Geography Resources Environment Of Latin America

GeographyResourcesandEnvironmentof LatinAmerica

Defining Latin America Term “Latin America” originally used by Frenchgeographers to differentiate between Anglo andRomance (Latin based) languages. Latin America has further been divided bylanguage and location– Spanish and Portuguese speaking portions of Centraland South America in the Latin America Region– The French, Dutch, and English speaking parts ofCentral and South America in the Caribbean Region

Boundaries ofLatin America On the WestThe western boundary of LatinAmerica is defined by thePacific Ocean. There are fewislands in the eastern Pacific.The major ones controlled byLatin American countries arethe Galápagos Islands(Ecuador) and Easter Island(Chile). Although Spaincontrolled the Philippines andconsidered it part of its NewWorld holdings, only recentlyhas Latin America lookedacross the Pacific.

Boundaries ofLatin America On the SouthThe southern border of LatinAmerica is Cape Horn,(actually the island of Hornos).Latin American countriesclaim Antarctica as well, butsince 1959 claims for thisregion have been suspendedby the Antarctic Treaty, whichnow has 25 signers and 14observers. Peru, Chile,Argentina, Uruguay and Brazilhave bases on the continentand Chile and Argentina havemajor claims.

Boundaries ofLatin America On the EastThe eastern border ofLatin America is markedby a string of Britishpossessions in theAtlantic. These includethe Falkland Islands(Malvinas), Tristan daCunha, St. Helena, andAscension.

Boundaries ofLatin America On the NorthMany of the islands in theCaribbean (including the smallislands of the lesser Antilles,plus Jamaica and westernHispaniola) have become nonSpanish or Portuguese inculture. The Bahamas to thenorth of Cuba are nowindependent and Englishspeaking. For the purpose ofthis course everything southof the United States isconsidered to be LatinAmerica.

Regions of the West Indies1 Bahamas, Caicos andTurks Islands2 The Greater Antilles3 The Lesser Antilles4 The Continental islands

Cultural Aspects of LatinAmerica It has a mix of peoples from Asia, Africa, and Europe. It was a site of civilizations and empires. Its greatest cultural contribution may have been thedevelopment of the basic crops of our modern diet,including corn, potatoes, sweet potatoes, manioc, beans,tomatoes, and peanuts. It also contributed spices as chilipeppers, chocolate, and vanilla, and such drugs asquinine, tobacco, and coca. It has the largest number of Native American groups inthe world.

Cultural Aspects of Latin America It has the world's largest concentration of peoplespeaking romance languages, derived from Latin(Hence, Latin America). Has the world's largest concentration of Catholics, andsoon will have the world's largest concentration ofChristians. But it also has the largest concentration of Africansoutside Africa, and of Japanese outside Japan. The region is not only rich in tradition but also the sceneof exciting developments in modern and postmodernculture.

Iberian Conquest Spanish were the first to colonizethe region– Initial pursuit of silver and golddeveloped into a more diversifiedeconomy Portuguese colonization occurredafter the Treaty of Tordesillas(1494)– The Treaty was delineated by thePope and was meant to divide theworld between the Spanish andthe Portuguese– The treaty was never recognizedby the British, Dutch or French– Brazil was initially a source ofprovisions but by the 16th century,it had developed into a land ofsugar desillas3.ht

Guns, Steel and GermsMicrobes, horses, plants andmore

ColumbianExchange The contact between thepeople, plants & animals ofthe old & new worlds hasbeen called the ColumbianExchange Both sides were foreverchanged by the introductionof different species

New Staple cropsThe Spanish and Portuguese brought anumber of crops with themWheat (flourished in upland areas)Grapes, & olives (produced commercially intemperate zones of South America)Sugar cane became the dominant cash crop ofthe Caribbean and the Brazilian tropicallowlandsCoffee emerged as a large export crop that wascultivated in the upland areas of CentralAmerica, Columbia, Venezuela, & BrazilThere were a number of crops thatwere transported to EuropeCorn, potatoes & manioc ( as well as hot peppers,tomatoes, pineapple, cacao, & avocados)

Diseases Native populations had no resistanceto Old World Diseases, killing 50-90%of native populations. 50 epidemics in Valley of Mexico 15191820 often carried to villages by othernatives, arriving before actual contactwith Spanish: smallpox, measles,whooping cough, bubonic plague,diphtheria, influenza.

