Transcript Aztec Calendar Stone Chichén Itzá : Mayan Ruins Mayan Ruins at Tikal, Guatemala.

Aztec Calendar Stone
Chichén Itzá : Mayan Ruins
Mayan Ruins at Tikal, Guatemala
Machu Picchu: Incan Ruins, Peru
Spanish Church, Mexico City
Bullfighting Ring and
Soccer (Fútbol) Stadium
Mexico City
Christ the Redeemer
Rio de Janeiro
100 ft tall
Sits on Corcovado
Mountain on a 20
foot base.
A Vast Region
Stretches from the Rio Grande to Tierra del Fuego.
8 million square miles
Latin America: Region
Based on Language
Romance Languages
Spanish and Portuguese
Middle America
Mexico and Central America
The Caribbean
Islands
Greater and Lesser Antilles
and Bahamas
South America
Continent
Mountain Ranges
Sierra Madre Oriental
Sierra Madre
Occidental
Stretching from North
America
Part of the Rocky Mountain
chain.
Sierra Madre
Mexico
Occidental and
Oriental
Tectonic Activity
Heavy earthquake activity
here and some volcanic
activity.
Sierra Madre Ranges
Vertical Zones
Elevation affects climate. This happens in Mexico
and other Latin American countries.
These areas are divided into Vertical zones based
on elevation and climate.
Tierra Fria: Area of high
elevation and cool climate
Tierra Caliente: Area of
low elevation and hot
climate
Tierra Templada: Area of
middle elevation and
temperate climate.
Mexican Plateau
Mexican Plateau
Densely populated are of
Central Mexico between the
Sierra Madre Ranges.
Central Highlands
Chain of volcanic mountains
that run across Central
America. Many Caribbean
island are also part of this
range.
The Andes: Longest
Mountain Range in the
World, 4,500 mi long.
Cordilleras: Several Parallel
mountain ranges.
Tierra del Fuego: The land
of fire, the end of S.
America.
Andes Mountain Ranges
Tierra del Fuego
Altiplano: High plain in
Argentina circled by the
Andes Mountains.
Patagonia: Hills and lower
flatlands in southern
Argentina.
Highlands of Brazil
There are several highland
areas of Brazil
Escarpment
A steep cliff off the edge
of a plateau
Lowlands and Plains
Grasslands
Llanos: Venezuela
Pampas: Argentina
Llaneros and Gauchos
Cowhands of the Llanos and Pampas
Llanos and Pampas
Water Systems
Amazon: Largest river in the
world. Flows through Brazil.
Forms the Amazon Basin.
Orinoco: Venezuela
Rio de la Plata: Southern
River system.
Estuary: Area where ocean
(salt) water and freshwater
meet.
Rio Grande: Forms part of
the border between the US
and Mexico.
Rivers provide
transportation and
hydroelectric power in Latin
America.
The Amazon
Orinoco River
Angel Falls in Venezuela
The world’s tallest waterfall
uninterrupted drop of 2,648 ft.
Section 2: Climate and Vegetation
Tropical Regions: Near the Equator
Amazon Basin
Region surrounding the Amazon River. Earth’s largest rain forest
Has more species of plants and animal per square mile than any
place on earth.
Rain forests
Lush jungle vegetation
Canopy: upper level of the trees, up to 130 ft.
Tropical Savanna: Grasslands such as the Pampas and Llanos
Desert and Steppe Regions: Atacama Desert
The driest desert in the world.
Caused by the rain-shadow effect of the Andes Mountains.
Elevation and Climate: Highland climates in mountain areas.
Vertical zonation.
Amazon Rain Forest
The average rainfall in Antofagasta part of the Atacama — is just 1 mm per
year, and there was a period of time where no rain fell there for 400 years
Notes Chapter 9
Cultural Geography of Latin America
Human Characteristics: Latin America has a
population of 525 million people, roughly 9% of the
world’s population.
Diversity in the population: Native Americans,
Europeans, Africans, Asians, and mixtures of
these groups.
