The Americas
By
Manuel Corro
AGED 4713
The American
Continent
Three in one
 North America
 Central America
 South America
North America
 Canada
 The United States
 Mexico
North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA 1994)
Latin America

Latin America, the entire western
hemisphere south of the United States.
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Latin America comprises those countries
of the Americas that developed from the
colonies of Spain, Portugal, and France.
Latin America

Because these European powers used
languages derived from Latin, the term
Latin America was devised to designate
the parts of the New World that they
colonized.
• Spanish
• Portuguese
• French
Latin America
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Spanish is the official language in 17
countries in North, Central And South
America and Two Caribbean countries
One Portuguese country: Brazil
French: Haiti
Non Latin countries
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Central America
• English: Belize
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South America:
• English: Guyana
• Dutch: Suriname
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Caribbean
• English: Jamaica, Barbados, Grenada, and
Trinidad and Tobago
Mexico
Mexican Southern states
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State
Yucatán
Quintana Roo
Campeche
Tabasco
Chiapas
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Capital city
Mérida
Chetumal
Campeche
Villahermosa
Tuxtla Gutiérrez
• Quintana Roo has border with Belize
• Campeche has borders with Belize and Guatemala
• Tabasco and Chiapas have border with Guatemala
Central America
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7 countries
521,500 sq km(201,300 sq mi)
36.4 million inhabitants
Geographers defined: from isthmus of
Tehuantepec (southern Mexico) to Colombia
Farming is the leading economic activity
The principal cash crops, such as coffee,
bananas, sugarcane, and cotton.
Central America
Countries and capital cities
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Guatemala
Belize
El Salvador
Honduras
Nicaragua
Costa Rica
Panama
Guatemala
 Belize
 San Salvador
 Tegucigalpa
 Managua
 San Jose
 Panama
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Foreign Trade

About half of Central America's intercontinental
trade is with the United States and Canada.
Almost all the rest is with Western Europe,
Mexico, and countries of South America.
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The main exports are basic commodities:
bananas, coffee, cacao, meat, chicle, cotton,
mahogany, balsa, hides and skins, and rubber.

Caribbean Basin Initiative (1984) and the North
American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) (1994)
Caribbean countries
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Cuba
Jamaica
Haiti
Dominican Republic
Barbados
Grenada
Trinidad and Tobago
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La Habana (Havana)
Kingston
Port Prince
Santo Domingo
Bridgetown
St. George’s
Port of Spain
South America
South America:

South America, fourth largest of the Earth's
continents (after Asia, Africa, and North
America)
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17,820,900 sq km (6,880,700 sq mi), or 12
percent of the Earth's land surface.
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2000 estimated population of 348 million, or 6
percent of the world's people.
South America:
Countries and Capital cities
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Colombia
Venezuela
Ecuador
Brazil
Peru
Bolivia
Paraguay
Argentina
Uruguay
Chile
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Bogota
Caracas
Quito
Brasilia
Lima
La Paz
Asuncion
Buenos Aires
Montevideo
Santiago
South America:
Non Latin countries
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Guyana
Suriname
French Guiana
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Georgetown
Paramaribo
Cayenne
South America: People
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Language:
• 9 countries speak Spanish
• 1 country speaks Portuguese
• Other languages: English, Dutch and French
• Paraguay 2 official languages: Spanish & Guaraní
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Ethnology: Diverse ethnic heritage
•
•
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Europeans: Spaniards, Portuguese,
Native Americans
African blacks
Mestizo
Mulatto
South America: People
Total population 348 million
Ecuador
Chile
Others
Venezuela
Brazil
50 %
Peru
Argentina
Colombia
South America: Agriculture
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Most crop and livestock production in
South America is for home consumption
and domestic markets.
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Staple food:
• Root crops: potatoes and cassava
• Grains: rice, wheat, beans, and corn
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Export-oriented agriculture is pursued in
the tropical areas and mid-latitudes.
South America: Agriculture (continued)
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Tropical crops, coffee is the most important
(southeastern Brazil and in west central
Colombia)
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Cacao is important in eastern Brazil and west
central Ecuador.
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Bananas are grown for export in Colombia and
western Ecuador
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Sugarcane for export in coastal Peru, Guyana,
Suriname, and northeastern and southeastern
Brazil for export and domestic markets.
Argentina and Uruguay have good grass grassy
plains for raising cattle.
South America: Agriculture (continued)
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Argentine wheat, corn, linseed, beef,
mutton, hides, and wool are important
items of international trade.
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Uruguay has a long-standing export trade
dominated by beef, wool and hides.
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In southeastern Brazil soybeans have,
since the 1970s, become an important
export crop. Soybeans are less important in
Argentina
South America: trade
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Most of South America's trade is intercontinental,
the United States, Western Europe, and Japan
being major trading partners. Petroleum and its
derivatives are the principal components of
foreign trade.
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Brazil and Venezuela dominate the continent's
export trade, and Brazil accounts for much of the
imports.
South America: trade (continued)
•Venezuela's crude and
refined oil production drive
the economy, accounting for
about three-quarters of the
country's revenue from
exports.
•A founding member of the
Organization of Petroleum
Exporting Countries (OPEC),
most of Venezuela's oil
production goes to the United
States after refining in the
Netherlands Antilles.
South America: trade

The development of free trade, beginning in the
late 1960s with the Andean Pact (Bolivia, Chile,
Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela)
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Southern Cone Common Market (MERCOSUR)
(Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay, with
Bolivia as an associate member)
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The Group of Three (Colombia, Mexico, and
Venezuela)
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North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA),
has greatly improved South America's economic
prospects.
 São Paulo is one of Brazil's major
manufacturing centers.
References

David J. Robinson, B.A., Ph.D.
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”Central America". Microsoft® Encarta® Online
Encyclopedia 2001
http://encarta.msn.com (20 Nov. 2001)
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"South America". Microsoft® Encarta® Online
Encyclopedia 2001
http://encarta.msn.com (20 Nov. 2001)