Central America and the Central America and the CaribbeanCaribbean

Central America

• Is a cultural hearth because it was a place from which ideas spread…. mainly because of the Mayans.

• Due to the location of the Mayans on the Yucutan Peninsula, you could consider them part of Mexico or part of Central America.

• The Maya continued to build cities and temples throughout the region. This meant the Mayan culture spread as well.

• When Mexico gains independence from Spain in 1521, it takes over the Central American region before it breaks away in 1523 and becomes the United Provinces of Central America.

• The states didn’t all get along, though, and after a civil war from 1538-1540, they split up into separate countries.

Caribbean

• The Caribbean culture has European, native, and African influences.

• The Europeans (several European powers colonize the islands – see the chart on page 224) imported slaves from Africa to farm new crops there, especially sugar cane.

• The slaves in the French colony of Haiti revolted in 1790.

• There were 500,000 slaves and 32,000 whites (and 28,000 free people of color).

• Ironically, the revolt against France was inspired by the French Revolution.

• It was led by Toussaint L'Ouverture, self-educated freed slave.

• Haiti officially gets its independence in 1804.

• Cuba becomes independent from Spain in 1898 as a result of America’s actions in the Spanish-American War. It is quickly sets up its own government by 1902.

In Panama, you have the Panama Canal.

• Before the canal, a ship traveling from New York to San Francisco would have to go over 14,000 miles around the tip of South America (a dangerous journey around that tip).

• Via the canal, it’s only 6,000 miles. That’s an 8,000 mile shave off the trip.

Music

• One of the music styles that has come out of this region is calypso from Trinidad and Tobago.

Harry Belafonte: ok singer, bad taste in politics

A lot of calypso music makes use of the steel drum.

A more modern version is called soca calypso or soul calypso.

• Another musical style, this one from Jamaica, is reggae, as exhibited here by Bob Marley.

• Don’t take calypso and reggae lightly. Many songs have social and political messages, which you realize if you pay attention to the lyrics.