Various Ethnic Groups: Have created distinct
cultures in each region, while some indigenous
cultures are the ways they have been for
centuries.
Indigenous Peoples
Maya: The Mayan civilization was found in the
Yucatan Peninsula and parts of Guatemala.
Aztec: The Aztec were found in the Valley of Mexico.
Inca: The Inca were found in the highlands of Peru
Large Native Population: Mexico, Central America, Andes Region
There are still descendants of the natives in L. America today.
Many have worked to keep their traditions alive while adopting
features of other cultures
European Immigration
European immigration began in the late 1400’s. Since then millions
of European immigrants have come, most from Spain and Portugal,
but others as well including Britain, France Germany, and Italy.
African Descent
Africans were brought to Latin America as slaves in the 1500’s to
work on plantations in Brazil and the Caribbean islands. African
culture influenced the region in food, music, art and religion.
Asians: Asians began to settle in the region during the 1800’s as
temporary workers. Many settled there. Guyana has people of S. and
SE Asian Descent. There are Chinese immigrants in Mexico and
Cuba. And there are Japanese communities in Brazil and. Peru.
Cultural Blending
There has been a blending of the many cultures of Latin America
over the centuries.
In Mexico, Honduras, and El Salvador people of mixed native and
European descent (Mestizo) make up the largest part of the
population.
In the Caribbean people of Mixed African and European descent
(Mulatto) make up a large percentage of the population.
In Haiti a blending of W. African religion and Roman Catholicism
led to the creation of a new religion, Voodoo.
Language
European Languages
Spanish: Primary language of most L. American countries.
Portuguese: Brazil
French: Haiti and Martinique
English: Jamaica, Belize, and Guyana.
Dialects: Each country has developed its own dialect, or different
form of a language. Meanings of words, or even words themselves,
can differ from region to region.
Native Languages
Many people speak languages which have been spoken by native
populations for centuries. Nahuatl: Aztec family of languages
Bilingual: Many L. Americans speak two languages, often their
native language and a European language.
Patois: Dialects the blend indigenous, European Africa, and Asian
languages.
Where Latin Americans Live
High Population Growth: The region’s population is expected to
reach about 800 million by the year 2050, increasing 55%.
Influence of Environment on
Population Distribution
Varied climates and landscapes
influence where people live.
Physical barriers limit areas
where people can live, the
population only lives on about
1/3 of the land.
Coastal Areas
Most Densely Populated.
Populated Rim
Most people live along the
Coast in S. America
Most other people live in
valleys or plains.
Brazil: Capital Relocation
In 1960 the government of Brazil relocated its capital city
from Rio de Janeiro to Brasília.
This was a way to make people move away from the overpopulated coastal area to inland areas.
Caracas and Santiago
Capitals of Venezuela and Chile
Densely populated coastal areas.
Exceptions
E. Coast between the Amazon's mouth
and Caracas, sparsely populated and
Patagonia is sparsely populated.
Population Density
Area vs. Population Density
The population of this region is unevenly distributed.
The size of a country can throw off the numbers for population
density, one has to factor in distribution.
Climate and Population Density: Affects Population Den. and Dist.
Uneven Population Distribution: Prevalent
Migration
Migrating North: Many people in Latin
America migrate in search of a better life.
Immigrants from L. America live in every US
state, with large numbers in CA, TX, NY, IL,
FL, and Virginia. This has changed the culture
of the US.
Push Factors: Things that make people want to leave a country.
Civil War
Lack of Economic Opportunity
Personal and Religious Persecution
Lack of Political Freedom
Pull Factors: Things that make people want to enter a country.
Peace
Economic Opportunity
Educational Opportunity
Freedom
Family Ties
Internal Migration: Movement of people within L. America.
Urbanization
People are moving from rural to urban areas because of better
job opportunities. A lot of this is due to lack of fertile farmland.
Rapid organization causes many problems in already crowded
urban areas.
Urban Setting
Mega cities: cities with more than 10 million people.
Mexico City: 18 million people
Primate City: Urban area that dominates it country’s
economy, culture, and political affairs.
