Chapter 7: Ethnicity

© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc.

Chapter 7: Ethnicity

The Cultural Landscape: An Introduction to Human Geography


Ethnicity• Ethnicity = from the Greek ethnikos, meaning

“national”– Definition—Identity w/ a group of people who share the

cultural traditions of a particular homeland or hearth.– Distinct from race, which is identity w/ a group of people who

share a biological ancestor.– Ethnicity—Important element of cultural diversity b/c it is

immutable (unchanging), you cannot choose to change ethnicity like you can choose to speak another language.

– Even if globalization engulfs language, religion, and other cultural elements, regions of distinct ethnic identity will remain.


Where Are Ethnicities Distributed?• Distribution of ethnicities in the United States

– Hispanics (Latinos) = 15% of the U.S. population– African Americans = 13% of the U.S. population– Asian Americans = 4% of the U.S. population– American Indians = 1% of the U.S. population

• Regional Concentrations– Hispanics—Clustered in SW; mostly in Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, and

California. Hispanic: term used for all ppl of Spanish-speaking countries.– African Americans—Clustered in SE (GA, MS, AL, SC, LA)– Asian Americans—Clustered in West; comprise 40% of Hawaii’s

population; ½ of all Asian Americans live in CA; Chinese account for ¼, Indians and Filipinos 1/5 each, Korean & Vietnamese 1/10 each.

– American Indians—SW and Plains states


Distribution of Hispanics in the United States

Figure 7-1


Distribution of African Americans in the United States

Figure 7-2


Distribution of Asian Americans in the United States

Figure 7-3


Distribution of American Indians in the United States

Figure 7-4


Where Are Ethnicities Distributed?• Concentration of ethnicities in U.S. cities

– 90% of African Americans & Hispanics live in cities, compared to 75% for all Americans.

– Remnants of 20th European migration = still evident on the landscape• Chicago, Detroit, & other Midwest cities attracted ethnic groups from

Southern and Eastern Europe to work in the growing industries.

• These ethnic groups clustered in new neighborhoods, which were often named for their predominant ethnicities (i.e. Detroit’s Greektown & Poletown)

• The children and grandchildren of European immigrants moved out of most of the original inner-city neighborhoods later in 20th century.

– Concentrations in inner-city now have shifted to predominantly African-American or Hispanic.

• They now live in the neighborhoods formerly inhabited by Europeans.


Chicago’s Ethnic Distribution

African Americans—occupy extensive areas on south & west side

Hispanics—clustered in several neighborhoods on west side

European ethnic groups—located to NW, SW, and far south side.


Los Angeles Ethnic Distribution

African Americans are clustered to the south of downtown LA & Hispanics to the east.


Where Are Ethnicities Distributed?• African American migration patterns

– Forced migration from Africa • 18th century—British shipped about 400,000 Africans to the colonies.• In 1808, US banned bringing additional slaves, but an estimated

250,000 were illegally imported.• Forced migration began when people living along the east and west

coast of African, taking advantage of superior weapons, captured people living farther inland & sold the captives to Europeans.

• At height of 18th century slave demand, European colonies adopted the triangular slave trade (next slide)

• In 13 colonies, most of the large plantations were in the South. Consequently, most Africans shipped to US ended up in the SE.

• 13th Amendment, added after Civil War, banned slavery; however, most African Americans remained in the South and worked as sharecroppers—people who work in fields rented from a landowner and pays rent by turning over a share of crops to landowner.


(Left) Cloth & other goods were carried by ship from Britain to Africa to buy slaves. The same ships transported slaves from Africa to Caribbean islands. The ships then completed the triangle by returning to Britain w/ molasses to make rum. Sometimes the ships would make a rectangular pattern by shipping molasses to N. America & the rum from there to Britain. (Right) British and European powers obtained slaves along west coast of Africa, from Liberia to Angola.


Slave Ship

Diagrams show the extremely high density by which Africans were transported to the Americas to be slaves. The bottom two images show human figures packed into the hold of the ship lying next to each other w/ no room to move.


Sharecropper—Cotton planting in Georgia


Where are Ethnicities Distributed?

• Immigration from the South to North– First half of 20th century—Sharecropping declined w/ rise in farm

machinery, industrial jobs lured African Americans to urban areas.– Migrated out of South in several clearly identifiable channels (next slide)– Two main waves (1910-1920, 1940-1950)—The world wars stimulated

expansion of factories while the demands of the armed forces created shortages of factory workers. Example: In 1910, Detroit only had 5,741 African Americans. By 1960, it had 500,000.

• Immigration out of inner cities to other urban areas – Second half of 20th century to Present– When they reached cities, African Americans clustered in one or two

neighborhoods, became known as ghettos (came from Jewish ghettos) – Expansion of the ghetto—African Americans moved from the tight

ghettos into immediately adjacent neighborhoods during 1950s & 1960s.


