door neighbor to the United States, falls within the same category. In other words, of the four countries of most consequence in the comity of Latin American powers three studiously remained aloof from the struggle. It must also be conceded that the military contributions of the Latin American belligerents to the common cause did little to tip the balance of victory in favor of the Allies. As will be pointed out in due time the military and naval aid offered by Brazil and Cuba, owing in part to motives outside their control, was all but negligible. Of much greater weight to be sure, was the material assistance rendered the United States and the Allies. But even here no hard and fast distinction may be made between belligerents and neutrals. All of the great exporting countries of South America supplied without stint those raw materials of which the enemies of Germany stood so sorely in need.
These considerations, important as they are, should not blind us to the tremendous significance of the Great War in the historical evolution of our southern neighbors. This is true of neutrals and belligerents alike; for it is now recognized as all but axiomatic that in a struggle of such unprecedented proportions neutrality could in no wise spell immunity from the effects of the war. In keeping with the purpose of the Albert Shaw lectures on American diplomacy our study will be primarily concerned with an analysis of the foreign policies and international relations of the Latin American republics during the war years. The contest had hardly begun before a number of these countries found
