WHY SHOULD WE STUDY LATIN AMERICA?

1. THEY ARE OUR NEIGHBORS AROUND 10% OF U.S. CITIZENS ARE OF LATIN AMERICAN HERITAGE. BY 2020, HISPANICS WILL COMPRISE THE LARGEST MINORITY IN THE U.S. U.S. HISTORY IS VERY CLOSELY LINKED WITH LATIN AMERICA U.S. CULTURE IS HEAVILY INFLUENCED BY LATIN AMERICAN MUSIC, DANCE, ART, FOOD, FASHION, & SPORT. WE SHARE MANY HEMISPHERIC PROBLEMS: DRUGS, IMMIGRATION, OVERPOPULATION, POVERTY, POLLUTION, RACE RELATIONS, & HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSES LATIN AMERICA IS ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT REGIONS FOR US TRADE & DEVELOPMENT IT HELPS TO ELIMINATE STEREOTYPES. WHY SHOULD WE STUDY LATIN AMERICA?

2. SSWGS7 LATIN AMERICA

3. PHYSICAL NOTES LATIN AMERICAINCLUDES: • MEXICO

4. 7 COUNTRIES IN CENTRAL AMERICA

5. THE ISLANDS OF THE CARIBBEAN

6. THE 12 COUNTRIES OF SOUTH AMERICA AND 1 DEPENDENCY – FRENCH GUIANA

7. MIDDLE AMERICA (MEXICO & CENTRAL AMERICA) • VERY MOUNTAINOUS • CLIMATE AFFECTED MOST BY ELEVATION • MEXICO CALLED “COUNTRY OF MOUNTAINS” • OVER 100 ACTIVE VOLCANOES ON PACIFIC COAST • CARIBBEAN COASTS = LOWLANDS

8. MEXICO • “COUNTRY OF MOUNTAINS” • 2 CHAINS • SIERRA MADRE OCCIDENTAL (WEST) • SIERRA MADRE ORIENTAL (EAST) • CENTRAL PLATEAU IN THE CENTER • MOST IMPORTANT REGION • MAJORITY OF POPULATION LIVES HERE (GOOD FARMLAND) • GEOLOGICALLY UNSTABLE (MANY EARTHQUAKES & VOLCANOES) • GOOD CLIMATE (LOTS OF RAINFALL IN THE SOUTH)

9. COASTAL REGIONS • North Pacific Coast: Dry, hot, thinly populated Good farmland due to irrigation from rivers (Colorado River, Sonora River, Yaqui River) • South Pacific Coast: Tourism (Acapulco, Mazatlan, Puerto Vallarta) • Gulf Coastal Plain: Deposits of Petroleum & Natural Gas • Yucatan Peninsula • Flat Land • Water passes through limestone & forms underground streams (this has carved out underground caverns)

10. CENTRAL AMERICA CONSISTS OF 7 COUNTRIES: • GUATEMALA • EL SALVADOR • COSTA RICA • PANAMA • NICARAGUA • BELIZE • HONDURAS

11. CARIBBEAN • CHAIN OF ISLANDS @ 2000 MILES LONG (ARCHIPELAGO) • LARGEST ISLANDS: • CUBA • HISPANIOLA (HAITI & DOMINICAN REP.) • PUERTO RICO • JAMAICA • 3 GROUPS OF ISLANDS • BAHAMAS • GREATER ANTILLES • LESSER ANTILLES • ISLANDS FORMED DIFFERENTLY • BAHAMAS – CAYS (KEEZ) LOW LYING CORAL ISLANDS • GREATER ANTILLES – TOPS OF UNDERWATER MOUNTAINS • LESSER ANTILLES – VOLCANIC ACTIVITY

12. SOUTH AMERICA • VERY SIMILAR TO NORTH AMERICA • WEST – HIGH, RUGGED MOUNTAINS (ANDES) • CENTRAL – PLAINS (AMAZON BASIN AND PAMPAS) • EAST –LOW, ROUNDED MOUNTAINS (BRAZILIAN HIGHLANDS)

13. CULTURE NOTES

14. POPULATION • MORE PEOPLE LIVE NEAR THE COASTS, RATHER THAN IN THE INTERIOR • THERE ARE TWICE AS MANY PEOPLE AS IN THE UNITED STATES • ½ OF THEM LIVE IN CITIES

15. HISTORY • LAND WAS CONQUERED BY THE SPANISH • MOST HAVE POLITICAL TURMOIL • THERE ARE MANY UNSTABLE GOVERNMENTS, MILITARY LEADERS, & REVOLUTIONS • THERE HAVE BEEN MANY coup d’etat • MOST COUNTRIES ARE STRIVING FOR DEMOCRCACY, EXCEPT FOR CUBA (FIDEL CASTRO STILL HOLDS ON TO COMMUNISM)

16. LANGUAGE, RELIGION, & ETC. • MOST COUNTRIES SPEAK SPANISH. OTHERS SPEAK ENGLISH (JAMAICA, GUYANA, & BELIZE), FRENCH (HAITI, & MARTINIQUE) AND PORTUGUESE (BRAZIL) • 82% ARE ROMAN CATHOLIC. OTHERS ARE PROTESTANT & SOME NON-CHRISTIANS • FAMILY IS THE KEY TO LATIN AMERICAN LIFE

