South America
By:
Logan, Brady, Grace,
Kyndal, Reilly, and Anna
Argentina
Argentina’s current president is Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner. Their
presidents serve for 4 years at a time and can be elected for one more
term after that. There government is a presidential representative
democratic republic. They got their independence by fighting in an
Argentine War of Independence. Their forces were led by Manuel
Belgrano. They won so they had freedom from the Spanish rule. Their
flag has 3 equal horizontal light blue, white, light blue. The center is
the Sun of May. The flag was created by Manuel Belgrano. Their
religion is Roman Catholic but some people say they are related to god
in their own way. Their languages spoken are mainly Spanish but few
others speak foreign languages.
The Pampas are mostly in Argentina but also in Uruguay and Brazil.
The pampas are a very famous landmark in Argentina. They are a
very large plain in the Natural region of these countries. They are in
the tropical and arid climate. They are on the opposite side of the
equator than us so they have summer in December-February fall in
March-May winter in June-August and spring in SeptemberNovember. In the Pampas it barely snows but rains enough so that
they can have a lot of Agriculture. They have wildfires there so they
can only support grasses and almost never trees.
Bolivia
In Bolivia, their flag consists of three colors, red, green, and yellow. In
the ancient times of Bolivia, there was lots of symbolism associated
with all the colors. Red symbolizes hardiness strength and bravery.
Yellow symbolizes generosity, and green symbolizes hope, joy, and
love. In the middle of the flag is the coat of arms, which consists of
the Bolivian coat of arms. The musket represents the struggle for
independence, the olive branches symbolize peace, and the eagle
symbolizes liberty.
Independence Day in Bolivia is on August 6th because that is the day
that they broke free from being under the rule of Spain. The year they
gained independence was 1825. Today, Bolivia has a democratic
republic that has 3 branches, legislative, executive, and judicial.
Bolivia is one of the only countries in the world that has 2 capitals.
They have 2 because there government is split in 2 places. The
Judicial is located in Sucre, the Legislative and Executive in La Paz,
these are the two capitals. The official religion is Roman Catholic.
Brazil
Religion is Roman Catholic. Christianity was introduced by
missionaries who accompanied the early Portuguese settlers. 74% is
Roman Catholic. The official language is Portuguese and 99% of the
population speak it.
The Amazon Rainforest is the world’s largest remaining Natural
resource. It covers area of 2.5 million acres. An estimate of 2,700
acres of rainforest are burned each year and they also have a lot of
deforestation. They have many animals in this rainforest and many
different types of species. This is the largest rainforest in the world.
Pedro Alvares Cabral was a Portuguese explorer who claimed Brazil
for Portugal in 1500, called the Treaty of Toresillas. Dom Pedro was
there first Portuguese emperor who declared independence from
Portugal in 1822. Portugal controlled from 1500 to 1822. There
president is Dilma Rouseff. They are a Federal Republic. There flag is
yellow because of the Brazilian gold reserves, and green because of the
Amazon rainforest. The stars are a pattern of night sky over Rio on
November 15, 1889.
Chile
Chile’s national flower is the copihue(Lapageria rosea), also known as
the Chilean Bellflower. This flower consists of 6 red or pink petals
which grow edible fruit. The copihue was adopted in 1977.
Chile’s flag was adopted on October 18, 1817. White represents the
snow of the Andes, red represents the blood of patriots who fought for
independence, and blue represents the sky. The current president of
Chile is Sebastian Pinera. He became president on March 11, 2010.
Chile’s government is a Republic, just like its bordering country
Argentina. Chile gained their independence on September 18, 1810
when they broke from Spanish rule. Chile has a mainly Catholic
religion. Their national language is Spanish.
Colombia
Colombia’s flag consists of three colors; yellow, blue, and red.
Colombia is a Spanish speaking country. They have a Constitutional
Republic. Their currency that they use is the Peso.
Colombia has tropical and coastal areas, this affects what they wear.
Rainfall almost always occurs on a daily basis so this means the
clothing is meant for protection. They will wear trousers, blouses,
shirts, shorts, gowns, swim trunks, jackets, sweatshirts, and tank tops.
They will make these of wool and cotton. Their clothing is usually
bright and very designed and stand out to suit their personality.
