Slowly during the years just preceding our War of 1812, and rapidly during the decade that followed the Peace of Ghent, the vast reaches of Latin America swam within the ken of the people of the United States. Of this “discovery” of our southern neighbors and of our relations with Latin America before 1830, we have learned much from a volume recently brought out by a distinguished historian of the United States, Professor Arthur P. Whitaker. Professor Whitaker's informing study was intended to be nothing less than a well-rounded history of the impact of Latin America upon the United States to 1830; and such it has proved to be—with one exception. Professor Whitaker completely overlooked the religious phase of the subject he otherwise treated so skillfully. Upon this neglected part of the history of our early relations with Latin America this paper will endeavor to throw some light.

When one speaks of the Counter-Reformation in Scotland, we usually think of it as something which appeared after 1560. To do that, however, is to regard the Scottish Counter-Reformation as principally post-Reformation, and also as inspired entirely by the Council of Trent. Such an interpretation fails to take into account the very determined efforts made by the Scottish church itself to stay the spread of heretical doctrines before 1560. It fails to realize that while aided considerably by the Tridentine decisions, the Scottish Counter-Reformation was largely a native movement which had its own views of the proper methods of dealing with the growing canker in the body ecclesiastic. Thus in order to have a due appreciation of the background of the Scottish Reformation and all that it entailed, it is necessary that we should have some understanding of the forces opposing Protestant reform in Scotland before 1560. Such a background this article will endeavour to give.