LATIN AMERICA REVIEW
Jan 11, 2016
LATIN AMERICA REVIEW
GEOGRAPHY Latin America = 4 Regions
MexicoCentral AmericaSouth AmericaCaribbean (a.k.a. West Indies)
Major FeaturesAndes Mountains-runs length of S.A.Amazon River (& surrounding Rain Forests)Yucatan PeninsulaGulf of MexicoCaribbean Ocean
ANDES MOUNTAINS Home to
Ancient Inca civilization
Stretch 2,500 miles N to S
DIP: Divide, Isolate, Protect
AMAZON RIVER/RAIN FOREST Largest River
basin/System in world
Home to many diverse tribes, animal species, and plant life
Deforestation big issue today
YUCATAN PENINSULA Part of Mexico
Today Used to be home
to Ancient Maya
THREE ANCIENT L.A. CIVILIZATIONS
Maya (200 BC-700 AD)
Aztec (1200-1521) Inca (1200-1533)
MAYA (200 BC-700 AD) Located around Yucatan peninsula Polytheistic Sacrifice to gods Temple builders Used Glyphs: early writing/record
keeping system Created 2 inter-locking Calendars Math and Astronomy Mysteriously declined (famine, food
shortages, natural disasters, Spanish)
AZTECS (1200 AD-1521 AD) Central Mexico Polytheistic Heavy Human Sacrifice Fierce warrior class Temple Builders Architecture & City Planning:
Tenochtitlan Two Calendar system Emperor Montezuma II Conquered by
Spanish Conquistador Cortez in 1521
INCA (1200-1533) Andes Mountain Civilization Polytheistic Connected empire through extensive
roads and bridges, running massagers Emperor ruled from capital Cuzco Terrace farmers Defeated by Spanish conquistador
Pizarro in 1533.
“THE ENCOUNTER” 1492- Italian
explorer Christopher Columbus “discovers” the Americas while trying to find a quicker water route to the East Indies.
VOCABULARY Columbian Exchange- Global transfer
of foods, plants, and animals during the colonization of America
Encomienda- land grants given to wealthy Spanish settlers
Peninsulare- Pure-blooded Spaniard living in the “new world”
Mercantilism- Process of using colonies as a source of raw materials and as a market for finished goods.
Gold, God, Glory- Reasons for Exploration
FAMOUS LATIN AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE LEADERS
(EARLY 1800’S)
Toussaint L’Ouverture- Haiti Simon Bolivar- Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru Jose de San Martin- Argentina, Chile Miguel Hidalgo- Mexico Jose Maria Morelos- Mexico
All fought against European Colonial rulers (France & Spain); all inspired by American and French Revolutions (and Enlightenment ideas!)
LATIN AMERICA DURING COLD WAR Cuban Missile Crisis- Soviets
install Missiles 90 miles from US in Cuba.
US & USSR reach agreement to avoid disaster
Cuba was a socialist (communist) ally to USSR.
Fidel Castro dictator of Cuba Height of Cold War tensions
MODERN ISSUES IN LATIN AMERICA Illegal Immigration Drug trade Single cash crop economies- not
diversified enough Deforestation (Amazon) Corrupt, unstable governments Difficulty transitioning from
dictatorships to democracies