Latin America

geography:

• Much of Brazil is made up of low mountains and plateaus. These occupy two-thirds of Brazil.  Forested lowlands basically cover the rest.  There are thousands of rivers of which the largest are the Amazon, Parana, and Sao Francisco.
• Panama Canal – the Panama Canal connects the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, it was built in 1914 by the U.S. and extends 50 miles across the Isthmus of Panama. It uses a system of locks that move ships from one level to another.
• Terrace Farming - Terrace farming is building a series of bench-like steps usually supported by sod or stone walls; these were used to slow down erosion because it changes the way that the water runs off the edge of the hill. This was important because it allowed civilizations who could not do conventional farming before, able to support large populations.

pre-Colombian societies:

• Mayans: Established a civilization in Central America and Southern Mexico.250 – 900 was their peak. Architecture, painting, pottery, etc. Worshiped many Gods, corn was the main food, traded with other cultures in Latin America. Used a form of hieroglyphics, polytheistic
• Aztecs: Empire in Mexico during the 1400s and 1500s. It was the most advance civilization in the Americas. In the early 1500s Hernando Cortez conquered them, there were bloody battles, polytheistic
• Incas: Height from the mid 1530s to the early 1500s. Empire in present-day Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Chile, and Argentina. Conquered by military force and ruled them with a complex political system. Known for managing its great size very well and had a system of roads.

influence of Spain:

• The first Spanish colony was founded in 1510 and it was reported that there was great wealth there. Throughout Spain’s conquering they killed many Native Americans.
• Vasco de Balboa, Popes line of demarcation, Treaty of Tordesillas,

influence of the Catholic Church:

• The early Portuguese and Spanish explorers brought Catholicism to Latin America and converted many of them. In present day about eighty percent of the Lain Americans are Roman Catholic.
• Bartolome de las Casas – fought for the good treatment of natives.

mercantilism:

• Exports many agricultural and mineral products
• Coffee, bananas, copper, and petroleum

encomienda system:

• The encomienda system was a system that gave conquistadors the power to tax and use the people in the land given to them for labor. The conquistadors were meant to provide protection for the people on his land but usually they enslaved the entire population and gave nothing back to them.

colonial class system:

• Peninsulares- Sent to completely control Latin American colonies.
• Creoles- American born Spaniards, they had no political rights.
• Mestizos- Spanish and Native American descent, denied all political, economic, and social rights.
• Mulattoes- Spanish and African descent, denied all political, economic, and social rights.
• Native Americans and Slaves- Lowest class, often treated poorly and used as labor by the land owning Creoles.

significance of the slave trade:

• Many natives died from disease and the rest were enslaved, so the Europeans brought over slaves to offset the decline in population. These African slaves worked mostly on the sugar plantations of Brazil and the Caribbean.

wealthy landowners:

• Usually members of the Creoles, American born Spaniards, who owned most of the land. The native slaves and the African slaves often were laborers on their plantations.

influence of the French Revolution on the 19c revolutions in Latin America

• showed revolutionaries that it was possible to have a rebellion that eventually lead to success
• violent methods weren’t necessarily as successful
• successful revolutions needed cooperation between the lower and middle classes

independence movements

• Simon Bolivar—led military forces, freed Columbia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Bolivia, and Peru
• Toussaint L’Ouverture---freed Haiti and liberated slaves
• Bernardo O’Higgins---freed Chili, became supreme dictator
• Jose San Martin---freed Argentina

influence of the U.S. (“Colossus of the North”)

• still play a role today in domestic and foreign policy

liberation theology

• freedom after colonization
• unique identity and culture from nationalism

Cuban Revolution (1959)

• Communist revolution against dictator Fulgencio Batista
• Lead by Che Guevaraànow famous for his rebellion

Fidel Castro

• current dictator of Cuba
• took over after revolution      
• Soviet influence (Cuba missile crisis)

Haitiàeco. and pol. Problems

• can’t get off its feet
• still recovering from past colonization          
• rulers switch, violent coups

Cuba in the 1990s (post-Cold War)

• still Communist dictatorship
• more liberties without Soviet dominance
• still ruled by Castro

increasing democracy in the 1990s

• no more Communist influence from Soviet Union   
• greater reforms and U.S. imposing democracy on some countries

NAFTA

• North American Free Trade Agreement
• gradual removal of tariffs and trade barriers