Middle and South America: Themes and Issues
I. Amazing cultural and physical geography diversity
II. Physical Geography
A. fragmented region
B. hazardous environment
1. volcanoes and earthquakes
2. hurricanes
C. South America physical geography
1. Andes
2. Amazon Basin
III. Historical Geography of the Region
A. 3 major cultural hearths
1. Mayan civilization (Middle America tropical plains)
2. Aztec (Valley of Mexico - highlands)
3. Inca civilization (Andes, South America)
B. European invasions/colonization
1. Middle America and Cortez
2. South America: Treaty of Tordesillas 1494
3. subsequent colonization Middle America
a. Spanish: most of continental Middle America
b. British: low-lying coastal strip from Yucatan to Costa Rica
c. European competition for Caribbean Island: sugar
d. USA - bananas
C. USA
1. Spanish American War - 1898
a. “Remember the Maine”
b. new possessions
2. Panama Canal
a. historical geography
b. US withdrawal - Jan 1, 2000
c. expansion completion: Aug 15, 2014
IV. Human Geography: Cultural Pluralism and Distinct Geographic Differentiation Mainland/Rimland (Augelli)
A. racial categories
1. Amerindian: native inhabitants
2. whites of European heritage
3. African: slaves
4. Asian: indentured servants
5. mestizo: mixed white/Amerindian/African
6. Creole: predominantly European descent
B. Mainland
1. geographic distribution: highlands
2. ethnicity/cultural: Euro-Amerindian
3. land tenure system: hacienda
C. Rimland
1. geographic distribution: coastal lowlands
2. ethnicity/cultural: Euro-African
3. land tenure system: plantation
M/S America: Themes and Issues – p. 1 of 3
Major Issues Facing the Region
I. Economic Integration: NAFTA - North American Free Trade Agreement
A. 1994 - USA, Canada, Mexico
B. free trade zone by 2009
1. no internal tariffs
2. free flowing capital
3. foreign ownership: maquiladoras
C. benefits/concerns
D. “…in Mexico everything is possible.”
II. Poverty and Economic/Political Turmoil
A. gap between rich and poor
B. high birth rate
C. land ownership patterns
1. legacy of colonization
2. efforts at land/wealth redistribution
a. Zapatistas in Chiapas
D. political turmoil
1. revolutions
2. military takeovers
a. caudillo: traditional strong men
3. drugs and Marxist insurgencies
a. Peru: Shining Path
b. Colombia: FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia)
c. cocaine
d. Plan Colombia 2000
e. President Santos and coca
E. US involvement in Central America
1. 3 driving factors
a. Monroe Doctrine - 1823
b. Banana Republics
c. Cuba
2. results
a. US supported repressive regimes/overthrew legitimate rulers
b. School of the Americas
c. US invasions
3. current: new leftists
a. Venezuela, Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, Bolivia, Chile, Paraguay
b. leftists' concerns
c. Lula da Silva – Brazil
d. Hugo Chavez – Venezuela (Nicolás Maduro)
e. José Mujica -- Uruguay
f. Evo Morales- Bolivia
g. Cuba – post-Castro
III. Environmental Degradation: Tropical Deforestation
A. trends
B. causes
1. logging
2. population explosion
3. Brazil: world's new breadbasket
M/S America: Themes and Issues – p. 2 of 3
4. cattle
5. coffee
6. oil/gas extraction
7. mining
C. targets
D. impacts
1. indigenous people
2. biological diversification
3. global warming - greenhouse effect
IV. Zika Virus
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Middle/South America Geography Bowl: Pulsipher: Chapter 3
M/S America: Themes and Issues – p. 3 of 3