This chapter, as mentioned in the title, places a major focus on the process of modernization of Latin America aided by the incredible growth of export in the 19th century. What caused the most surprise was the idea conveyed by the readings that in order for true industrialization and modernization to occur in any part of the world, the technology, ideas, and beliefs of the Western region of the world must be the dominating force. The text continually mentioned how Latin America adopted so many ideas from the adoption of different clothing styles to the creation of a democratic government; all of which are aspects of Western society. This does make sense because at the time, the Western economies were incredibly strong and everyone wanted a strong economy, so they attributed the creation of a strong economy to the values and customs of the Western region.

What also interested me was the fact that the economic boom of Latin American was due to the growing economies of Europe and North America; Latin America was at the right place at the right time. The growing economies of Europe and North America required enormous amounts of resources and Latin America was in a position to provide these resources in exchange for investments and new technology. Not only would these new technologies help in the modernization of Latin, it would also increase productivity and export. For example, the new railroad system implemented in many countries would cause agriculture resources to be transported faster to export regions.