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MIDDLE AMERICA (CHAPTER 4)

MIDDLE AMERICA (CHAPTER 4). INTRODUCTION TO MIDDLE AMERICA. DEFINING THE REALM MEXICO, CENTRAL AMERICA, CARIBBEAN ISLANDS MAJOR GEOGRAPHIC QUALITIES FRAGMENTED - PHYSICALLY AND POLITICALLY DIVERSE CULTURALLY – AFRICAN (CARIBBEAN), NATIVE AMERICAN & SPANISH (MEXICO & CENTRAL AMERICA)

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MIDDLE AMERICA (CHAPTER 4)

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  1. MIDDLE AMERICA (CHAPTER 4)

  2. INTRODUCTION TO MIDDLE AMERICA • DEFINING THE REALM • MEXICO, CENTRAL AMERICA, CARIBBEAN ISLANDS MAJOR GEOGRAPHIC QUALITIES • FRAGMENTED - PHYSICALLY AND POLITICALLY • DIVERSE CULTURALLY – AFRICAN (CARIBBEAN), NATIVE AMERICAN & SPANISH (MEXICO & CENTRAL AMERICA) • POVERTY IS ENDEMIC (LEAST DEV. IN THE AMERICAS

  3. REGIONS OF MIDDLE AMERICA MEXICO GREATER ANTILLES LESSER ANTILLES CENTRAL AMERICA

  4. CENTRAL AMERICA

  5. THE SEVEN REPUBLICS • Guatemala • Belize • Honduras • El Salvador • Nicaragua • Costa Rica • Panama

  6. THE CARIBBEAN BASIN • The Greater Antilles • Cuba • Hispaniola – Haiti & Dominican Rep. • Jamaica • Puerto Rico • The Lesser Antilles • The smaller Islands, e.g. Bahamas, etc.

  7. THE CARIBBEAN BASIN

  8. MIDDLE AMERICA

  9. PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY • LAND BRIDGE • ARCHIPELAGO (“ISLAND CHAIN”) • GREATER AND LESSER ANTILLES (ABOUT 7,000 ISLANDS) • NATURAL HAZARDS • EARTHQUAKES • VOLCANOES • HURRICANES • MOST DANGEROUS REALM OF ALL! I wonder why?

  10. WORLD TECTONIC PLATES

  11. DISTRIBUTION OF EARTHQUAKES & VOLCANOES

  12. WORLD HURRICANE TRACKS

  13. Pg 211, see caption

  14. CULTURE HEARTH • SOURCE AREAS FROM WHICH RADIATED IDEAS, INNOVATIONS, AND IDEOLOGIES THAT CHANGED THE WORLD BEYOND. • STARTED IN WHAT IS NOW MEXICO AZTEC MAYA

  15. MESOAMERICA (“MIDDLE”) • CULTURE HEARTHS • MAYA CIVILIZATION • 3000 BC • CLASSIC PERIOD 200-900 AD • HONDURAS, GUATEMALA, BELIZE, YUCATAN PENINSULA • THEOCRATIC STRUCTURE • AZTEC CIVILIZATION • 1300 AD • VALLEY OF MEXICO • TENOCHTITLAN (>100,000 PEOPLE)

  16. THE LEGACY OF COLONIALISM • LAND WAS APPROPRIATED - COLONIAL COMMERCIAL INTERESTS (MAP, PG 214) • LANDS PREVIOUSLY DEVOTED TO FOOD CROPS FOR LOCAL CONSUMPTION WERE CONVERTED TO CASH CROPPING FOR EXPORT • LAND ALIENATIONINDUCES: • FAMINE • POVERTY • MIGRATION • LITTLE AGRICULTURAL DIVERSITY

  17. COLONIAL SPHERES

  18. MAINLAND / RIMLAND FRAMEWORK • MAINLAND • EURO-INDIAN INFLUENCE • GREATER ISOLATION • HACIENDA PREVAILED • RIMLAND • EURO-AFRICAN INFLUENCE • HIGH ACCESSIBILITY (surrounded by oceans) • PLANTATION ECONOMY

