Transcript Geog2150/Ch4_Middle America

MIDDLE AMERICA
(CHAPTER 4)
INTRODUCTION TO
MIDDLE AMERICA
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DEFINING THE REALM
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MEXICO, CENTRAL AMERICA, CARIBBEAN
ISLANDS
MAJOR GEOGRAPHIC QUALITIES
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FRAGMENTED - PHYSICALLY AND POLITICALLY
DIVERSE CULTURALLY – AFRICAN (CARIBBEAN),
NATIVE AMERICAN & SPANISH (MEXICO &
CENTRAL AMERICA)
POVERTY IS ENDEMIC (LEAST DEV. IN THE
AMERICAS
REGIONS OF MIDDLE AMERICA
MEXICO
GREATER ANTILLES
LESSER ANTILLES
CENTRAL AMERICA
CENTRAL AMERICA
THE SEVEN REPUBLICS
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Guatemala
Belize
Honduras
El Salvador
Nicaragua
Costa Rica
Panama
THE CARIBBEAN BASIN
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The Greater Antilles
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Cuba
Hispaniola – Haiti &
Dominican Rep.
Jamaica
Puerto Rico
The Lesser Antilles
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The smaller Islands, e.g.
Bahamas, etc.
THE
CARIBBEAN
BASIN
MIDDLE AMERICA
PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY
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LAND BRIDGE
ARCHIPELAGO (“ISLAND CHAIN”)
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GREATER AND LESSER ANTILLES (ABOUT 7,000
ISLANDS)
NATURAL HAZARDS
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EARTHQUAKES
VOLCANOES
HURRICANES
MOST DANGEROUS REALM OF ALL!
I wonder
why?
WORLD TECTONIC PLATES
DISTRIBUTION OF
EARTHQUAKES & VOLCANOES
WORLD HURRICANE TRACKS
Pg 211, see caption
CULTURE HEARTH
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SOURCE AREAS FROM WHICH
RADIATED IDEAS, INNOVATIONS, AND
IDEOLOGIES THAT CHANGED THE
WORLD BEYOND.
STARTED IN WHAT IS NOW MEXICO
AZTEC
MAYA
MESOAMERICA (“MIDDLE”)
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CULTURE HEARTHS
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MAYA CIVILIZATION
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3000 BC
CLASSIC PERIOD 200-900 AD
HONDURAS, GUATEMALA, BELIZE, YUCATAN
PENINSULA
THEOCRATIC STRUCTURE
AZTEC CIVILIZATION
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1300 AD
VALLEY OF MEXICO
TENOCHTITLAN (>100,000 PEOPLE)
THE LEGACY OF COLONIALISM
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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 ALIENATION INDUCES:
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FAMINE
POVERTY
MIGRATION
LITTLE AGRICULTURAL DIVERSITY
COLONIAL SPHERES
MAINLAND / RIMLAND
FRAMEWORK
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MAINLAND
 EURO-INDIAN INFLUENCE
 GREATER ISOLATION
 HACIENDA PREVAILED
RIMLAND
 EURO-AFRICAN INFLUENCE
 HIGH ACCESSIBILITY (surrounded by
oceans)
 PLANTATION ECONOMY
MAINLAND – RIMLAND DISTINCTION
MAINLAND vs RIMLAND
MAINLAND
RIMLAND
LOCATION
GREATER ISOLATION
GREATER
ACCESSIBILITY
CLIMATE
ALTITUDINAL
ZONATION
TROPICAL
PHYSIOGRAPHY
MOUNTAINS
ISLANDS
CULTURE
EURO / INDIAN
EURO / AFRICAN
RACE
MESTIZO
MULATTO
LANDHOLDING
PATTERNS
HACIENDAS
PLANTATION
CULTIVATION
LESS INTENSIVE
MORE INTENSIVE,
HENCE SLAVES
ALTITUDINAL ZONATION
Middle & South America’s Vertical Climate Zones
HACIENDA vs PLANTATION
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HACIENDA
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SPANISH INSTITUTION
NOT EFFICIENT BUT BROUGHT
SOCIAL PRESTIGE
WORKERS LIVED ON THE LAND
PLANTATION
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NORTHERN EUROPEAN ORIGINS
EXPORT ORIENTED MONOCROPS
IMPORTED CAPITAL AND SKILLS
SEASONAL LABOR
EFFICIENCY IS KEY
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
MAQUILADORAS
Tijuana
Nogales
Ciudad
Juarez
Chihuahua
Monterrey
Reynosa
Matamoros
MAQUILADORAS
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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
GDP PER CAPITA ALONG THE US-MEXICAN BORDER
MAQUILADORAS
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Initiated in the 1960s
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Assembly plants that pioneered the migration of
industries in the 1970s
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Today
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>4,000 maquiladoras
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>1.2 million employees
MAQUILADORAS
 Maquiladora
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products
Electronic equipment
Electric appliances
Auto parts
Clothing
Furniture
MAQUILADORAS
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Advantages
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Mexico gains jobs.
Foreign owners benefit from cheaper labor costs.
Disadvantages – U.S. Jobs
Effects
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Regional development
Development of an international growth corridor
between Monterrey and Dallas - Fort Worth
NAFTA
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Effective 1 January 1994
Established a trade agreement between
Mexico, Canada and the US, which:
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Reduced and regulated trade tariffs (taxes),
barriers, and quotas between members
Standardized finance & service exchanges
NAFTA
How has Mexico
benefited from NAFTA?
MEXICO AND NAFTA
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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.
U.S. TRADE WITH CANADA &
MEXICO
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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.
ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERNS
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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?
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
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Costa Rica, pg 231.
TOURISM:
A MIXED BLESSING?
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Advantages
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Presents state and regional economic options
A clean industry
Disadvantages
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Disjunctive development
Degrades fragile environmental resources
Inauthentic representations of native cultures