"This is the first biography of Andres Bello to appear in English. Bello, the most important intellectual of nineteenth-century Latin America, made enduring contributions to the fields of international law, civil legistation, grammar, and philology; He was also a poet of note, a literary critic, and an influential statesman whose contributions to nation-building and Spanish American identity are widely recognized across the region. In this book, Jaksic provides an archival-based critical account that challenges the celebratory literature that has dominated Bello studies. He demonstrates how knowledge of Bello's contributions illuminates not only Latin American history, but also current issues of imperial fragmentation, nationalism, and language."--BOOK JACKET.