Patria

Stretching from the edge of Antarctica to the shores of the Caribbean, South America is a continent of stunning natural beauty and biodiversity, a cultural and culinary powerhouse that feeds, fuels and cools the planet. Yet this vast region remains an enigma to many outsiders, its 450 million inhabitants often forgotten, or stereotyped as eternal victims of colonialism, crime and corruption.

Patria reveals an alternative history of South America, spanning thousands of miles and five centuries to the present. Looking beyond modern borders, Laurence Blair takes as his waymarks nine countries that can’t be found on a map: vanished realms, half-imagined utopias and dismembered homelands. He travels to each in turn – on foot and horseback, by rail and river – to trace their rise, fall and unexpected afterlives.

Blair goes in search of ancient Amazonian civilisations, a rebel Inca dynasty in the jungle, and the Patagonian power that defeated Imperial Spain. His journey ranges from a seafaring Peruvian kingdom made rich by bird droppings, to a fearsome nation of fugitives that defied slavery in Brazil, and an insurgent desert confederation that went down fighting with an Andalusian conman. He falls in with Bolivia’s landlocked navy, the African freedom fighters who marched over the Andes to liberate the hemisphere, and the New World Napoleon who led Paraguay to its ruin.

Patria incorporates groundbreaking recent scholarship, striking archaeological discoveries and vivid eyewitness reporting – including encounters with drug lords, Indigenous leaders, refugees bound for the United States and former guerrillas – to weave an epic of survival, resistance and revolution. This is the story of South America as is rarely told: at the epicentre of global history and the forging of the modern world.

Informacja dotycząca wprowadzenia produktu do obrotu:
Ten produkt został wprowadzony na rynek przed 13 grudnia 2024 r. zgodnie z obowiązującymi wówczas przepisami (Dyrektywą o ogólnym bezpieczeństwie produktów). W związku z tym może on być nadal sprzedawany bez konieczności dostosowania do nowych wymogów wynikających z Rozporządzenia o Ogólnym Bezpieczeństwie Produktów (GPSR). Produkt zachowuje pełną legalność w obrocie, a jego jakość i bezpieczeństwo pozostają zgodne z obowiązującymi wcześniej standardami.

Information regarding product placement on the market:
This product was placed on the market before December 13, 2024, in accordance with the applicable regulations at the time (the General Product Safety Directive). As a result, it can continue to be sold without needing to meet the new requirements introduced by the General Product Safety Regulation (GPSR). The product remains fully compliant with all previously valid legal standards, ensuring its continued quality and safety.