Ecuador
The flag of Ecuador consists of horizontal
bands of yellow, blue, and red and has a coat of
arms in the center. The government is
Republic. Ecuador’s independence day is May
24 and it started in 1822, when they got their
independence from Spain. The current
president is Rafael Vicente Correa Delgado.
The official language is Spanish.
French Guiana
French Guiana is owned by France. They
speak French and Portuguese here. There flag
has red, white, and blue vertical bands.
Guyana
The government of Guyana is Republic. The
colors in the flag are red, yellow, and green.
Paraguay
Paraguay’s current president is Fernando Lugu. Like our government
they have an Executive branch as well. Their government is a
presidential representative democratic republic. They got their
independence by becoming independent from Spain after they took
over. They then had to become independent from the cruel dictators
that ruled their country. They flag of Paraguay has 2 sides both with
blue, white, and red horizontal bands. In the center on the obverse side
is the coat of arms on the reverse side is the seal of treasury. Their
official languages are Spanish and Guarani. Their official religions
are Roman Catholic, evangelical Christian, Christian.
Paraguay has many famous museums. The Casa de la Independencia is
about the
independence of the country. The roof was made from Bamboo and
the walls Adobe. In this famous museum they have 8 rooms. The
Dining, Living, Office, Bedroom, Oratory, Corridor, Yard, and
Capitulary Saloon. It also has a Historical Alley.
Peru
The Peruvian flag has 3 equal bands of color red, white, and red. In the
center of the flag is the coat of arms for Peru. Before it became its own
nation it was ruled by Spain. Ever since they conquered the Incas there
were North Americans that live in Peru. They fought a series of wars
and gained independence from Spain in 1821. However, they didn’t
consolidate, or form a nation until after the battle of Ayacucho. That
took place in 1824. It was a battle that secured the independence of
Peru from Spain and the rest of South America.
Peru is on the west coast of South America. Its capital is Lima. Peru is
on of the worlds top producers of copper, silver, lead, and zinc. They
also export textiles, clothing, food, and petroleum. They have one of
the best fishing industries in the world. They are also famous for
Machu Picchu, which is an ancient city that the Incas built. They were
Indians that occupied Peru. One animal that has been in Peru for a
long time is the Llama. The official language is Spanish. The official
religion is Roman Catholic.
Suriname
The government of Suriname is a
Constitutional Democracy. They gained their
independence from the Netherlands on
November 25, 1975. There are 10 districts.
The colors in the flag are green, white, red, and
yellow.
Uruguay
Uruguay’s current president is Jose Mujica. Like our government the
president gets elected by the voters but they serve 5 years at a time
instead of 4. Their government is a presidential representative
democratic republic. They got their independence by winning their
country between Argentina and Brazil. They were found by
Portuguese and the Spanish. Even though they were found by
Portuguese and Spanish their official language is Spanish. They also
have many other languages spoken such as Portuguese and Italian.
Their religion is Christian and a lot of them say that they don’t have a
religion but they still believe in God. There flag is blue and white
stripes from top to bottom and in the up left corner is the Sun of May.
Uruguay has a lot of beautiful beaches that aren’t spoiled by oil or
other human disasters. They are very popular and even though
Uruguay is very small they get around 1 million tourists at one beach
every summer. That is a lot especially because Uruguay is between
two very popular countries, Argentina and Brazil. These beaches are
very popular so a lot of people get their income from here so it also
helps Uruguay’s economy and is a fun trip for the visitors.
Venezuela
The flags design is a horizontal tri-color of yellow, blue, and red, stars
along the middle and coat of arms in the upper left corner. The
government is a Federal Republic. They gained independence from
Spain on July 5, 1811. The current president is Hugo Chavez. The
official language is Spanish. The currency is the Bolivar Fuerte and it
has been used since January 1, 2008.
Languages
•Argentina-Spanish
•Bolivia-Spanish, Aymara, Quecha
•Brazil-Portuguese
•Chile-Spanish
•Colombia-Spanish
•Ecuador-Spanish, Quecha, Shuar
•French Guiana-French, Portuguese
•Guyana-English
•Paraguay-Spanish, Guarani
•Peru-Spanish, Quecha, Aymara
•Suriname-Dutch
•Uruguay-Spanish
•Venezuela-Spanish, Indigenous Indian Languages