Latin American independence from Spain and Portugal in the first decades of the nineteenth century was a process of global relevance. A considerable number of new polities emerged that had to deal with radically new political situations. Particularly in the case of the former Spanish colonies, a general rejection of the colonial past determined decisions favouring republican forms of government and the creation of modern citizenry. In this sense, education was credited with the power of revolutionising political life and modernising local and "backward" populations. Education was considered crucial in addressing the three major challenges of postcolonial Latin America: the consolidation of the new polities, the invention of new republican orders, and the reshaping of old inherited identities, particularly those of the subaltern. The articles included in this special issue primarily address these three dimensions. (Contains 30 footnotes.)