Defining Latin America

• Latin America : Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean, and South America

• Latin America uses language derived from Latin

• Culture region : same languages & Religion

• Mexico : northern most point of Latin America

• Physical features : mountains, plateaus, and planes

Mexico

• South of Mexican highest peaks are volcano

• Movement of 5 tectonic plates -> Volcanic activities & earthquakes

• Mexico City problem with location

  - Mountains surrounding city trap pollutants

  - Drained lakebed ground with too soil sends earthquake vibration much stronger

Central America

• Central America feature : consist of most hills & mountains covered by forests

• Lowlands : Rain forest

• Higher region : deciduous trees cloak slopes

• Two tectonic plates crash Central America's Pacific coast each other -> Earthquake & landslides/mudslides in America

The Caribbean Islands

• East of Central America : volcanic mountains rising from ocean floor

• Other island : began as coral reefs, usually encircles volcanic island and grows over it

South America

• Equator runs through Ecuador & Colombia & Brazil

• Isthmus of Panama links South America to North America

• Andes mountain range : longest mountain range

• Mount Aconcagua : Highest peak in Western Hemisphere

• Pampas : Plains in southern South America

• Orinoco : river

• South America's largest rivers: Andes -> central plains -> Atlantic Ocean

The Amazon at Risk

• tributary : river or stream that flows into larger body of water

• People explored Andes to know source of Amazon River

• passes Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Bolivia, Venezuela, Brazil

• deforestation : process of cutting and clearing away trees from forest

• Amazon deforestation

  - providing timber & cleared land for cattle ranches

  - increases carbon dioxide in air

  - native animal need to move or die

  - native american lose land to live

Climate

• Tropical zone

  - rainy or dry

  - typically hot

  - temperature is higher in any elevation than elsewhere

• Large portion of Latin lies on tropical zone

• Waters in Caribbean sea is warm -> heat air -> warm wind blows -> climate is warm during winter

El Nino

• trade wind : wind which is caused by high air pressure in south Pacific

• trade wind -> deliver sun-warmed surface water

• El Nino : appearance of this warm water off the coast of south America

• El Nino causes heavy rain in eastern Pacific

• In western Pacific, less rain, it affects to also vegetation

Lesson 2 Ancient Latin America

The Maya

• In Latin America, some ancient civilizations flourished far from river

• Maya established one of Latin America's mos important civilizations

Maya Achievements

• Maya tech : studied math and astronomy -> first civilization which understand zero & has calendar

• hieroglyphs : symbols, glyphs

• glyphs are not deciphered yet

• Maya Farming : used slash-and-burn method & built ridges

• slash-and-burn : buring trees -> planting -> became forest -> ground get nutrient -> burn again

• Maya city was abandoned and Maya people spread out

The Aztec

• Capital of the Aztec Empire : Tenochtitlan

• Aztec composed of tribes of wandering warriors, Mexica were dominant

• Aztec was warrior society

• Importance of military service

  - to maintain powerful empire

  - religious

• Huitzilopochtli : belif that anyone who died in battle is honor of dying

• chinampas : floating gardens

• grew many crops and raised some animal

The Inca

• Inca conquer people of surrounding areas, Andes

• Inca farming

  - built irrigation canals to water crops

  - built stone terraces to farm on steep mountainsides (preventing erosion of soil)

  - built irrigation canals to water crops

• major technological feat of Inca, stone roads

• runners passed messages in team by stone roads

Inca Stonework

• Inca known for stonework

• erected many massive buildings with stone, ex) Machu Picchu

• terraces

The Spanish in Latin America

• Hernan Cortes, Spanish soldier

• Montezuma II

• Spain claimed Aztec & Inca for Spain

• Spain enslave native people to mining silver

• Spain worked hard to convert Native Americans to Christianity

• European exposed diseases, smallpox, to Native Americans

• Latin America and Spain exchanged culture

• Columbian Exchange : exchange of goods and ideas between European countries and their colonies in North and South America

