1. History of the concept
The term caudillismo or caudillo (Span. for “chief, leader”) derives from Lat. caput (“head”) [8. 237 ff.]. Caudillo originally meant generally the leader of an irregular army, as in the time of the reconquest of the Iberian Peninsula occupied by the Moors (Refugees of conscience; Conquista); around 1500 the term was applied to the Spanish Conquistadors in Latin America (Conquest). The term came back into widespread use in Latin America only in the 19th…