17. ECONOMIC ACTIVITY • MOST COUNTRIES ARE STILL IN THE DEVELOPING STATE • MOST ECONOMIES ARE BASED UPON AGRICULTURE. CASH CROPS INCLUDE: COFFEE, BANANAS, SUGARCANE, COCOA (CACAO) • LATIFUNDIA – LARGE ESTATES OWNED BY FAMILIES OR CORPORATIONS • MINIFUNDIA – SMALLER FARMS THAT PRODUCE FOR THE FAMILY AND SELL IN THE MARKET • THE MOST INDUSTRIALIZED COUNTRIES ARE MEXICO (MOTOR VEHICLES, ELECTRIC GOODS) & BRAZIL (IRON, STEEL, AUTOMOBILES, TEXTILES, MACHINERY) • INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT IS SLOW BECAUSE OF LACK OF CAPITAL, SKILLED WORKERS & RAW MATERIALS

18. MEXICOANCIENT CULTURE OF MEXICO AZTECS • CAPITOL CITY OF TENOCHTITLAN – NOW MEXICO CITY • AT THE TIME, WAS ONE OF THE LARGEST CITIES IN THE WORLD • THE AZTECS WERE DESTROYED BY THE SPANISH CONQUISTADORS (1521)

19. SPANISH CULTURE OF MEXICO • 4 SOCIAL CLASSES: • PENINSULARES (SPANISH – BORN) (IBERIAN PENINSULA) • CRIOLLOS – PEOPLE OF SPANISH ANCESTRY BORN IN THE NEW WORLD • MESTIZOS – PART SPANISH, PART INDIAN • INDIAN • HACIENDAS – MEXICAN PLANTATIONS • CLASS STRUCTURE LASTED 300 YEARS • UNTIL 1821, MEXICO WAS A SPANISH COLONY • GAINED INDEPENDENCE IN 1821 • IN 1920 – BECAME A DEMOCRACY AFTER 10 YEARS OF CIVIL WAR

20. MEXICO TODAY • OFFICIAL LANGUAGE – SPANISH • MOST MEXICANS ARE ROMAN CATHOLIC • MAJORITY OF POPULATION LIVES IN URBAN AREAS • MEXICO CITY IS THE LARGEST CITY IN THE WORLD • FAMILY IS IMPORTANT TO THE MEXICAN PEOPLE • ECONOMICS – MOST IMPORTANT INDUSTRIES IN MEXICO ARE: • PETROLEUM – 4TH LARGEST PRODUCER IN THE WORLD • TOURISM – CALLED THE “SMOKELESS INDUSTRY”

21. CENTRAL AMERICA & THE CARIBBEAN • 4 MAIN ETHNIC GROUPS • INDIANS • EUROPEANS – 2ND LONGEST HISTORY • MESTIZOS • AFRICAN – AMERICANS • 6 OF THE 7 COUNTRIES SPEAK SPANISH – BELIZE SPEAKS ENGLISH • 2 ECONOMIC GROUPS • SMALL WEALTHY CLASS (EUROPEANS & MESTIZOS) • POOR CLASSES (INDIANS & AFRICAN – AMERICANS)

22. CARIBBEAN • ETHNICALLY, MOSTLY AFRICAN (DESCENDANTS OF SLAVES OF SUGAR PLANTATIONS) • ECONOMIC ACTIVITY – SUGAR CANE (RUM IS A BY-PRODUCT) & TOURISM

23. PUERTO RICO • COMMONWEALTH OF THE UNITED STATES • ELECTS ITS OWN GOVERNOR & LEGISLATIVE BODY • PEOPLE HAVE FULL U.S. CITIZENSHIP • DO NOT PAY FEDERAL INCOME TAX • CANNOT VOTE IN PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS (NO TAXATION WITHOUT REPRESENTATION) • CAN ENTER OR LEAVE ANY PART OF THE UNITED STATES AT WILL

24. THE EMPIRES OF LATIN AMERICA

25. AZTECS • LIVED IN MEXICO’S CENTRAL PLATEAU • FEARED & HATED BY OTHERS IN MEXICO • WARLIKE, DEFEATED MORE “SETTLED” PEOPLE & FORCED THEM TO PAY TAXES • BECAME SKILLED BUILDERS • BUILT CAPITOL CITY OF TENOCHTITLAN IN THE MIDDLE OF A LAKE BED • PYRAMIDS • WORSHIPPED MANY GODS • SUN GOD – THOUGHT IT WOULD WEAKEN AND DIE IF IT WAS NOT FED BLOOD & HUMAN HEARTS • ENGAGED IN WARFARE TO PROVIDE SACRIFICES

26. MAYA • LIVED MOSTLY IN CENTRAL AMERICA, YUCATAN PENINSULA • PRACTICED SLASH & BURN AGRICULTURE • MANY SCIENTIFIC & ARTISTIC ACHIEVEMENTS • CALENDAR • USE OF ZERO IN MATH (NOT KNOWN TO EUROPEANS) • DEVELOPED WRITTEN LANGUAGE • FOR REASONS UNKNOWN THEY BEGAN TO ABANDON MOST OF THEIR CITIES AROUND 800 – 900 A.D.

27. INCAS • INCAN EMPIRE LASTED APPROX. 100 YEARS • INCLUDED PARTS OF 5 PRESENT – DAY SOUTH AMERICANS COUNTRIES • ADVANCED METHODS OF AGRICULTURE: • IRRIGATION • FERTILIZERS • TERRACED FARMING • VERY RELIGIOUS • ENGINEERING BUILT STONE HIGHWAYS & SUSPENSION BRIDGES FOR TRANSPORTING GOODS • STRONG COMPLEX GOVERNMENT • FORCED POPULATION TO SAVE FOOD IN CASE OF FAMINE • TOOK CENSUS WITHOUT A WRITING SYSTEM • KEPT RECORDS BY TYING KNOTS IN A ROPE DEVICE CALLED A “GUIPU” (QUIPU)