This is a five year AHRC-funded research project (2001-2006) with the aim of rethinking Latin American Independence in terms of gender. It is hosted by the Department of Hispanic and Latin American Studies, University of Nottingham in collaboration with the Department of Spanish and Portuguese Studies, University of Manchester.

The project consists of three lines of enquiry:

• the study of women's political participation
• women's writings
• gendered readings of political discourse

The project description provides further information about the project's scope and methodology. The database, the work of Claire Brewster, has over two thousand entries and provides details of women's and men's political and social participation between 1790 and 1850. It is fully referenced and includes extracts from written work of the time. The image bank includes portraits and related iconography of some of the women and men involved with the independence movement and the building of the new republics.

The AHRC funds research in the arts and humanities. The quality and range of research supported not only provides social and cultural benefits but also contributes to the economic success of the UK. For further information on the AHRC, please see www.ahrc.ac.uk.