• Spanish began to grow corn, peppers, tomatoes

The Founding of New Spain

• Hernan Cortes : leader of Spanish army, first people who land on shore of Mexico with 500 soldiers

• He claimed the new land but it was ruled by Aztec Empire, emperor Montezuma II

• Native American helped Spanish because they want to be free

A Clash of Cultures

• Montezuma II welcomed Corte

• Corte put Montezuma II in prison and took control of Aztec

• Other leader drove Spain, but during this fight Montezuma II was killed -> Spain retook control

• Native American allies' help and Spanish higher level weapon led them to win

New Spain

• Spain took control of Aztec

• Named New Spain

• Spain brought religion, language, skills

• Sent priests spread Christianity (some allow it willingly but some other was forced to be)

Changes in Mexico

• Native American had to accept many new things, but also some old things were not lost entirely.

1. Peninsulares : ruling class, born in Spain

2. Criollos(Creoles) : people who were born in Mexco but whose parents were born in Spain

3. Mestizo : person who is of Spanish and Native American ancestry

4. Natives : lowest class

5. Blacks (African slave) : not a class

• Encomienda | King/Queen - nobles - labors - Knights -> natives

The War of Independence

/ (before Mexico revolution) "Mexico" = "New Spain"

• European and American political writer, Mexican religious and political leaders in early 1800s said Mexico should be free to choose their government

• demand for Mexican independence grew stronger after 1808(France conquered Spain

• Father Miguel Hidalgo -cries of Dolores

  • Dolores : Call to change (reform)

• New leader took Hidalgo's place, wealthy Spanish nobles and many criollos joined fight for independence for 11 years

• 1821, Mexico became independent but peninsulares and criollos still rule country

• Natives and mestizos benefited little from independence

War with the United States

• Mexico was bigger with what is now Southern US

• Spanish explorers claimed this region in 15 ~1600s

• priests built mission there in 1600s

• Most of the land was desert -> traveled slow, hard communication

• Mexican was at war with Natives such as Apache and Comanche tribes

• Many settlers came to Texas

Texas Independence

• Texas break away from Mexico and rose revolt

• Texas won independence and set up Republic of Texas in 1836

• Texas want to be part of US and they agree 1845

• US and Mexico fight for the boundary between Texas and Mexico

• US forces won control of northern Mexico; it was made official when Mexico was forced to sign Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo

• Gadsden Purchase gave US more Mexico's northern land but didn't fight

Lesson 2 Government in Mexico

A Struggle for Power

• Mexico has been a lot of wars for independence and boundary, and another struggle was going on Mexico for power

• After independence, army leader often took over Mexican government & Mexicans fought with Spanish landowners & people enjoyed great wealth

Benito Juarez Brings Reform

• Mexicans were eager for reform

• Benito Juarez

  • president of Mexico

  • hero to his people

  • became minister of justice, 1855

  • became chief justice of the Supreme Court

  • gained presidency, 1858

• new constitution

  • promise freedom of speech & equality, ended slavery, forced labor

  • not promise freedom of religion

• kick out army out from government

Response to Reform

• church leaders, army leaders, wealthy landowner raged

• War of Reform left Mexico weak because of death debt

• country was easy target for other foreign takeover

• Maximilian emperor, European noble man

The Mexican Revolution

• division of rich & poor was huge

• Mexican decided to fight for reform ( landowner and landless people) and turned bloodly

• Francisco Madero, first revolutionary leaders was wealthy rancher, president in 1911

• landonwership

The Problem of Land

• haciendas : big farm or ranch, often as large as 40000 or 50000 acres

• poor farmer wanted land

• law passed 1883 allowed some of wealthiest ranch owner to easily take away land from village farmer

• Emiliano Zapata : legendary fighter for farmers' right

• he prepared for fight

A Continuing Revolution

• many people died during the fight between armies

• new government managed to make peace, 1920s

• revolution doesn't stop

• constitution for distribution land was written

• ejidos : community farm owned by all the villagers toghter

• Institutional Revolutionary Party

Mexico's Government Today

• Vicente Fox became Mexico's new president (first person in more than 70 years who are not belonging to PRI

• Estados Unidos Mexicanos : United Mexican States (31 states), Mexico

• Mexico has democracy & republic, 3 branches, federal system

Central America and the Caribbean

• Central America includes 7 nations

• Neighbors, islands of Caribbean, which known as West Indies, include 13 nations & 11dependencies

• Dependency : place that is governed by or closely connected with another country

Peoples of the Caribbean

• From European reached West Indies, they forced Native Americans to work on plantation or in mines.

