Latin America Geography, History, and Culture. The Physical Geography of Mexico and Central America ...
-
Upload
dorcas-lester -
Category
Documents
-
view
230 -
download
3
Transcript of Latin America Geography, History, and Culture. The Physical Geography of Mexico and Central America ...
The Physical Geography of Mexico and Central America
Stretches 2,500 miles from the US border to South America
Mountains dominate Mexico’s Central
PlainBetween MountainsMakes up ½ of the
countryMost people live here
Isthmus of Central AmericaConnects Pacific
Ocean and Caribbean Sea
Coastal Plains NarrowVolcanic – provides
good soil for farming
Sierra Madre Occidental,
Durango, Mexico
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:DSCK0456.JPG
Copper Canyon (Mexico)
http://ww
w.geo-im
ages.com/copper/divis/div2vw
.jpg
http://en.wikipedia.org/w
iki/Image:42-16719625.jpg
A comercial ship run through the Pedro Miguel Locks in the Pacific side.
The Physical Geography of the Caribbean
• Made up of two types of Islands – Skeleton and underwater Mountains
• Underwater Mountains– People make a living from
farming because soil is so good
• Skeleton Islands– Smaller– Coral – made up of skeletons
of dead sea animals
Cat Island, Bahamas
The Physical Geography of South America
Many Types of LandformsAndes Mountains
Run 1500 Miles along Western CoastRich soil for farmingVery steep
Rolling Highlands – East Amazon River Basin
Home to the World’s largest rain forest = 1/3 of the continent
Pampas – SouthLarge plain that stretches through Argentina and
Paraguay
Andes Mountains between Chile and Argentina
http
://e
n.w
ikip
edia
.org
/wik
i/Im
age:
And
es_C
hile
_Arg
enti
na.jp
g
The Rivers of South America Some of the
longest and largest in the world
Used for transportation when roads are not available
Provide fish and hydroelectric power
Mouth of the Amazon River
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Amazon-river-delta-NASA.jpg
The Rivers of South America - 2
Amazon World’s 2nd Largest – 7,000 milesCarries 20 % of the world’s river waterHas 1,000 tributariesDrains an area of more than 2 million sq miles
Rio de la PlataFormed by the Parana, Paraguay, and Uruguay
riversSeparates Argentina and Paraguay
Climate
• Tropical Wet– Hot humid, rainy weather all year round– Rainforest will be in this area
• Tropical Wet and Dry – Hot, rainy, but not all year– Parts of Mexico, Brazil, and most of the Caribbean
• Humid Subtropical– Similar to Southern US– Crops grow well here
• Patagonia – Arid and cold– Sheep raised here
Natural Resources
• Mexico– tons of minerals – silver, gold,
copper, coal, iron ore– Large amounts of oil and
natural gas– Trees for lumber and paper
products
• Central America– Good climate and soil for
farming– Coffee, cotton, sugarcane,
bananas, and cacao trees– Fish and shellfish– Hydroelectric power
• South America – Oil found, esp. Venezuela– Plants and fish– Forests cover about ½ of
the continent– Rich soil – coffee and
other crops flourish
• Caribbean– Rich soil and good climate
for farming– Sugarcane, bananas,
coffee, cacao, and citrus fruits
Natural Resources and the Economy
• Not all countries have a natural resource
• Some countries don’t have the money to develop their resources
• Weather can cause problems as it can affect the supply
• Prices of resources can go down
• Plant disease can lower the amount of crop raised
• Oil Dependence – can be risky as prices change, natural disasters can affect supply
Early Civilizations - Mayans• Mayan Civilization
and Culture– In Mexico and
Central America– Lasted from 300-
900AD– Most important crop
was maize– Built great cities that
were also religious centers
• Copan – Honduras• Tikal – Guatemala
• Science, Technology and Religion– Hieroglyphics – system of
picture writing
– Number system – similar to present day decimal system
– Mayan Priests• Study the planets and
stars
• Designed and accurate calendar
Mystery of the Mayans
• AD 900, the Mayans left their cities
• No one knows why• Their descendants are
still living in Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador
Palenque Ruins
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Palenque_Ruins.jpg
Relief from Palenque
http
://e
n.w
ikip
edia
.org
/wik
i/Im
age:
Pal
enqu
e_R
elie
f.jp
g
Mayan Jade Carving
http://en.wikipedia.org/w
iki/Image:M
ayan_Jade_.jpg
Aztecs
• Arrived in the Valley of Mexico in the 1100’s
• Found a permanent home in 1523 on an island in Lake Texacoco – city called Tenochtitlan
• 1400’s Aztecs conquered other people and forced them to pay a tribute.– Tribute = a tax – Helped Aztecs grow