Domestic op/Gennusa indian horse.html There were no large mammalsin Middle America. SouthAmerica had domestic llamas,and the wild vicuñas andguanacos. European introduced horses,pigs, sheep, goats, cattle, rats(spread disease, decimatednative small animals Livestock introduced newmeans of transportation, thehorse became indispensable toplains Indians; New livestock provided alsonew sources of food

Technologies introduced byEuropeans alphabet, writing iron tools; didn't shatter like those made of obsidian byIndians farming equipment - plow; drastically changedagricultural practices wheel gunpowder ranching - changed landscape; walled ranches with tileroofs, adobe brick buildings surrounded by corrals andpastureland; cowboys, gauchos

Creation of new institutions Towns - relocated Indiansfrom their land intovillages and towns; andthey used more woodand charcoal; it led tomore deforestation Government structuresand policies; encomienda- system gave the right toa conquistador to collecttribute from Indians Religion (Catholic)

New PeopleThe total number of African slavesmoved to Brazil is estimated at 3.6million, nine times the number broughtto the thirteen English colonies. Spanish and Portuguese main colonizers of Middleand South America African slaves needed asworkers to replacedecreasing nativepopulation; eventuallyreplaced Indians as thedominant ethnic group in theCaribbean and Brazil;infused much of their cultureinto many areas of theAmericas British, Irish, French,Germans, Dutch, Asians,Indians (from India)

Blending Blended Cultures– The dying of the native American population coupled with theimmigration of new groups of people created new ethnic groups– After generations of intermarriage between different ethnicgroups, four broad categories were established: Blanco(European ancestry), Mestizo (mixed ancestry), Indio (Indianancestry), & Negro (African ancestry)– In most places, the majority of the population consists of mestizopeople– Blancos (whites) are often overrepresented in the elite classes ofsociety Blended Religions– Although the majority of the population practices RomanCatholicism, syncretic religions have been formed to includenative beliefs into the Catholic faith– Syncretic religious practices are also found among places wherethere were once high concentrations of African slaves, particularlyin Brazil; Macumba, Camdombe and Voodoo (Haiti).

Influences of the Iberian Peninsula A vast majority of the population:– Speak Spanish (approx 2/3) or Portuguese(approx 1/3) Numerous native languages are still spoken inmore remote places– Practice Catholicism Protestant denominations are becoming morepopular

L.A.Languages

Legacy of Colonialism Spanish Colonies– They were initially focused upon theextraction of precious metals that weretransported to Spain Portuguese Colonies– Early focus was upon tropical agriculturalproducts such as sugarcane

Revolution & Independence Revolution movement reached Latin America in thesecond decade of the 19th century (1810-1826) The Spanish initially divided Latin America into twoviceroyalties; New Spain and Peru Spanish Latin America gained its independence as anumber of larger states that would eventually fragmentinto the current formation– Had Spanish America retained its coherence it would now be thethird largest country (by population) in the world The evolution of Brazil into an independent state wasmore gradual and less violent than her Spanishcontrolled neighbors– Brazil was initially declared a separate kingdom with its ownmonarch, over time this would evolve into a republic

Modern Population Population consists of 490 million people– Over half of them live in two countries (Brazil 170mand Mexico 100m) Declining fertility rate– An average of 6 children/woman in 1960 to 3children/woman in 2000 Highly Urbanized population– 3/4 of the population lives in cities A number of cities are classified as Megacities (more than 10million people) such as Mexico City, Rio de Janeiro, SaoPaolo, & Buenos Aires

PopulationDistribution

PopulationDistribution Interior portion of South America sparsely populated Most people live in upland coastal regions In Central America most of the population lives in uplandregions Most of the population lives in cites– During colonial era, preferential treatment was given tocity dwellers, providing a motivation to move to thecities

Primate Cities in LatinAmericaSao Paolo,Brazil A primate city is 3-4 times larger than the second largestcity in the country. The primate city is almost always thecapital city and center of culture for the country There are high levels of urban primacy in Latin America.Some examples are Lima, Caracas, Mexico City. In the past 50 years, there has been a steady flow ofpeople moving from rural areas to urban areas Reasons for leaving rural areas include:– consolidation of lands, mechanization of agriculture,more opportunities in cities

Post-Independence (earlycentury) Migrationth19 Recent European Migration– 8 million immigrants from 1870-1930 Majority of immigrants came from Italy, Portugal,Spain, & Germany– Most settled in southern part Latin America Asian Migration– Initial immigration from China and Japan– Many came to work on coffee plantations or formedagricultural colonies– More recent Korean immigration Most settled in urban areas in Paraguay, Brazil, andArgentina

Geography Resources and Environment of Latin America. . The southern border of Latin America is Cape Horn, (actually the island of Hornos). Latin American countries claim Antarctica as well, but since 1959 claims for this region have been suspended . Africa, and Europe.