Transcript Chapter 11

Central America
Central America
Middle America
Latin America
Different cultural region from US and
Canada
 2 sub regions of Latin America: Middle
America and South America
 Latin people speak languages that
descended from Latin

 Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, French
Middle America
Consists of nations and islands that lie
between the US and South America
 Called a Land Bridge btw North America
and South America

 Mexico
 Central America
 The West Indies
I. Mexico
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Largest Spanish speaking population
 Pop. Exceeds all other middle America
countries combined
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Second largest city in the world
Map of Mexico
Points of Interest
 Baja California
 Sea of Cortes/
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Gulf of California
Yucatan
Peninsula
Mountains: Sierra
Madre Oriental
and Sierra Madre
Occidental
Chihuahuan
Desert
Copper Canyon
Copper Canyon
Cities in N. Mexico
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Most people live in the South
A few Northern cities
 Tijuana and Juarez- large border towns
 Monterrey- ultra modern city, 150 miles south of
border
Northern Mexico
Hot and dry climate
 Desert and semiarid
grasslands dominate
 Irrigation allows some farming
to exist
 Cattle ranching is common
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 American cowboys patterned
their clothing, skills and gear
after Mexican Vaqueros
Mexico City
Largest city in North America
 Bad location: mountains trap
pollution, active earthquake
area, chain of volcanoes
along s. edge of the city
 Strong Roman Catholic
culture
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 Our Lady of the Guadalupe-
most visited Catholic landmark
besides the Vatican
Shrine of Our Lady of the
Guadalupe
Trade Relations
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NAFTA- North American Free Trade
Agreement
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Between US, Canada and Mexico
Signed in 1993
2nd largest free trade zone, behind EU
Controversial treaty for all 3 countries
CAFTA- Central American Free Trade
Agreement
 In process– signed by US and 6 Central
American countries
Aztecs
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Ingenious builders
City: Tenochtitlan
Temple to the Sun God
(Quetzalcoatl) where they
performed human sacrifices
Conquered in 1519 by Cortes and
neighboring tribes
Mayans
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Ancient Mayan Indians built massive cities
and pyramids in southern jungles of Mexico
Most famous because of written records
Had accurate calendars helped decipher their
hieroglyphics
About 2 million descendants still live in
Central America
Built Chichen Itza, most famous Mayan ruin
 Has more than 100 structures
 75 ft high pyramid
 Temple of the Warriors
Chichen Itza
II. Central America
Isthmus- narrow land bridge- connects
Mexico with South America
 7 small countries in this region– all 7
would fit in Texas
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 Guatemala
 Belize
 El Salvador
 Honduras
 Nicaragua
 Costa Rica
 Panama
>Lands of the Maya
CA Countries

Guatemala largest population and largest
city in CA: Guatemala City
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Belize settled by the British, member
of British commonwealth (like
Canada)
 smallest population in Central
America
 highest black population in CAdescendants of slaves brought
to work on plantations
 home of the Belize Barrier Reef
CA Countries

El Salvador famous for volcanoes (24+)
 San Salvador- large metropolitan
area, only touches Pacific Ocean
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Honduras most people are peasants and live
in one room bamboo homes called
ranchos
 90% mestizo (mixed Indian and
Spanish ancestry)
 “banana republic”: politically
unstable country, dependent on
limited agriculture
CA Countries
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Nicaragua Lake Nicaragua has world’s only
freshwater sharks
 largest country in CA,
 stifled economy due to political divisions,
fell to communism in 1979 and finally
became free in 1989
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Costa Rica- “rich coast”,
 highest per capita GDP in CA
 coffee and bananas- biggest exports
 Best education, sanitation, health care
and public services of any CA country
 95% of landowners are direct
descendants of early Spanish settlers—
still farming the same, efficient way
CA Countries
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Panama○ most developed of CA countries,
○ 2nd highest per capita GDP due
to Panama Canal and related
jobs,
○ “Crossroads of the World”,
○ US had control of the canal until
1999
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Panama Canal – (video)
III. West Indies
Columbus discovered islands in
1492, landing in the Bahamas first
and then Cuba and Hispaniolathought he was in India
 Between Florida and the N. coast
of South America are about 1000
islands
 Combined these make up the West
Indies
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 3 Groups
○ Bahamas
○ Greater Antilles
○ Lesser Antilles
The Bahamas
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Formed from coral rather than volcanic lava
No mountains, no good soil but high standard
of living
Spanish didn’t think they were important,
British founded a colony
Now independent member of British
Commonwealth
Fishing was the main industry in past, now
tourism thrives
Capital: Nassau on the island of New
Providence
Greater Antilles
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Made up of Cuba, Hispaniola,
Jamaica and Puerto Rico
Islands are the crest of an
underwater mountain range
Spanish settled these areas and
produced mainly sugar cane
Most people on Jamaica and
Hispaniola are descendants of
slaves brought to the plantations
The people of Cuba and Puerto Rico
are predominantly of Spanish
heritage
Cuba
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Slightly larger than Tennessee
Largest and most populous in West Indies
US still controls Guantanamo Bay- naval base
Fell to Fidel Castro in 1950, first communist government
in Western Hemisphere
Havana: capital city
Hispaniola
Haiti and the Dominican Republic
Two countries occupy the island of Hispaniola
 Haiti- western half, poorest country in Western
Hemisphere, voodoo beliefs create problems, speak
Creole
 Dominican Republic- eastern side, blend of customs
of Africa and Spain
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Jamaica
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Spanish colony for 150 yrs, then British
conquered
95% of pop. Today are descendants of slaves
brought in to work on sugar plantations
Religion: Roman Catholic, Protestant and
Rastafarian
Independent in 1962
Puerto Rico
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Commonwealth of the United States since 1951
U.S. citizens with most of the privileges of other
Americans (cannot vote in Presidential elections)
Some support for becoming the 51st state
Manufacturing is main source of income
Lesser Antilles
Form the Eastern boundary
of the Caribbean Sea
 Two outlying, independent
countries in the Lesser
Antilles:
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 Trinidad and Tobago
 Barbados
In the North
 Includes: Virgin Islands,
Anguilla,
 Independent countries: St. Kitts
and Nevis, Antigua, Barbuda
In the South
 Suffer from hurricanes
 Martinique, St. Lucia, Grenada
Haiti’s Earthquake
•80% of the population in Haiti is
living under the poverty line.
• Most Haitians live on less than
$2 a day.
• The quake struck on January 12,
2010 at 4:53 p.m.
• The 7.0 magnitude quake's
epicenter hit just 10 miles west of
Porte-au-Prince and its 2 million
inhabitants
Haiti’s Earthquake
Before
After