makes it possible to verify the inflection that occurs in the press after the robbery of a local money exchange dealer on the date of June 24th 1914, event that was considered as unprecedent in the Uruguayan criminal history.
subject: Latin America (peer reviewed section)
  topic: section
subject: crime
  topic: keywords
subject: delinquency
  topic: keywords
subject: press
  topic: keywords
subject: history
  topic: keywords
subject: Uruguay
  topic: keywords
creator: Daniel Fessler
rights: Copyright (c) 2025 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0
date: 2025-01-01
publication date: 2025-01-01
starting page: 1
ending page: 30
doi: 10.15359/rh.91.5

Real estate market and coffee legacy in Costa Rica: case of the metropolitan area of Heredia
type: item
description: Costa Rican history has a long relationship with coffee production, this has been part of the national identity, and for this reason its legacy is still present, in this case it is established as a symbol of well-being and ostentation in real estate market advertising. Therefore, it is proposed to analyze the transformation of urban morphology and the development of the real estate market in Heredia to identify the use of the coffee issue as an advertising attraction during 1980 and 2019. Content analysis of advertising images of the coffee product is carried out, and of two luxury residences in the Heredia area, called Tierras del Café and Vereda del Café, with bibliographic documentary support. A theoretical base is built that considers the imaginaries, to define the specifically coffee imaginary and the geographical imaginary; urbanism, to understand what urban morphology is, urban trees and advertising; and, finally, neoliberalism, which allows us to understand the opening of the real estate market, and nature -coffee trees- as merchandise. With all the above, it is evident that the coffee imaginary and nature are strongly used in the real estate market, as a way of attracting customers, through advertising.
subject: Costa Rica (peer reviewed section)
  topic: section
subject: advertising
  topic: keywords
subject: coffee
  topic: keywords
subject: Costa Rica
  topic: keywords
subject: history
  topic: keywords
subject: urban planification
  topic: keywords
subject: urbanization
  topic: keywords
creator: Michael Badilla Loría
creator: Meybeline Burton Padilla
creator: Cristian Castro Rojas
creator: Felipe Núñez Gómez
creator: Paulina Ugalde Jiménez
rights: Copyright (c) 2025 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0
date: 2024-07-01
publication date: 2024-07-01
starting page: 1
ending page: 40
doi: 10.15359/rh.90.8

Tropical cyclones in the Atlantic-Caribbean. A balance from climatological history
type: item
description: The objective of this article is to describe and analyze the research that deals with tropical cyclones, developed from the climatological history in Latin American countries originating in the Atlantic-Caribbean. The main perspectives, sources and methodologies will be identified. It is based on two hypotheses: 1) that it is a recent field in history, so its approach is heterogeneous (as an independent or dependent variable); and 2) that the impact of cyclones differs from one country to another, so, in some places, it is a more recurrent issue, which has influenced the consolidation of this approach. Therefore, a balance of research in the region would shed theoretical-methodological lights on what has been done and what can be done in a trans, multi and interdisciplinary way.
subject: Balances and perspectives (peer reviewed section)
  topic: section
subject: Caribbean
  topic: keywords
subject: Central America
  topic: keywords
subject: climatology history
  topic: keywords
subject: hurricanes
  topic: keywords
subject: Latin America
  topic: keywords
subject: tropical ciclones
  topic: keywords
creator: Yanina Ruiz Siles
rights: Copyright (c) 2025 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0
date: 2025-01-01
publication date: 2025-01-01
starting page: 1
ending page: 35
doi: 10.15359/rh.91.7

