Small Earthquakes

Winner of the Travel Narrative Book of the Year from the British Guild of Travel WritersShortlisted for the Edward Stanford Travel Book of the Year and the Inspire Global Media Awards Travel Book of the YearWanderlust, 'Best Travel Books of 2025'An award-winning travel writer and journalist uncovers the rich and unexpected history of Britain’s deep-rooted ties with South America.Small Earthquakes uncovers the fascinating story of Britain's forgotten connections with South America, from the Atacama Desert to Tierra del Fuego, Easter Island to South Georgia.Blending travel writing, history and reportage, award-winning journalist and author Shafik Meghji tells a tale of footballers and pirates, nitrate kings and wool barons, polar explorers and cowboys, missionaries and radical MPs. From a ghost town in one of the world's driest deserts to a far-flung ranch in the sub-polar tundra; rusting whaling stations in the South Atlantic to an isolated railway built by convicts; the southernmost city on the planet to a crumbling port known as the 'Jewel of the Pacific', he brings to life the past, present and future of this remarkable continent. He sheds light on Britain's impact on Argentina, Chile and Uruguay, from sparking wars, forging national identities and redrawing borders to its tangled role in their colonisation and decolonisation. But it also reveals how these countries, in turn, have shaped Britain in profound and unexpected ways, from Fray Bentos to the Falklands.Drawing on more than fifteen years of living, working and travelling in South America, Meghji offers a sweeping account of an overlooked--but enduringly relevant--shared history. Provides a sweeping account of a forgotten – but enduringly relevant – shared history The author is award winning, including as the Winner of the Travel Narrative Book of the Year from the British Guild of Travel for this book. Drawing on over 15 years of living, working and travelling in South America, Meghji has written a lyrical account of Britain’s lost history in the region.