LATIN AMERICA REVIEW

GEOGRAPHY Latin America = 4 Regions

MexicoCentral AmericaSouth AmericaCaribbean (a.k.a. West Indies)

Major FeaturesAndes Mountains-runs length of S.A.Amazon River (& surrounding Rain Forests)Yucatan PeninsulaGulf of MexicoCaribbean Ocean

ANDES MOUNTAINS Home to

Ancient Inca civilization

Stretch 2,500 miles N to S

DIP: Divide, Isolate, Protect

AMAZON RIVER/RAIN FOREST Largest River

basin/System in world

Home to many diverse tribes, animal species, and plant life

Deforestation big issue today

YUCATAN PENINSULA Part of Mexico

Today Used to be home

to Ancient Maya

THREE ANCIENT L.A. CIVILIZATIONS

Maya (200 BC-700 AD)

Aztec (1200-1521) Inca (1200-1533)

MAYA (200 BC-700 AD) Located around Yucatan peninsula Polytheistic Sacrifice to gods Temple builders Used Glyphs: early writing/record

keeping system Created 2 inter-locking Calendars Math and Astronomy Mysteriously declined (famine, food

shortages, natural disasters, Spanish)

AZTECS (1200 AD-1521 AD) Central Mexico Polytheistic Heavy Human Sacrifice Fierce warrior class Temple Builders Architecture & City Planning:

Tenochtitlan Two Calendar system Emperor Montezuma II Conquered by

Spanish Conquistador Cortez in 1521

INCA (1200-1533) Andes Mountain Civilization Polytheistic Connected empire through extensive

roads and bridges, running massagers Emperor ruled from capital Cuzco Terrace farmers Defeated by Spanish conquistador

Pizarro in 1533.

“THE ENCOUNTER” 1492- Italian

explorer Christopher Columbus “discovers” the Americas while trying to find a quicker water route to the East Indies.

VOCABULARY Columbian Exchange- Global transfer

of foods, plants, and animals during the colonization of America

Encomienda- land grants given to wealthy Spanish settlers

Peninsulare- Pure-blooded Spaniard living in the “new world”

Mercantilism- Process of using colonies as a source of raw materials and as a market for finished goods.

Gold, God, Glory- Reasons for Exploration

FAMOUS LATIN AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE LEADERS

(EARLY 1800’S)

Toussaint L’Ouverture- Haiti Simon Bolivar- Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru Jose de San Martin- Argentina, Chile Miguel Hidalgo- Mexico Jose Maria Morelos- Mexico

All fought against European Colonial rulers (France & Spain); all inspired by American and French Revolutions (and Enlightenment ideas!)

LATIN AMERICA DURING COLD WAR Cuban Missile Crisis- Soviets

install Missiles 90 miles from US in Cuba.

US & USSR reach agreement to avoid disaster

Cuba was a socialist (communist) ally to USSR.

Fidel Castro dictator of Cuba Height of Cold War tensions

MODERN ISSUES IN LATIN AMERICA Illegal Immigration Drug trade Single cash crop economies- not

diversified enough Deforestation (Amazon) Corrupt, unstable governments Difficulty transitioning from

dictatorships to democracies