Latin America and the Caribbean A. Introductory Section Pictures

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Latin America and the CaribbeanA. Introductory
Section (Pictures)

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A. Introductory Section

• Pictures, Mexico

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A. Introductory Section (Pictures)

• Brazil

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A. Introductory Section Brazil Botafogo (Rio)
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A. Introductory Section

• Paraguay

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A. Introductory

• The Latin America and Caribbean Realm in the GEOG
  110-004 Course Sequence.
  
• The 4th cultural realm to be the subject of focus
  in GEO 110. Thus far, we have described
  
• Europe
• The Russian World, also known as the Former
  Soviet Union
  
• Anglo-America.

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Introductory

• The Realm in the Global Context.
• The main contributions of native people of the
  region to other world peoples is in agriculture
  
  
• Native peoples may be called the following
• Indians
• Native Americans or Native Peoples
• Amerindians
• Aboriginals.

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A. Introductory

• What Products did native people discover and
  originate?
  
• corn (also known as maize), potatoes, chili
  peppers, avocado, and tobacco.
  
• the coca plant, used in a leaf form by native
  people, is also the basis for cocaine.
  
• Many other products (see text).
• In total, about ½ of all food crops consumed
  around the world today.

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A. Introductory

• The region came under the control, first of the
  Spanish in 1492.
  
• The Portuguese began to settle Brazil in 1530.
• The treaty of Tordesillas 1494, is the basis for
  the Spanish-Portuguese division of Latin America
  today.
  
• The English, French and Dutch took territories in
  the region mainly in the Caribbean starting
  in the 1600s, as the power of the Iberians
  declined.

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A. Introductory

• Map of the Tordesillas Line (1494)

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Introductory

• The Latin America and Caribbean Realm contains
  the largest concentration of Latin-origin
  populations in the world.
  
• The Latin America realm is the first
  underdeveloped region covered in the course.
  
• The Latin America realm functions a periphery
  within the global political and economic system.

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Cultural Characteristics of Latin America and the
Caribbean

• Dominated by Latin-based languages and Latin
  origin cultures, but constructed from New and Old
  World sources.
  
• Latin cultures are so dominant that this region
  may be collectively referred to as Latin
  America.
  
• A physically-diverse cultural region which
  includes
  
• The continent of South America,
• The Caribbean Islands,
• Central America
• Mexico.

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B. Characteristics

• The regions cultural diversity is limited,
  similar to the USA and Canada, where specific
  European powers and cultures forced blends of
  diverse people.
• Spanish Latin America comprised of three major
  types of people, more or less blended into
  cultures. They are
  
• Elements from Spain or some other Latin European
  country
  
• On the North American and South American
  mainland, millions of ancestors of natives
  
• In the Caribbean, large numbers of African people
  with African physical origins
  
• Unlike the USA and Canada, African cultural
  practices were allowed to flourish in Spanish
  areas, in Brazil, and in the French Caribbean.
  

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Political Units States and Colonies (including
Puerto Rico)

• A total of more than 40 political units make up
  Latin America and the Caribbean.
  
• Of these, about 30 are predominantly
  Latin-speaking states of colonies.
  
• Spanish-origin countries include eight (8) in
  South America, five (6) in Central America, three
  (3) in the Caribbean, plus Mexico.
  
• The only Portuguese-origin country is Brazil.
• The most important French origin areas
• Haiti
• Guadeloupe
• Martinique
• French Guiana
• St. Martin

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Political Units or States

• English-Origin States and Territories.
• Jamaica the biggest, followed by Trinidad
• Belize and the Bahamas among the least populated.
  
  
• Dutch (Netherlands)-origin Areas.
• Suriname
• Curacao
• Aruba
• St. Martin

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Cultural Blends in the Realm

• Three general sources of culture formed Latin
  America and the Caribbean
  
• European (from five major European countries,
  right?)
  
• Amerindian
• African

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Cultural Blends in the Realm

• Breakdown of the three general sources
• Again, the principal European colonizers were
• Castilian Spanish
• Portuguese
• French
• Dutch
• English.

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Cultural Blends in the Realm

• The cultural breakdown of the Amerindian peoples
  were as follows
  
• Two large empires when the Spanish invaded
• one ruled by the Aztecs (Nahautl-speaking people)
  in what is now Mexico and Central America
  
• and one ruled by the Inkas (Quechua-speaking
  people) in what is now Andean and Western South
  America.
  
• Large areas in the Caribbean and South America
  where disparate native nations lived
  independently.

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Cultural Blends in the Realm

• Breakdown of the African contribution to the
  realm.
  
• Most but not all Africans came as slaves
• Africans were first sold here mainly by
  Portuguese, after about 1715, by Britain
  
• Africans were sold and used mainly in the
  Caribbean, Mexico, Brazil, and in the non-Spanish
  countries of South America.
  
• Africans originated mainly in west and
  south-central Africa, from Senegal to Angola.
  

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Spanish Countries by Classification Most
European, Amerindian-Influenced and African
Influenced.

• The Spanish states of today all demonstrate
  influences from the three main sources. They may
  be classified as follows
  
• Spanish, most European (and most Europeans who
  settled in Spanish countries were from Spain)
  
• Spanish, Amerindian-Influenced of Indian
  influenced
  
• And Spanish, African Influenced.

