Spanish conquest (1519)
Hernando Cortes and 600 men:
weapons (guns, cannons, etc.)
-intimidation (horses, armor)
-disease (esp. smallpox)
- allies
Tenochtitlan (Mexico City): one of
largest cities in the world when
Spanish arrived (still is)
capital - Mexico City
religion - Catholic
population – 102
million
mestizo – mixed
Spanish and Native
heritage
1821 – independence
1917 – revolution and
civil war
1929 – Institutional
Revolutionary Party
2000 – Vicente Fox
elected
2012 – Enrique Peña
Nieto
Challenges:
safety:
drugs,
cartels,
violence
emigration:
legal vs.
illegal,
jobs,
money
opportunities:
high
unemployment,
85% school
attendance
Section 2: Central America and the
Caribbean
Central America is an isthmus
between North and South America
cultural hearth:
place from which
important ideas
spread
Maya built many
cities and temples in
present-day Belize,
Guatemala, El
Salvador, and
Honduras
Panama Canal language – Spanish, English,
French, Dutch
religion – Catholic, Protestant,
Santeria, Voodoo, Rastafarian
Economy:
- mostly
agricultural:
very rich
(owners) and
very poor
(workers)
- income from
sugar cane,
coffee, bananas
and spices
pop culture
combines African,
European, and local
influences - ex:
Calypso and
Reggae
tourism is a
major
provider of
jobs in both
the formal
sector and to
the informal
economy
Section 3: Spanish-Speaking South America
Inca:
- first inhabitants
- built Machu Picchu in the
Andes mountains
- spoke Quechua
1810 – 1830’s: most Spanish
colonies gain independence to some
degree
Simòn Bolivar and José de San
Martin lead countries to
independence, but the countries
struggled with oligarchies
A cultural mosaic:
literature, music, art, and culture
blends traditional and modern
elements to create a unique
mosaic
economies based on natural resources (oil in Venezuela, cattle in
Argentina ), trade, and tourism
education is very important – higher literacy rates than Mexico, Brazil, C.A.
Chile = 96% for adults and nearly 99% for 15-24 year olds
Treaty of Tordesillas (1494): deal between Spain and Portugal to divide
South America then Brazil gained independence from Portugal in 1822
Section 4: Brazil
- traditionally Portuguese in language, religion, culture, etc.
-today has largest Japanese population outside Japan and many
other cultures, languages, religions, etc.
Brasilia is capital
10th largest economy in the world but still a big gap between rich and poor
86% live in the cities – many in favelas (poor slums) – near the sea, but
recent efforts have encouraged people to move to the interior
won soccer’s world cup 5 times (only country in world to do so)
hosting world cup in 2014 and
summer Olympics in 2016
Brazilian life today:
Carnival (festival)
samba (dance)
capoeira (martial art)
Section 1: Rain Forest Resources
biodiversity: variety of
organisms within an
ecosystem
Chapter 11 Today’s Issues:
Latin America
How should the rain forest be used?
Who should decide what happens to the
rain forest?
Pros:
timber for use and trade
jobs and income for very poor
people
Land for housing and farming
for people who often have
neither
Cons:
deforestation
global warming
potential medicines and cures
possible solutions include:
education of rain forest benefits
campaigns to raise awareness and money
debt-for-nature swap
establishing stable democracies
political reform – more women in
government, more young people involved,
less corruption
economic reform – stable currency, less
unemployment, and land reform