Land & People of Latin

America & Caribbean

Dividing up the Region

• A. Latin America-from the tip of S. America to the Mexico-US border

• South America• Central America

B. Caribbean-the islands of Cuba, Hispaniola, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, Trinidad, and the West Indies & a many smaller islands

Landforms

• Mountains:– Andes Mountains are the longest mt. range in

the world. They run more than 4000 miles along the western coast of S. America

– Brazilian Highlands are located in southern Brazil

– Sierra Madre Occidentals & Orientals run on the western and eastern side of Mexico respectively

• Plateaus– The Mexican plateau is a high table land

between the Sierra Madres in Mexico– The Altiplano or “high plain” is located in

Bolivia among the Andes Mts.– The Mato Grosso spreads much of Brazil– Patagonia is an area of hills and low

tablelands in southern Argentina and Chile

Rivers

• Amazon River drains much of Brazil and nearby lands. It runs about 4,000 miles from the Andes to the Atlantic

• Rio Grande River forms the border between the US and Mexico

Lakes and Waterfalls

• The world’s highest lake is Lake Titicaca (translates Rock of the Puma) on the border of Bolivia and Peru. It lies 12,507 feet above sea level.

• Lake Maracaibo in Venezuela is the region’s largest lake

• Angel Falls in Venezuela drops 3,212 feet-the highest in the world

Lake Titicaca from space

Europeans In Latin America

• A Early Arrival1. In 1492 Columbus claimed the islands of Caribbean

for Sp.

2. England, Portugal, and Fr. All wanted to explore the new world

3. Sp and Portugal claimed the same lands. Pope Alexander VI solved this problem by declaring a “Line of demarcation” through the Western Hemisphere. The line 1200 miles west of Cape Verde Islands was decided in 1494 by the Treaty of Tordesillas (about 45west). Spain could explore land to the west of line & Portugal could explore land to the east.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Spain_and_Portugal.png

B. Spanish Conquests

• 1. Spanish soldiers invaded and conquered the Aztec empire. By 1533. they had conquered the Inca empire

• 2. They established Lima as their major southern city because it served as a port for Spanish ships

• 3. They established plantations, called haciendas, on which local Indians were used as laborers. European diseases killed a majority of the Indians and Africans were brought to the plantations to serve as slaves

C Portuguese in Brazil

• 1. Portugal claimed Brazil in early 1500s, but it took a while before they settled there

• 2. Since there were few Indians in Brazil, African Slaves were brought to work on the plantations

Mayan Civilizations

• Located in Central America on Yucatan Peninsula from 300-900 AD

• Based on a rigid class system with priests being the most powerful

• Had many large cities near water holes and wells

• Built system of roads to improve transportation and trade between their cities

Mayans (cont’d)

• Developed ideographic writing system where symbols stood for sounds and ideas instead of objects

• Developed calendar and used it to determine when to plant crops; Had 18 months and 20 days each

• Began to decline after 900 AD possibly because of disease, crop failure, and invasions by other groups

Mayans (later period)

• Mixed with the Toltec people

• Adopted Toltec god Quetzalcoatl (Kulcan)

• Chitzen Itza at equinox

Aztec Empire• Peaked during 1500s

• Settled at the end of the Mexican Plateau because of the pleasant climate & rich soil

• Tenoctitlan, the Aztec capital was built on a swampy island in the middle of Lake Texococco (site where present day Mexico) which made

• easy to defend.

Aztec cont’d

• Had a strong military & religious elements and they worshiped gods of the sun and rain

• Economy was based on agriculture; farming methods were so successful that crop surpluses were common. Because of this, they were able to have division of labor

• Practiced human sacrifice in large numbers

Inca Civilization

• Peaked during the 1400s and was the most advanced of early Latin American Civilizations. It stretched 2500 miles from Ecuador southward along the Andes Mountains and westward Andes to the Pacific

Incas Continued

• Capital- Cuzco in present day Peru• Cut terraces into slopes of the Andes to

have flat land to farm on and dug canals to irrigate land

• Were good builders– Roads were paved with stone– Suspension bridges of ropes and vines– Cut large blocs of rock from mounts and fit

them together without mortar

Incas

• Rich deposits of gold and silver used to guild some building s and to make jewelry, plates and cups

• Although they had no written forms of language they kept records by tying knots of various sizes on cord with

strings of various

lengths and colors

Coffee

• Brazil, Colombia, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Mexico are among the world’s leading producers of coffee. Brazil itself grows ¼ of the world’s total crop

Bananas

• Central America produces 1/8 of the world’s bananas

Sugar Cane

• Brazil, Cuba and Mexico are among the world’s leading producers

SWEET!

Cattle

• World’s leading producers are Brazil, Mexico, and mostly Argentina

Wool

- Is produced in large amounts by Argentina

• Many of these countries are single crop economies.

• This involves great risk because natural disasters like droughts or disease can destroy an entire crop.

Minerals

• About 12% of the world’s oil supply is found in the region mostly in Mexico and Venezuela

Tourism

• Tourism is a thriving industry in the Caribbean. Over 8 million tourists visit the Caribbean each year. Mexico also considers tourism an important industry

Trade

• Us exports and imports more goods to and from the region than any other nation. 65% of Mexico’s imports are from US & 60% of Mexico’s exports go to the US.

NAFTA

• North American Free Trade Agreement is an agreement between Mexico, Canada, and US which states the countries will trade without charging import taxes or tariffs (thus “free”).

• There are many arguments both for and against such an agreement.

The Panama Canal

Independence from Europe

Colonial country

Year of independent

Mexico Spain 1830s

Central Am. Spain 1820

Brazil Portugal 1822,1889 peacefully established Monarchy

Haiti France 1804

Cuba Spain 1898

West Indies Various countries

Well into 1900s

Governments Today

• Early govts. Of the region wee democratic, but because of the following problems lost control:– Inequality of classes– Large percentages of illiterate citizens – Huge nations often divided by natural barriers– New govt. leaders had little experience

running a govt.

• Caudillos or military dictators, took over in many countries. Usually members of the upper class and they gave little freedom to lower classes. Many countries have had a number of military coups (pronounced /ku/) where one caudillos overthrows another. Many countries have had a number of coups

Communist authoritarian

Cuba

Military Dictatorships Bolivia, Paraguay, Suriname

Semi Dem. Forms of govt.

Honduras, Panama,

Dem federal Republic Costa Rica, Colombia, Mexico, Venezuela

Self govt. territory of Us

Puerto Rico

Governed by Us and Great Britain

Virgin Islands

Governed by France Martinique and Guadeloupe

Influence of the Catholic Church

• Roman Catholic church set up missions in many ares to teach the Indians trades such as carpentry or leatherworking. They offered health care and education

• Church owned lots of land and plantations. Since the church didn’t have to pay taxes, they became wealthy

• Latin • Am began taking land from the church during the

1800s but the church is still powerful

Religion

• Over 90% of the people in the region are Roman Catholic. It is the state religion of 7 countries

• Some Indians still hold ritual to honor non-Christian deities