The development of Latin American studies at Tulane University in 1924 was a direct result of the French and Spanish colonial past of Louisiana and of New Orleans’ continuing commercial and cultural ties with neighbors to the south. The study of the region began with the purchase of the William E. Gates collection and the establishment of the Department of Middle American Research, a pioneering research center. This foundational development was the gift of a local businessman in the banana trade with interests in Central America.
The presence and influence of the fruit companies in New Orleans were but one factor in the city’s increasing focus on strengthening ties to Latin America and the Caribbean. The positioning of New Orleans as the portal to the Americas, sustained at least through the end of the 1950s, was actually a concerted effort among city leaders, from the mayor’s office to the commercial sector to institutions of higher education like Tulane.