Hidden politicization: labor conflicts and antagonisms during the first cycle of peasant mobilization in Curicó, Chile (1938-1947)
type: item
description: This article examines the phenomenon of informal peasant politicization in Curicó province, Chile (1938-1947), through labor lawsuits, framing judicialization as a pivotal mechanism for legitimizing socio-economic demands. Using unpublished sources from Labor Courts and agricultural statistics, it explores how peasants combined traditional forms of resistance with legal channels, creating a culture of resistance that fueled formal associativity strategies under the Popular Front government. The findings highlight the correlation between judicial conflicts, union expansion, and daily resistance to the hacienda model through the demand for agrarian rights, aimed at supporting the self-reproduction of peasant economy and culture.
subject: Latin America (peer reviewed section)
  topic: section
subject: trials
  topic: keywords
subject: politics
  topic: keywords
subject: modernization
  topic: keywords
subject: peasant class
  topic: keywords
subject: labor relations
  topic: keywords
subject: social history
  topic: keywords
creator: Pablo Francisco Alderete Soto
creator: Víctor Mauricio Brangier Peñailillo
rights: Copyright (c) 2025 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0
date: 2025-01-01
publication date: 2025-01-01
starting page: 1
ending page: 40
doi: 10.15359/rh.91.2

The history of Mexico in the speech of President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, the dogma of the nationalist historiography 2018-2024
type: item
description: This paper analyzes the political use of Mexican history during the administration of Andrés Manuel López Obrador. Using the methodology of historiographic analysis, we analyze certain passages of Mexican history that this administration used as a platform for its political projects. It studies the presidential vision of projecting his administration as a continuation of Mexican history, the «Fourth Transformation». The article uses to understand AMLO’s contributions to Mexican historiography, through his communications and his books where a nationalist discourse was detected to explain his government project. A conclusion reached is to give an example of the validity of the uses of the past as an analytical category of those modern regimes that see history as a teacher of life or as an inheritance of the historical processes of their respective countries and their political repercussions.
subject: Latin America (peer reviewed section)
  topic: section
subject: discourse analysis
  topic: keywords
subject: historiography
  topic: keywords
subject: Mexico
  topic: keywords
subject: nationalism
  topic: keywords
subject: official history
  topic: keywords
subject: political uses of history
  topic: keywords
creator: José Eduardo Cruz Beltrán
rights: Copyright (c) 2025 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0
date: 2025-01-01
publication date: 2025-01-01
starting page: 1
ending page: 44
doi: 10.15359/rh.91.3

«This is our task as intellectuals, at the service of the community and committed to reality». Interview with Marta Elena Casaús Arzú
type: item
description: This interview explores the career of Guatemalan sociologist Marta Elena Casaús Arzú. In her words, she takes a look at her multifaceted trajectory and the correlation between her research and political advocacy. A context characterized by popular insurrections, the start of Bernardo Arévalo’s government in Guatemala and neo-populisms in Central America, as well as her intellectual and activist experience, provide the frame of reference for Dr. Casaús Arzú’s reflections. Subjects such as the role of universities in facing the problems of the present, the challenges and advances of social movements, racism as a historical problem and the importance of memory as a mechanism of resistance are addressed.
subject: Interviews (Not peer reviewed section)
  topic: section
subject: Interview
  topic: keywords
subject: Intellectual History
  topic: keywords
subject: Policy
  topic: keywords
subject: Human Rights
  topic: keywords
subject: Memory
  topic: keywords
subject: Guatemala
  topic: keywords
creator: Marcela Ramírez-Hernández
rights: Copyright (c) 2025 Marcela Ramírez-Hernández https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0
date: 2025-03-25
publication date: 2025-03-25
starting page: 1
ending page: 28
doi: 10.15359/rh.91.1

Fieldwork notes: an experience among the Tojolabals of Las Margaritas, Chiapas
type: item
description: Field work or ethnographic exercise is an activity developed especially by anthropologists, vital for research, it is the place where the voices of two characters are put into practice: the researcher and the people who support the research process. It involves methodology, method and putting into practice the research techniques learned during the theoretical time. It implies, of course, a theoretical, epistemological, cultural, social and political position of the researcher. Some publications about the ethnographic exercise pointed out the way in which it should be done as if it were a medical prescription that must be fulfilled, others, in the Malinowski style, recounted their experiences lived in the field. Some texts have recently been published in which some researchers present field experiences and combine them with conceptual methodological use, which enriches both. This is what I work on in this text, I show my experience at the same time, the methodology, while I expose my theoretical, epistemological, social and cultural position that has implications in the ethnographic exercise.
subject: Latin America (peer reviewed section)
  topic: section
subject: Field work
  topic: keywords
subject: methodology
  topic: keywords
subject: ethnographic exercise
  topic: keywords
subject: experience
  topic: keywords
subject: techniques
  topic: keywords
subject: research
  topic: keywords
creator: Irene Sánchez Franco
rights: Copyright (c) 2024 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0
date: 2024-07-01
publication date: 2024-07-01
starting page: 1
ending page: 28
doi: 10.15359/rh.90.7