  19. MAINLAND – RIMLAND DISTINCTION

  20. MAINLAND vs RIMLAND MAINLAND RIMLAND LOCATION GREATER ISOLATION GREATER ACCESSIBILITY CLIMATE ALTITUDINAL TROPICAL ZONATION PHYSIOGRAPHYMOUNTAINS ISLANDS CULTURE EURO / INDIAN EURO /AFRICAN RACEMESTIZOMULATTO LANDHOLDING HACIENDAS PLANTATION PATTERNS CULTIVATION LESS INTENSIVE MORE INTENSIVE, HENCE SLAVES

  21. ALTITUDINAL ZONATION Middle & South America’s Vertical Climate Zones

  22. HACIENDA vs PLANTATION • HACIENDA • SPANISH INSTITUTION • NOT EFFICIENT BUT BROUGHT SOCIAL PRESTIGE • WORKERS LIVED ON THE LAND • PLANTATION • NORTHERN EUROPEAN ORIGINS • EXPORT ORIENTED MONOCROPS • IMPORTED CAPITAL AND SKILLS • SEASONAL LABOR • EFFICIENCY IS KEY

  23. AGRICULTURAL INSTITUTIONS PLANTATION HACIENDA • PRODUCTION FOR EXPORT • SINGLE CASH CROP • SEASONAL EMPLOYMENT • PROFIT MOTIVE $$$ • MARKET VULNERABILITY • DOMESTIC MARKET • DIVERSIFIED CROPS • YEAR ROUND JOBS • SMALL PLOT OF LAND • SELF-SUFFICIENT EJIDO • SMALL SURPLUSES • LAND “OWNERSHIP” • COMMUNAL VILLAGE • COLLECTIVE

  24. MAQUILADORAS Tijuana Ciudad Juarez Nogales Chihuahua Reynosa Matamoros Monterrey

  25. MAQUILADORAS • Modern industrial plants • Assemble imported, duty-free components/raw materials • Export the finished products • Mostly foreign-owned (U.S., Japan) • 80% of goods reexported to U.S. • Tariffs limited to value added during assembly

  26. GDP PER CAPITA ALONG THE US-MEXICAN BORDER

  27. MAQUILADORAS • Initiated in the 1960s • Assembly plants that pioneered the migration of industries in the 1970s • Today • >4,000 maquiladoras • >1.2 million employees

  28. MAQUILADORAS • Maquiladora products • Electronic equipment • Electric appliances • Auto parts • Clothing • Furniture

  29. MAQUILADORAS • Advantages • Mexico gains jobs. • Foreign owners benefit from cheaper labor costs. • Disadvantages – U.S. Jobs • Effects • Regional development • Development of an international growth corridor between Monterrey and Dallas - Fort Worth

  30. NAFTA • Effective 1 January 1994 • Established a trade agreement between Mexico, Canada and the US, which: • Reduced and regulated trade tariffs (taxes), barriers, and quotas between members • Standardized finance & service exchanges

  31. NAFTA How has Mexico benefited from NAFTA?

  32. MEXICO AND NAFTA • Foremost, it promises a higher standard of living. • NAFTA creates more jobs for Mexicans as US companies begin to invest more heavily in the Mexican market. • Mexican exporters increase their sales to the US and Canada. • Downside – cheap U.S. corn now floods Mexico, leading to bankruptcies among local farmers.

  33. U.S. TRADE WITH CANADA & MEXICO • Canada remains as the United States’ largest export market. • Since 1977, Mexico has moved into second place (displacing Japan). • 85% of all Mexican exports now go to the United States. • 75% of Mexico’s imports originate in the United States.

  34. ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERNS • Tropical Deforestation • 3 million acres of woodland in Central America disappear each year! (we’ll talk about Brazil in South America later) What are the causes of tropical deforestation?

  35. CAUSES OF TROPICAL DEFORESTATION • Clearing of rural lands to accommodate meat production and export • Population explosion: forests are cut to provide crop-raising space and firewood • Rapid logging of tropical woodlands to meet global demands for new housing, paper, and furniture

  36. Costa Rica, pg 231.

  37. TOURISM: A MIXED BLESSING? • Advantages • Presents state and regional economic options • A clean industry • Disadvantages • Disjunctive development • Degrades fragile environmental resources • Inauthentic representations of native cultures

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