Ecclesiastical responses to the fifteenth-century recession -- Path dependency on the eclesiastical estates in the sixteenth century -- The great lay landowners -- The fortunes of the gentry -- The influx of 'new' wealth -- The rise of the church leaseholder -- Diverging experiences: yeomen and...

Most analysts of the modern Latin American economy have held the pessimistic belief in historical persistence -- they believe that Latin America has always had very high levels of inequality, and that it's the Iberian colonists' fault. Thus, modern analysts see today a more unequal Latin America...