An Argentine military-historical place of memory around the monument of General San Martín
type: item
description: In 1862, the inauguration of the commemorative monument in honor of General José de San Martín determined the creation and definition of one of the oldest squares in the city of Buenos Aires located in the current neighborhood of La Recoleta. The arrival of the monument consecrated this place as a site to commemorate and remember the armies of independence and all the military heroes of the nation, since, in 1990, the government decided that it was also pertinent to erect a Cenotaph to those who fell in the Malvinas. This article raises the idea that, with the installation of the statue of the liberator, the Plaza San Martín was configured over the centuries as a place of historical-military memory consolidated, from the officers, by the military events, the buildings that surround the square and the monuments located there.
subject: Latin America (peer reviewed section)
  topic: section
subject: Buenos Aires, Argentina
  topic: keywords
subject: space
  topic: keywords
subject: military history
  topic: keywords
subject: memory
  topic: keywords
subject: monument
  topic: keywords
creator: Macarena Gisela Mugione Méndez
rights: Copyright (c) 2024 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0
date: 2024-07-01
publication date: 2024-07-01
starting page: 1
ending page: 28
doi: 10.15359/rh.90.6

The 1918 influenza in Chiapas (Mexico). Actions and remedies to face an unknown illness
type: item
description: As happened in other regions of the planet, the arrival of influenza in Chiapas (Mexico) showed the lack of knowledge of the viral origin of the disease that made it impossible to face the pandemic with the required capacity. In the case of Chiapas, we must add to this situation the political-military conflict that was experienced in its territory and the weakness of state public institutions to coordinate and address the health emergency. At this juncture, the isolationist actions carried out, and the remedies used and recommended, show the heterogeneity of explanations about the origin of the disease in a Chiapas with little presence of doctors. Through primary and secondary sources, the article describes, from historical methodology, some of the measures taken to stop the spread of influenza and that demonstrate the coexistence of medical interpretations to stop the progression of the disease and care for patients.
subject: Latin America (peer reviewed section)
  topic: section
subject: Chiapas, Mexico
  topic: keywords
subject: disease
  topic: keywords
subject: history
  topic: keywords
subject: medicine
  topic: keywords
subject: health policy
  topic: keywords
subject: public health
  topic: keywords
creator: Miguel Lisbona Guillén
creator: Sarelly Martínez Mendoza
rights: Copyright (c) 2024 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0
date: 2024-07-01
publication date: 2024-07-01
starting page: 1
ending page: 38
doi: 10.15359/rh.90.5

Honduras and the Central American Confederation (1838-1844)
type: item
description: This article discusses the role played by the State of Honduras in the Central American Confederation (1842-1844), with the objective of studying the evolution of the confederate political project and determining the causes of its implementation and decline. The sources used were the newspapers of the time: El Redactor Oficial de Honduras, Gaceta del Gobierno de Guatemala, Gaceta Oficial de Guatemala, El Centro-Americano and El Tiempo. With the data extracted from these sources, the emergence of the idea of a confederation in Central America and the role played by the State of Honduras as well as its government is broadly outlined. It was concluded that the idea of a Central American confederation originated in the years immediately after independence in 1821 and that it resurfaced after the collapse of the federal pact as an alternative for the States of the isthmus to confront the expansionism of England and resolve conflicts among themselves.
subject: Latin America (peer reviewed section)
  topic: section
subject: history
  topic: keywords
subject: imperialism
  topic: keywords
subject: Federation
  topic: keywords
subject: nationalism
  topic: keywords
subject: sovereignty
  topic: keywords
creator: José Manuel Cardona Amaya
rights: Copyright (c) 2024 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0
date: 2024-12-07
publication date: 2024-12-07
starting page: 1
ending page: 40
doi: 10.15359/rh.90.4