LATIN AMERICA

Geographic Features

Mountains Sierra Madre East & West, Andes Mountains part of Ring of Fire, causing

frequent earthquakes and volcanoes. Lowlands

Found along the coast, largest is the Great Amazon Basin, 40% of South America, and largest rainforest.

Mountains along with tropical forests in lowlands created barriers for movement of people. Limited contact among areas and people.

Regionalism – Strong local traditions that divide people within a country or region.

Rivers – Amazon, Orinoco, Rio de la Plata (River of Silver), Rio Grande

Climate and Resources

Climate 3/4th lies in tropics

Mostly hot and dry In Amazon & Caribbean warm and wet.

Dry climates in northern Mexico, parts of Argentina, and Chile

Deserts border semi-arid areas.Resources Gold and silver lured Europeans

Also have copper, tin, bauxite Some have oil and natural gas

Mexico, Venezuela, Bolivia, Ecuador, Colombia, Peru Cash crops like bananas, sugar, coffee, tobacco, rubber,

lumber Reliance on single crop or good leads to economic

dependence in many countries

Peeps

People Native Americans, Asians, Europeans, Africans. Mestizos – People of mixed European and

Native American ancestry Concentrated in temperate highland areas and

coastal plains.Issues/Problems with Geography 6% of land arable

Irrigation has helped in some areas. Soil in rain forest areas is not very fertile, can

only use for a few years Leaching and erosion damages land Landforms and climate limited contact between

people creating differences in culture

Mayans Time Period

300-900 A.D. Abandoned cities, do not know reason for decline

• Soil exhaustion, water loss & erosion, earthquakes, hurricanes, disease, invasions all possible scenarios

Government City-States, no unified empire Kings ruled city-states, nobles and priests helped govern Society

Priests performed rituals to please godsArtisans & merchants supplied ruling class with clothes & gold

Advanced metallurgy Agriculture base of economy (primarily maize—then cotton, beans, squash and cacao)Peasants grew food and built templesSlaves were captured soldiers or criminalsAchievements

365 ¼ day calendarSophisticated writing system—recorded history; inscribed on building and books from tree bark found in tombsComplex math, concept of zeroArchitecture skills, pyramids

AztecsTime Period 1200-1520 A.D.

Government 1 ruler from Tenochtitlan (capital) Very warlike—goal not to destroy but to capture and expand empire productively (although

temples were burned to ensure loyalty) War also used to capture victims for ceremonials use (sacrificed on huge alters in front of

large crowds—heart cut out, symbolically offered to the gods, and the body rolled down the stairs)

Fall revolved around internal and external pressures (internal revolts in conjunction with Hernando Cortes arrival who exploited his looks and the internal products)—small pox did not help either

Society Worshipped many gods, priest guarded temples, performed rituals, and recorded advancements.

Religion tied to calendar—deities represented in the Day-count and Solar year (day count had 20 days based on signs and 13 numbers); it was an endless cycle that constantly repeated itself providing a 260 day year; the Solar year provided guidelines for planting and harvesting times

Boys & girls educated, women could remarry and own property.

Achievements Gum, popcorn, chocolate Education for all Canoes, wheel, math

Medicine

IncasTime Period

1200-1533

Conquered by Spain and Pizarro, who killed Emperor, took gold, destroyed temples

Government

Capital Cuzco.

Emperor owned all land, mines, wealth; taxes collected on crops

Emperor ruled with aid from priests and nobles

Cities built in mountains and architecture built into the cliffs—stone houses and temples had block weighing several tons and fit together so tightly that a razor blade cannot fit through Machu Picchu

Violent punishment system If someone stole, murdered or had sex with a Sapa (holy man) wife or a Sun Virgin, they were

thrown off a cliff, hands cut off or eyes cut out or hung up to starve to death

Irrigation (canals and drainage systems)—grew potatoes, tomatoes, cotton, peanuts and cocoa

Society

Warrior society & hierarchical—evidence of social classes

Worshipped many gods, main one sun god (royal family thought to be descended from sun god)

Animal spirits lived on earth Heaven depicted by the condor, the underworld by the anaconda, and the brother who was on earth

was the puma

Winter and summer solstices mark important dates in the religious calendar

Skilled farmers. Officials told people were to live and what jobs to do.

Achievements

Fertilizer, terraced mountains to grow food, road system, 12 month calendar, instruments, system of measurement, evidence of brain surgery

Fall of Empires

Peak for Inca and Aztec empires was 1500 Spanish conquistadors came and hunted gold

kingdoms Cortés conquered Aztecs by winning allies

among conquered people, smallpox killing many people, fear of their weapons and horses, and Emperor Montezuma's belief that Cortés was god-king Quetzalcoatl

Pizarro conquered Incas by taking gold and killing Emperor

Destroyed much of the material wealth, melted down gold and silver, smashed temples and sculptures, and burned books

Rebellions frequent People who survived preserved their heritage

European Rule

By the mid-1500s Spain and Portugal ruled over vast amounts of land in Latin America

Treaty of Tordesillas – Drew a line North to South Everything west would be Spanish Everything east would be Portuguese

Spain had 2 kingdoms ruled by an official called a viceroyNew Spain – Based in MexicoPeru – South America

Economy

Treasure from Americas like gold and silver were shipped back to Europe

Spanish and Portuguese colonists set up large plantations set up to grow a cash crop Grew sugar, coffee, bananas Also turned some land into cattle or sheep

ranches for meat, leather, and woolTo work these plantations, turned to slave

labor of Africans Many of the native population had died due to disease and harsh treatment

Class System

Peninsulares – Officials from Spain that controlled economic and political life

Creoles – American-born descendants of Spanish settlers, educated and wealthy

Mestizos – Mixed Indian and European descent Mulattos – Mixed African and European decent Native Americans – Worked as farmhands or

lived in own villages, most became Christian (or faked it)

Free Blacks – Slaves allowed to buy their freedom, were farm workers and laborers

Slaves – Considered property; but could marry, own property and buy their freedom

Winning Independence

By late 1700s, many groups demanded freedom from Spanish rule

Creoles often led this struggle, felt they deserved to rule Mestizos also felt they could move up in

society Influenced by events such as American

and French revolutions

Revolution in Haiti

First revolt was French-ruled Haiti, leading producer of sugar

1791 – Slaves rebelled, burning sugar cane and killing slave owners 13 years of civil war followed

L’Ouverture was a self-educated former slave who led the rebels and drove out foreigners by 1800

In 1802, Napoleon sent a French army to Haiti to recapture the island Capture and imprisoned L’Ouverture

By 1804, French soldiers fled after many died of yellow fever Haiti declares independence, 1st nation in Latin

America