• Harsh labors & battles between European and American & diseases unknown to America killed many Native American.

• Spanish bringing enslaved American to West Indies, other European joined.

• As result, many people in Caribbean today are Mulattos

• Mulattos : people who have African and European ancestry

Central American People

• In Central America, Native American withdrew to the inland mountains and thus survived from the war with Spanish.

• Slave ships also arrived to Central America bringing African.

• African migrated there, and Spanish, Native American, and African intermarried

• Two-thirds of Central America's population is ladinos

• Ladinos : people with mixed European and Native American ancestry

From Colonies to Independence

• 1500s ~ 1800s, European ruled Central America & West Indies as colonies

• Differences

  dependencies - free to break off is connection

  colonies - either win its independence or be granted it

• European nations set up many colonies and find gold and get sugar (people working for sugar was enslaved)

• by 1800s, people of Central America & West Indies began to demand independence. St. Domingue is first independent nation

• other nations declared independence were united, but since 1839, they separated

Relations with the United States

• United States is neighbor of Central America & West Indies

• First France, then United States were eager to build canal across Isthmus of Panama to connect two oceans.

• Panama did revolt to Colombia, and established country 1903. They agree to lease land to US to build canal.

• 1914, the canal opened, and it became most important transportation routes in the world.

The Spanish-American War

• US declared war to Spain to help Cuba & Puerto Rico to get freedom and to protect their sugar plantation on island

• End of war, Spain lost last colonies.

Dictatorships and Democracy

• Independence did not necessarily bring freedom. Only Costa Rica has been democracy since beginning of 20th century

• Nearly all other countries have spend many years under dictator

• Dictator : person who has compete control over country's government

• Dictators often used violence to grab and keep power.

• Most countries in Central America and West Indies now have democratically elected government and remove dictators.

Lesson 2 Economies and Cultures

The Economies

• In Caribbean, economies have depends on growing one or two crops to export other countries.

• Islanders have also worked to create new businesses.

Caribbean Sugar Cane

• Most of colonial period, Caribbean Islands focused on on industry, growing sugar cane.

• Majority of these workers were enslaved

• Even end of slavery workers had no lands. Instead, sugar cane, they produced were their wealthy.

• During colonial period, most of islands traded only with their ruling country after independence they mostly trade with US.

• Sugar was valuable so plantation owner raised few other crops

• single-product economy : country that depends on just one product for almost all its jobs and income

• This economy might be unstable

New Crops and Industries

• Diversify : invest in a variety of industries

• Islanders diversify like growing other crops, such as pineapples & bananas, industries, such as textiles, medical supplies, & electronic equipment

• tourism is one of most important industries in Caribbean Islands because of their warm weather and beautiful beaches.

Central America

• After Central American countries became independent, they trade with other nations. develop exports. began to produce coffee.

• in late 1800s, major new export business got started in Central America. United Fruit Company set up huge banana plantation.

Central America Diversifies

• Bananas became important product in Central America under UFCO. When price of banana fell in market, they faced hardship. they wanted to diversify economies.

• They have worked to build more factories and produce more goods. They also developed tourism as industry

Caribbean and Central American Cultures

• Native American, African, and European influences blend differently from place to place

• In Caribbean, people speak variety languages and play musics which shows blending of culture.

A Blend of Cultures

• Central American countries share common history and culture. They speak Spanish and other 80 languages.

• religion is combined

• There are variety numbers of religion

• Many Central American towns are known for their crafts. Many of styles and methods are originated with ancient Native Americans.