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e. Spanish Countries by Classification

• Unlike the United States and Canada Spanish
  countries have a history of intermarriage. Note
  
• All Spanish countries have a history of
  Spanish-Indian intermarriage, OR Spanish-African
  intermarriage, with NO EXCEPTION.
  
• Immigration from Europe since the late 1800s is
  the reason why some countries are mainly European
  and free of African-mixed or Native-mixed
  population today.

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Spanish Countries by Classification

• Most European in Population Composition and
  Culture.
  
• Argentina and Uruguay.
• Argentina, mainly Spanish-Italian, with 70 of
  population claiming Italian or some mixture of
  Italian.
  
• Uruguay, mainly Spanish and Italian, with
  remaining immigrants coming from all over Europe,
  and about 25 claiming some mixture of Italian.
  
• In Argentina, the original African-origin
  population became invisible through wars,
  disease, oppression and intermarriage.
  
• Five to 10 of Uruguays population claims some
  African mixture.

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Spanish Countries by Classification Spanish
Indian Blends

• STOPPED Mainly Spanish-Indian Blended Countries.
• Costa Rica
• Nicaragua
• El Salvador
• Honduras
• Panama
• Paraguay
• Mexico
• Ecuador.

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E. Spanish Countries by Classification, Spanish
Indian Blended

• Mainly Spanish-Indian Blended, with other complex
  additions
  
• Colombia
• Venezuela.

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E. Spanish Countries by Classification Heavily
IndianPopulations

• Most Amerindian or Native Spanish Countries
• Bolivia, the most Indian of all American
  states, majority Indian
  
• Peru, about 40-50 Indian, mainly Quechua
  speakers
  
• Guatemala, the second most Indian, about 40-45
  Mayan Indian
  
• Ecuador, about 25 Indian
• Mexico, 15-30 Indian, with Nahuatl and Mayan
  languages most important.

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Spanish Countries by Classification, Surviving
Indians

• Indian Languages that survive, mostly in
  Paraguay, Andean South America, and Mexico and
  Guatemala. By countries this includes
  
• (Mexico) Nahautl, language of the Aztecs
• (Mexico and Guatemala mainly) Mayan languages
• (Peru, Bolivia, and Ecuador), Quechua languages.
• (Bolivia, Peru and Northern Chile), Aymara.
• (Paraguay), Guarani.

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E. Spanish Countries by Classification African
Influenced Spanish Countries and Territories

• Most African influenced Cuba, Dominican
  Republic, and Puerto Rico.
  
• Caribbean region and African Slavery.
• African influence most obvious in
• Music
• Religious traditions.

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F. Brazil

• Brazil, originally a blend of Portuguese and
  African peoples.
  
• Portuguese originally enslaves native peoples.
• Africans slaves brought into Brazils Northeast
  in the 1550s.
  
• Most African slaves of all American states (more
  than 3,000,000).

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F. Brazil

• Brazil, as a slave plantation colony, began in
  the northeast around 1530.
  
• Later, Portuguese moved south, to Sao Paulo.
• In 1800s, Brazils rulers allow European
  immigration, mainly Germans and Italians.
  
• Immigration continued until recent decades.
• Today, Brazil is about 45-50 a mixed
  Portuguese-African blend.

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G. French-Origin Societies

• French-origin Countries.
• Haiti is independent, and has been since 1804.
• The other French areas are still colonies of
  France.

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G. French-Origin Societies

• Common features of French Origin States and
  Societies.
  
• All formed as slave societies, especially the
  Caribbean ones
  
• All officially French in language, with various
  Creole dialects and cultures predominating.

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English Origin Societies

• List of English Origin Countries and Colonies.
• Jamaica
• Trinidad and Tobago
• Bahamas
• Barbados
• Guyana
• Grenada
• Virgin Islands
• A few others.

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English Origin Societies

• Common features of English Origin States and
  Societies.
  
• Race
• Began as slave societies
• Slavery abolished in 1833
• East Indians.

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I. Dutch Origin Societies

• Dutch Origin Countries and Colonies. Main
  features
  
• African slaves predominated.
• Indians replaced Africans in some cases.
• Javanese, in Suriname.
• Common features of Dutch societies.

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J. Economic and Political GeogrAphy

• Originally all countries of Latin America and the
  Carib were colonies of the major European powers
  Spain, Portugal, Britain, France and
  Netherlands.
• For over a century, the region has been within
  the political and economic orbit of the United
  States of America.

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J. Economic and Political GeogrAphy

• Traditionally, Middle/South America is a region
  which has served as a periphery within the global
  economic system.

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K. Major Demographic Factors

• Summary
• Brazil is the largest country by far in terms of
  population, the largest Latin country in the
  world, about 180,000,000.
  
• Mexico is the largest Spanish country in the
  world, 106,000,000.
  
• Brazil the biggest in land area Argentina the
  second largest.
  
• Uruguay the smallest Spanish country.
• Jamaica is the largest English country in the
  region.
  
• There are literally hundreds of islands in the
  Caribbean.

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L. Urban Patterns

• Mega-Cities Mexico City, Sao Paulo
• Second tier large cities
• The reality of Shanty-towns , Barrios and
  Favelas
  
• The function of the city here.

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M. Dominant Physical Patterns

• Mountain systems
• The Andes Mountain System
• The Caribbean.
• The Amazon.
• The meeting of tectonic plates and the
  possibility of earthquakes.
  
• The hurricane-prone Caribbean, Mexico and Central
  America.
  
• The three major landform features of Mexico.

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