Unit 8: Latin America &
the Caribbean
History and Culture
Photos of the Day
Ancient
Civilizations in
Latin America
AZTECS in
MEXICO
MAYANS in
GUATEMALA
and HONDURAS
INCAS in
PERU
Aztecs
PYRAMIDS
Steep sides, flat
top with temple
Mayans
TIKAL
Spectacular
Mayan city in
Guatemala
Incas
MACHU PICHHU
Ancient Incan
city
EUROPEAN INFLUENCES
 In 1494, SPAIN and PORTUGAL signed a
TREATY that divided control of SOUTH
AMERICA.
 Portugal gained the present-day territory of
BRAZIL – it became Portugal’s largest COLONY
 In the 1500s, Europeans
arrived and CONQUERED
the AZTECS and INCAS
 Aztecs were conquered by
HERNANDO CORTES and
Spanish CONQUISTADORS
in 1521
 Incas were conquered by
FRANCISCO PIZARRO in
the early 1500s
By the 19th century, the Caribbean
islands were claimed by FIVE different
EUROPEAN nations:
 SPAIN
 FRANCE
 GREAT BRITAIN
 NETHERLANDS
 DENMARK
When Europeans colonized Latin America
and the Caribbean, they brought with
them their:
1. LANGUAGE: mostly SPANISH &
PORTUGUESE, but also ENGLISH,
FRENCH, and DUTCH
*There are also hundreds of
INDIGENEOUS languages
still spoken in Latin America today
2. Religion: ROMAN
CATHOLICISM
 Dominant religion of
MEXICO and CENTRAL
AMERICA
 BRAZIL has the LARGEST
Catholic population in the
world
 Many beautiful
CATHEDRALS can be found
in Latin America
AFRICAN INFLUENCES
 After establishing colonies, Europeans
ENSLAVED native peoples in the
CARIBBEAN and BRAZIL to work on
SUGAR PLANTATIONS
 After many natives DIED from DISEASE
and MISTREATMENT, Europeans brought
AFRICANS over the ATLANTIC OCEAN
by force to REPLACE the natives → this
began the ATLANTIC SLAVE TRADE
 More Africans were brought to BRAZIL
than to any other area in the Americas →
an estimated 3.6 MILLION total (nine
times as many brought to the English
colonies)
 By 1820, EIGHT TIMES as many Africans
as Europeans had arrived in the
Caribbean and SIX TIMES as many
Africans as Europeans had arrived in
Brazil.
SOCIAL
STRUCTURE
Europeans
MEZTIZOS
 Eventually the
Pure Native Americans
NATIVES,
AFRICAN SLAVES
EUROPEANS, and
AFRICANS began
to INTERMARRY.
 MESTIZO: Someone
This led to a very
who is part NATIVE
rigid SOCIAL
(Indian) and part
STRUCTURE
EUROPEAN (Spanish)
MUSIC
REGGAE
CALYPSO
(TRINIDAD)
STEEL DRUMS
(TRINIDAD)
(JAMAICA)
TRADITIONAL DANCES
 BOLERO → Spanish in origin, adapted in Cuba
 CHA-CHA → Cuban, derived from the mambo
 MAMBO → Cuban, grew popular at end of
WWII
 MERENGUE → origins in Haiti and D.R.
 SALSA → developed by Puerto Ricans in
New York
 SAMBA → native Brazilian dance
 TANGO → originated in Argentina
FUTBOL
The game of FUTBOL (Spanish) or
FUTEBOL (Portuguese) is
played throughout Latin America
and the Caribbean. In the United
States the game is called
SOCCER
PELE is one of the most famous
soccer players in history. He
scored 1,281 goals in his 22-year
career.
FOOD
Caribbean meals often include SPICES,
BEANS, RICE, FRUIT, and COCONUT
MILK.
Popular Caribbean dishes include ARROZ
con POLLO (chicken with rice), Jamaican
JERK CHICKEN, and CURRIED GOAT
STEW.
Ingredients in Mexican dishes include
CORN, TOMATILLOS, FRIJOLES, and
CHILES
Popular Mexican dishes are TACOS,
ENCHILADAS, EMPANADAS,
and QUESADILLAS
ART & LITERATURE
 DIEGO RIVERA
 FRIDA KAHLO
 GABRIEL GARCIA MARQUEZ
POPULATION & CITIES
 Years of colonization led to a DISPARITY
(GAP) of income DISTRIBUTION and
contributed to an extreme DIVIDE between
the RICH and those in POVERTY
 In Latin America
there is NOT a
large MIDDLE
CLASS
 Part of the reason for the DISPARITY OF
INCOME DISTRIBUTION is because a
very SMALL % of the population owns
MOST of the land in Latin America
 Since most people do not own a lot of
land, they can only grow enough food to
survive on. This is known as
SUBSISTENCE FARMING. In addition,
some people in Mexico work on EJIDOS
(COMMUNALLY OWNED and operated
farms)
 Latin America has been experiencing
RAPID POPULATION GROWTH in recent
years because of IMPROVED standards
of living.
 Because of the POVERTY in RURAL
areas, people move to the CITIES to find
JOBS and have a better life. People
moving to cities is called URBANIZATION
 Many of the islands in the Caribbean are
densely populated
 More than 85% of people in ARGENTINA,
CHILE, and URUGUAY live in cities
 The steady flow of people into cities has
caused several MEGACITIES to form - a
megacity has at least 10 MILLION people
living there
MEXICO CITY, Mexico
SANTIAGO, Chile
RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina
 One problem associated with these
megacities is POLLUTION. Mexico City
has a problem with SMOG because the
city is surrounded by mountains which trap
the polluted air.
 Another major problem associated with
Latin American megacities is that the
INFRASTRUCTURE (systems that serve a
city – communication, transportation,
schools, etc.) cannot keep up with the
growing populations.
 This leads to people moving out of the
cities, known as OUT-MIGRATION. They
move to places called SQUATTER
SETTLEMENTS.
 Squatter settlements are called by several
names:
- FAVELAS (Brazil)
- ranchos (Venezuala)
- barriadas (Peru)
- colonias letarias (Mexico)
 A SQUATTER is a person who lives in
these settlements because they cannot
afford to buy land LEGALLY
 Squatter settlements lack services and
infrastructure such as CLEAN WATER,
ELECTRICITY, SCHOOLS, and market
places