The Latin American Library holds rare books and original manuscripts documenting the Spanish American independence movements. The collections provide insights into the central ideas of the period that encompassed critiques of colonial authority, the right to self-government, and the consolidation of criollo patriotism as an imagined unifying narrative across a far-flung region. Also documented are the challenges of nation-building, such as regional divisions, military disputes, caudillo or authoritarian traditions, national identity formation, socioeconomic inequalities, foreign interventions, and the persistence of colonialism, a key focus of recent research.