Bailey Wallys Diffie (June 27, 1902 – January 12, 1983) was an American

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the stu ...

and teacher of

Latin American Latin Americans ( es, Latinoamericanos; pt, Latino-americanos; ) are the citizens of Latin American countries (or people with cultural, ancestral or national origins in Latin America). Latin American countries and their diasporas are multi-eth ...

and Iberian history who focused on Portuguese maritime and

colonial history Colonial or The Colonial may refer to: * Colonial, of, relating to, or characteristic of a colony or colony (biology) Architecture * American colonial architecture * French Colonial * Spanish Colonial architecture Automobiles * Colonial (1920 aut ...

Biography

He was born on June 27, 1902 in

Detroit, Texas Detroit (dɪˈtɹɔɪt) is a town in Red River County, Texas, United States. The population was 704 at the 2020 census. John Nance Garner, 32nd Vice President of the United States, was born outside of Detroit but lived most of his life in Uvalde, ...

, in the Red River Country, son of a small town lawyer, he grew up on a farm. Soon he learned Spanish, having studied both Spanish and history at

Texas Christian University Texas Christian University (TCU) is a private research university in Fort Worth, Texas. It was established in 1873 by brothers Addison and Randolph Clark as the Add-Ran Male & Female College. It is affiliated with the Christian Church (Disciples ...

. He graduated from Southeastern Teachers College in

Durant, Oklahoma Durant () is a city in Bryan County, Oklahoma, United States that serves as the headquarters of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma. The population was 18,589 in the 2020 census. Durant is the principal city of the Durant Micropolitan Statistical A ...

, in 1923. An early interest in East Asia turned to the Iberian World after taking a Summer course with Edward Everett Dale in 1924. Having sailed to Europe as an apprentice seaman, he returned to TCU, and completed an M.A. in 1926."Diffie, Bailey" in ''Historians of Latin America in the United States, 1965: Biobibliographies of 680 Specialists''. Ed. Howard F. Cline. Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 1966, 27. In August 1927 he began to study in the University of Madrid, having spent three years in Spain and France; he received a doctoral degree from Madrid in 1929. After initially teaching at Texas Christian from 1926 to 1927, Diffie began teaching in the

City College of New York The City College of the City University of New York (also known as the City College of New York, or simply City College or CCNY) is a public university within the City University of New York (CUNY) system in New York City. Founded in 1847, Cit ...

in 1930, a position he held for thirty-eight years, with visiting professorships to

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...

, New York City University and

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

. He began to write on history by the mid-1930s. He wrote several books and articles on Latin American and Iberian history. His historical study ''Latin American Civilization: Colonial Period'' was published in 1945. He was both professor emeritus at City College and a visiting professor at the

University of California The University of California (UC) is a public land-grant research university system in the U.S. state of California. The system is composed of the campuses at Berkeley, Davis, Irvine, Los Angeles, Merced, Riverside, San Diego, San Francisco, ...

at Los Angeles.

Published works

*''New Governments in Europe'' (1934) *''Latin-American Civilization: Colonial Period'' (1945) *''A History of Colonial Brazil: Fifteen Hundred to Seventeen Ninety-Two'' (1947) *''Prelude to Empire: Portugal Overseas Before

Henry the Navigator ''Dom'' Henrique of Portugal, Duke of Viseu (4 March 1394 – 13 November 1460), better known as Prince Henry the Navigator ( pt, Infante Dom Henrique, o Navegador), was a central figure in the early days of the Portuguese Empire and in the 15t ...

'' (1963) *''Foundations of the Portuguese Empire 1415-1580'' (1977) *''History of

Colonial Brazil Colonial Brazil ( pt, Brasil Colonial) comprises the period from 1500, with the arrival of the Portuguese, until 1815, when Brazil was elevated to a kingdom in union with Portugal as the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves. Durin ...

, 1500-1792'' (1987)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Diffie, Bailey Wallys 1902 births 1983 deaths American maritime historians Brazilianists 20th-century American historians American male non-fiction writers 20th-century American male writers

Biography

Published works

See also

References