20th Century Latin America

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20th Century Latin America
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The Panama Canal

• People who wanted to travel around North and
  South America had to travel across the
  treacherous land or go all the way around South
  America
• France decided to create a canal across the
  isthmus of Panama since it was only 40 miles wide
• At the time, Panama was part of Columbia

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The Panama Canal

• U.S. tried to buy the land from Colombia but they
  refused
• U. S. urged the people of Panama to revolt and
  they did
• In 1903, Panama became its own country and leased
  the land to the U. S.
• The canal opened in 1914 and became one of the
  most important transportation routes in the world

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The Spanish-American War

• Even after Central America broke free of Spanish
  rule, Cuba and Puerto Rico were still controlled
  by Spain
• The islanders rebelled many times but were not
  able to gain independence
• 1898 the U.S. declared war on Spain
• Wanted to help the people of these countries but
  also protect the sugar cane plantations they
  owned on the islands

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The Spanish-American War

• War lasted less than a year
• The U.S. won Puerto Rico became a U.S.
  territory and Cuba became an independent country
• The U.S. military set up bases there and kept
  tight control

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Cuba

• From 1899-1902, the U.S. army stayed in Cuba to
  keep peace and help set up a new government
• Most Cubans resented this but many new roads,
  bridges, and public schools were built
• Cuba became independent but the U.S. maintained a
  huge naval base at Guantanamo Bay and insisted it
  had the right to send soldiers any time it wished

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Cuba

• Cuba had a series of leaders some elected and
  some took power by force
• Most were dictators
• They tried to stay friendly with the U.S. and
  welcomed U.S. businesses and tourists
• Havana offered luxury hotels and casinos but most
  residents remained poor

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Cuba

• Fidel Castro led a revolution to overthrow Cubas
  current leader, Fulgencio Batista, in 1959
• He was greeted joyfully by the people of Havana
  and promised there would be no more dictators
• Castro took power during the Cold War between the
  United States and the Soviet Union

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Cuba

• Castro needed an ally and the Soviet Union wanted
  to be that ally
• Castro began to adopt Communist policies for
  Cubas economy
• He took over sugar cane plantations, U.S. banks,
  oil refineries, and other businesses on the
  island
• The U.S. cut off all trade with Cuba and started
  an embargo

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Guerrilla warfare

• In Peru in the early 1980s, Communist groups rose
  up because they were unhappy with the democratic
  government Shining Path (Sendero Luminoso) and
  Zapatistas
• Some of these groups fought using guerrila
  warfare small nontraditional military groups
  leading small attacks
• Many citizens died in the crossfire and it became
  a kind of civil war

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Nationalism

• Nationalism refers to a people's sense of common
  belonging and loyalty to a nation.
• It may develop as people join together to form a
  unified government
• he effects of nationalism can be both good and
  bad. Nationalism gives people a sense of
  belonging and pride
• But nationalism also produces rivalry and tension
  between nations

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Nationalism

• Nationalism also can be improperly used for the
  political gain of a specific person or party
• Example Juan and Eva Peron(Argentina)