Includes
Caracas, Venezuela
Montevideo, Uruguay
Santiago, Chile
Buenos Aires, Argentina,
And Havana, Cuba.
Urban Challenges
Rapid urbanization often exceeds
the capacity of cities to provide
services.
People arrive and find there are
not the jobs and housing that they
hoped for.
Shantytowns often develop outside of major cities.
These poor areas lack water and sanitation.
The Panama Canal
Construction began in 1904
and was finished in 1914
The canal connects the Atlantic and Pacific
oceans enabling ships to pass through the
canal instead of having to sail all the way
around South America.
The canal was owned by the United States,
but ownership of the canal passed back to
Panama in 1999.
Section 2: History and Government
Native American Empires
Several native empires flourished prior to
European colonization
These included:
Aztec: Valley of Mexico
Capital city of Tenochtitlan , island was built
on man made islands called chinampas.
Maya
Found in Mexico and Central America.
Great cities such as Tikal.
Where skilled in math, they developed
calendars and predicted solar eclipses.
They developed their own hieroglyphic
writing system.
Abandoned their cities, we don’t know why.
The Inca
Capital city of Cuzco, in what is now Peru
Built great temples and cities,
Built 20,000 miles of roads to unite their empire.
Domesticated the alpaca and llama.
Used quipa, a series of knot-tied cords to record
records.
Empires to Nations
European Conquest: European explored and colonized much of
Latin America.
Conquistador: A Spanish Conqueror.
The two most famous were Hernán Cortéz
who defeated the Aztec in 1521 and
Francisco Pizarro who destroyed the Inca
Empire in 1535.
Viceroys
European colonies sprung up throughout Latin America. In
Spanish-ruled territories they set up political system under
officials appointed by the kings, these were called Viceroys.
Catholic Influence
The Roman Catholic church became the unifying force for the
region. Missionaries converted the natives and forced them to
give up their native religions.
Colonial Economies
Exploitation of Gold and Silver (God, Glory, and Gold)
Wood
Cash Crops: Coffee, Bananas, and Sugar Cane.
Used natives to work the land.
Smallpox killed off a large percentage of the native population.
African slaves were imported to replace the devastated native
population.
Gaining Independence
In the late 1700’s resentment to European
rule increased.
Many colonies wanted self-rule
First country to gain independence was
Haiti, led by Francois Toussaint-Louverture,
a solder of enslaved parents.
Mexico was the first Spanish-ruled country
to win independence, led by a priest Father
Miguel Hidalgo, it became independent,
finally, in 1821.
By the mid-1800’s most countries had
achieved independence through revolution
of some sort.
The Caribbean islands were the last to gain
independence.
Simon Bolivar
leader of several independence
movements throughout South America,
collectively known as Bolívar's War.
Credited with leading the fight for
independence in what are now the
countries of Venezuela, Colombia,
Ecuador, Peru, Panama, and Bolivia, he
is referred as a hero in these
countries and throughout much of the
rest of Hispanic America.
Bolívar is known as "El Libertador",
The Liberator
José Francisco de San Martín
Matorras, commonly known as
José de San Martín
Led forces across the Andes
helping to win independence for
Chile and Peru.
Era of Dictatorships
Caudillo
After gaining independence, many of the countries in this
region were politically unstable.
Political power often stayed in the hands of the upper class.
Written constitutions were ignore, and there were revolts,
with the military forced to keep order.
Military dictators, or caudillos, became the absolute rulers.
Movements for Change
Civil Unrest: During the 1900’s there were many political,
social and economic changes as European rule declined.
Middle classes emerged, but in rural areas progress was
limited.
In Cuba in 1959 there was a Communist revolution
led by Fidel Castro.
Many countries in central America experienced civil war in the
1980’s including Nicaragua and El Salvador.
The civil war in El Salvador lasted from 1980 to 1992 and killed
75,000 people.
There were many socialist movements which wanted land
reform for the poor. The United States was against these
movements and intervened in several nations’ civil wars.
Section 3: Cultures and Lifestyles
Religion: Religion plays an important role
in the lives of many people in this region.