rich
• Science and Technology
– Aztec Doctors made over 1000 medicines from plants
– Astronomers predicted eclipses and the movements of the planets
– Priests kept records using Hieroglyphics
The Incas
• About 1200, they settled in Cuzco – In the Andes which is
now Peru
• Most were farmers who grew maize
• Got control of entire Cuzco Valley through wars
• Valley stretched over 2,500 Miles
• Accomplishments– Cuzco center of
government, trade, learning, and religion
– Built over 19,000 miles of roads with most over very steep mountains
– Increased crop production by building stone terraces into the slopes of the mountains
– Built aqueducts
European Exploration
• 1400’s – Spain and Portugal searching for new trade routes to Asia
• 1492 – Columbus thought he had found India, instead he found the Americas
• Spain and Portugal became rivals over land in the Americas
• Treaty of Tordesillas– Signed in 1494 through
urging of the pope
– Line of Demarcation of 50° Longitude
• Spain got land West of Line
• Portugal got land East of Line
• Why Brazil is Portugal’s only colony in South America
Spain in the New World
• Conquistadors and Land– Spain would give them
the right to hunt for treasure in these new lands
– They would give Spain one – fifth of what they found
– They could use ANY means to get their treasure
Oil Painting by Alfredo P. Alcala
http://christianvolt.blogs.friendster.com
/
photos/art_exhibits/conquistadors.html
Hernando Cortes
• 1519 went to Mexican Coast in search of treasure
• Aztec thought the Spanish were gods
• Moctezuma – emperor– Welcomed Spanish– Peace did not last– He ended up being
killed
• Spanish teamed up with an Aztec Rival– Able to surround the
city– Aztecs surrended in
1521
Francisco Pizarro
• Heard the tales of the wealth of the Incas
• 1531 set sail with 180 soldiers
• Captured and killed emperor
• 1535 – conquered most of the empire including the capital
http://en.wikipedia.org/w
iki/Im
age:Franciscopizarro.jpeg
Spain Conquers the Empires of Latin America
• Only took 15 years
• Had guns, cannons, and horses
• European diseases wiped out villages
Spanish Colonization
• 1540’s – Spain had land from Kansas down through South America except Brazil
• Three classes of people– Spanish– Mestizos– Native Americans
• Spain gave its settlers the right to demand taxes or labor from the Native Americans– Many died from
overwork, malnutrition, and diseases
- Population went from 25 million in 1519 down to 3 million in 50 years
Independence in Mexico
• Begin in 1810 – • Miguel Hidalgo – a
priest from Dolores begin planning a revolution
• His plan was found out by the Spanish, but he acted anyway
• He called for the people to take back their land from the Spaniards
• The revolutionaries won some battles, but by 1811 were in full retreat
• Hidalgo was captured and executed in 1811 for treason
• Some kept fighting and in 1821, the Spanish were defeated and Mexican Independence was declared
Simón Bolívar
• One of the greatest Latin America revolutionary leaders
• Originally joined fight for Venezuelan independence – he would become the leader
• By 1822 – had freed Gran Columbia (Columbia, Venezuela, Ecuador, and Panama) and became President
http://en.wikipedia.org/w
iki/Image:S
imon_B
olivar.jpg
Jose de San Martin
• Began helping with Argentina’s independence in 1817
• Took his troops through the Andes in Chile and completely surprised the Spanish
• Declared Chile independent and then turned attention to Peru
• In July 1821, did another surprise attack (from the sea) and captured Lima
• Met up with Bolivar to discuss independence for the rest of the countries, but gave up his command
• Bolivar continued and by 1825 only Cuba and Puerto Rico still ruled by Spain
Brazil and Independence
• Early 1800’s, France invaded Portugal and king fled to Brazil
• King returned to Portugal in 1821 and left his son, Dom Pedro, in charge
• 1822 – Dom Pedro declared Brazil independent
• Portugal recognized independence 3 years later
http://en.wikipedia.org/w
iki/Image:D
ompedro-II.jpg
Economic Issues
• 1900’s – foreign countries began investing in Latin America
• Foreign Companies ended up with a lot of economic power – They would make
money– The people of Latin
America did not benefit from this
• To improve their economic situation, they began building their own factories
• 1970’s things were improving
• 1980’s – the price of oil needed to run factories rose while the price of products dropped
• They had to borrow money and now were in debt