Most people are Christian, but other
religions here include Native beliefs,
African religions, Islam, Hinduism,
Buddhism, and some Judaism.
Roman Catholicism: Most Christians in Latin America are Roman
Catholic. Catholicism was brought over by European conquerors
and many natives were forced to convert to the religion.
Church officials played a role in political affairs in the region,
many backed the upper class.
During the late 1900’s the church began to work more for land
reform and helping the poor.
Protestantism
Various Protestant groups settled with the British and Dutch.
In the late 1900’s it grew quickly, it gave lay people a role in
religious life and was more personal than the Catholic Church.
Mixed Religions
Syncretism: A blending of beliefs and
practices from different religions into a
single faith.
Some worship at church on Sunday, but follow
indigenous practices during the week.
Voodoo (Condomblé/Santería) A blending of
West African religion and the Catholic faith.
This religion has a negative reputation, but is
not evil. It believes in the honoring of spirits
in nature and veneration of ancestors.
The Arts
Native Art forms
Weaving, woodcarving, pottery and
metalwork.
Murals and Mosaics
Were often used to decorate native ceremonial buildings.
Modern Art
Diego Rivera
Mexican artist who focused on murals that
illustrated Mexico’s history, especially the
struggles of the poor.
Seller of Flowers
Girl with Pink Dress
Flower Seller
The Quarry Worker
Liberation of the Peon
Teatro Insurgentes
Frida Kahlo: was a Mexican painter
who depicted the indigenous
culture of her country in a style An
active communist supporter, she
was the wife of Mexican painter
Diego Rivera.
Frida was in a severe accident as a
child and suffered long-term pain
and reproductive damage. She
often expressed this pain through
her art.
She is famous for her unusual selfportraits.
Self-Portrait at the Border Between Mexico and the United States 1932
Other art forms
Music: Brazilian Samba, Cuban Salsa, and Mexican Mariachi
Reggae and Calypso in the Caribbean
Steel Drum Bands
Everyday Life
Family: Very important in this region
Extended Family: Several generations living together.
Compadres, or godparents play an important role in family life,
they sponsor new babies and are responsible for the religious
and moral upbringing of their child.
Machismo
Spanish and Portuguese tradition of male supremacy.
Changing role of women
More women are making
advances in public life and
education.
Mireya Elisa
Moscoso Rodríguez
de Arias was the
President of
Panama from 1999
to 2004
Education and Health Care
Uneven educational opportunities
Urban areas have better educational systems than rural areas.
Lack of money for supplies can cause people to have to leave
school, many children must drop out to work and help support
their families.
Health care and standard of
living
There is a wide gap between rich
and poor.
Some countries have good health
care, and some do not.
Haiti is very poor, and has low life
expectancy.
Sports and Leisure
Fútbol: Soccer, is the national sport in
many countries.
Baseball is popular in some areas.
Jai alai game like handball,
played with ball and long basket
strapped to the wrist. Popular
in Mexico and Cuba.
Carnival
Celebrates the week before the start of Lent.
Rio de Janeiro is home to one of the biggest Carnival celebrations
in the world.
Chapter 10
Section 1: Living in Latin America
Agriculture
Exports: Primary economic activities
Wealthy landowners: Own the majority of the land.
Often broken into large plantations.
Campesino: Rural farmers and workers.
Latifundia: Large-Scale commercial
farms, now highly mechanized
commercial farms.
Minifundia: Small farms worked by the Campesino to feed
their families. Subsistence agriculture.
Primary Economic Activities:
Cash crops and livestock
Cash Crops: include coffee, bananas,
sugar cane, flowers.
These crops are mostly grown on the
Latifundia.
Livestock: Raised in the grasslands, such as the Pampas and Llanos.
Mostly Cattle.
Risks
If crops fail, or disease kills the animals, or renders them
useless, the country would have a significant reduction of
income.
Manufacturing
Developing Countries: Many of the countries are working to
increase manufacturing and add more secondary and tertiary
economic activities so they may have a higher standard of living.
Industrial Growth
Physical Barriers: Mountains, deserts, and other physical
barriers make distribution difficult.
Red Tape: Government restriction. Other countries opening
industry and taking away resources.
Political Instability: Makes companies reluctant to invest to
build up the infrastructure of these areas.
Maquiladoras: Foreign owned assembly plants
Pros and Cons
During the last 50 years American and
Japanese firms have built plans in Latin
American countries, many lie along the
US/Mexico border.
They employ many people, but people
debate if they are good or bad.
They provide jobs, but the pay is often
low and the working conditions are not
good.
They often exploit the workers and
ignore the environment.
Trade and Interdependence
NAFTA
North American Free Trade Agreement,
eliminated trade barriers.
Has been controversial, many fear that it will cause loss of
jobs in the US.
Foreign Debt
The governments of many Latin American countries borrowed
money to build up their economies. During an economic slow
down in the 1980’s many of these countries were unable to
pay back their loans.
Many of these loans were extended, but having to repay debt
hurts the economies of these countries.
Transportation and Infrastructure
Problems
Physical barriers cause construction
problems.
Pan-American Highway: Stretches from
Northern Mexico to Southern Chile and links
more than a dozen capitals.
The Trans-Andean Highway runs through the
Andes an connects Chile and Argentina.
Brazil is working on a Trans-Amazonian highway
to access the resources of the rain forest.
Railroads
Railroads: Some countries have good railroads, but they have
many of the same problems as highways.
Communications
Many nations have media including newspapers, radio, and
television.
Many times the media is censored by the government during
times of political unrest .
Many people don’t have the internet, but this is improving.
Section 2: People and Their Environment
Sustainable Development
Technology and human development that does not deplete
natural resources.
This has been a major problem in some
nations.
There is difficulty balancing the
economic development of the country
and the environment.
Managing Rain Forests: The Amazon
Deforestation: The destruction of forests without replanting.
The indigenous human and animal inhabitants of the forest have
seen their homes and ways of life disappear.
More than 13 percent of the Amazon rain forest has been
destroyed.
There are many untapped medical resources in the forest that
may be lost due to deforestation.
Environmental Impact
Trees use Carbon Dioxide and produce
Oxygen. Deforestation could lead to an
increase in global warming due to higher
levels of Carbon Dioxide.
Deforestation also causes erosion and
loss of fertile soil.
Trees hold onto soil, without the root
systems the rain washes the soil away.
Farms and Ranches vs. Forests
Slash and Burn Agriculture
Slash and Burn is a method of clearing the
land for agriculture and grazing.
A section of forest is cut down and then
burned. The ash fertilizes the soil for
planting of crops or grasses.
The major problem with this is that rain forest soil is thin
because there is so much rain. This rain washes away minerals
from the soil, and the soil itself.
Because the soil washes away, it is difficult for new vegetation to
grow and so the forest dies.
Reforestation
A movement to replant depleted forests.
Urban Environments
Overcrowding
Workers migrating to cities cause overcrowding.
Shantytowns: These large numbers of people
spill into the areas outside of the cities creating
slums and shantytowns.
Air Pollution: Vehicles and factories cause
massive air pollution. Mexico city has the
worst air quality in the world. They had to
order older cars off and road and
discourage children from playing outside.
Dealing with Urbanization: The world
bank has donated money to provide
infrastructure for these poor areas. Many
cities are trying to increase affordable
housing.
Regional and International Issues
Border Disputes: Nations battle over strategic locations, and
access to natural resources.
Population Growth and Migration
Due to education and improved heath care, birth rates are
beginning to decrease. Many people have emigrated to other
nations, especially the United States.
This may cause a brain drain, as many intellectuals are leaving.
Disaster Preparedness: This region is
prone to many natural disasters
including volcanic eruptions,
earthquakes, mudslides, and hurricanes.
Many nations do not have the resources
to deal with these disasters.
International organizations such as the
Red Cross assist in times of need.
Industrial Pollution
Air and water pollution spill over national boundaries.
Increases in manufacturing have increased pollution, this
causes environmental and health problems.