Migration followed four distinctive channels along the east coast, east central, west central, and southwest regions of the country.


Expansion of Ghetto in Baltimore, Maryland

1950—most African Americans lied in a small area NW of downtown.

During 1950s & 1960s, African Americans expanded to NW, along major radial roads, and a second node opened on the east side.

The south-side African American area was an isolated public housing complex built for wartime workers in nearby port industries.


Where Are Ethnicities Distributed?

• Differentiating ethnicity and race– Often confusing– Race = traits that are shared genetically

• Biological features are so highly variable among members of a race that any prejudged classification is meaningless.

• Biological classification by race is the basis for racism, which is the belief that race is the primary determinant of human traits and capacities and that racial differences produce an inherent superiority of a particular race.

• Separate but Equal Doctrine– In explaining spatial regularities, geographers look for patterns of spatial

interaction. A distinctive feature of the US has been a strong discouragement of spatial interaction.

– Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)—Declared “separate but equal” constitutional– After this SC ruling, southern states enacted Jim Crow laws


Until the 1960s in the US South, whites and blacks had to use separate drinking fountains, restrooms, bus seats, hotel rooms, & other public facilities.


Where are Ethnicities Distributed?

• White Flight– Brown v. BOE (1954)—Separate schools are

unconstitutional– Rather than integrate w/ African Americans, whites fled in

anticipation of blacks moving to an area.– This was encouraged by blockbusting, where real estate

agents convinced white homeowners living near a black area to sell their houses at low prices, preying on their fears that black families would soon move into the neighborhood and cause property values to decline. The agents then sold the houses at much higher prices to black families desperate to escape the overcrowded ghettos.


Where are Ethnicities Distributed?• Division by Race in South Africa

– Late 20th century—South Africa created apartheid, which was the physical separation of different races into different geographic areas.

– Although these laws were repealed during 1990s, it will take many years to erase the impact of these policies.

– Apartheid laws determined where different races could live, attend school, work, shop, and own land.

– To ensure geographic isolation of different races, South African gov’t designated ten so-called homelands for blacks.

– The principal antiapartheid organization, the African National Congress, was legalized, and its leader, Nelson Mandela, was elected president when blacks were allowed to vote in 1994.

– South Africa’s blacks have achieved political equality, but they are much poorer than white South Africans. Average income for white South Africans is about ten times higher than that of blacks.


Apartheid—Blacks and whites reached the platform at this train station in Johannesburg by walking up separate stairs. Whites waited at the front of the platform to get into cars at the head of the train, while blacks waited at the rear.


Why Have Ethnicities Transformed Into Nationalities?

• Rise of nationalities– Ethnicity & Race are distinct from Nationality, another term used to

describe a group of people w/ shared traits.– Nationality—identity with a group of people who share a legal

attachment and a personal allegiance to a particular country.– Common traits of Ethnicity

• Religion, language, material culture

• Ethnicity identifies groups w/ distinct ancestry and cultural traditions, such as African Americans, Hispanic Americans, or Chinese Americans.

– Common traits of Nationality• Voting, obtaining a passport, performing civic duties

• Nationality identifies citizens of the US, including those who immigrated and became citizens.

• The US forged a nationality in the late 18th century out of a collection of ethnic groups gathered primarily from Europe and Africa through sharing the values expressed in the D of I, Constitution, and B of R.


• Nation-States– Those states whose territory corresponds to that occupied by a particular

ethnicity that has been transformed into a nationality.– Ethnic groups have been transformed into nationalities b/c desire for

self-rule is a very important shared attitude. – Self-determination—concept that ethnicities have right to govern

themselves.

• Nation-States in Europe– Ethnicities were transformed into nationalities during 19th century– Germany did not emerge as a nation-state until 1871. In 1871, Prussia—

the most powerful German state—forced most of its neighbors to join the German Empire.

– During 1930s, the Nazis claimed that all German speaking parts of Europe constituted one nationality and should be unified in one state. European powers did not try to stop Germany from taking over Austria & Czechoslovakia, but WWII began when Germany invaded Poland.



Upper left—German-speaking territory divided into a large number of principalities.Upper right—After losing WWI, Germany was divided in two discontinuous areas, separated by Poland.Lower left—Germany’s boundaries changed again after WWII, as eastern portions of country were taken by Poland and USSR.Lower right—With collapse of Communism, East & West Germany were united. B/c of forced migration of Germans after WWII, the territory occupied by German speakers is much farther west than the location a century ago.


• Nationalism– Definition—Loyalty and devotion to a nationality– Typically promotes a sense of national consciousness that

exalts one nation above all others and emphasizes its culture and interests as opposed to those of other nations.

– States foster nationalism by promoting symbols (i.e. flags and songs)

– This is an important symbol of a centripetal force, which is an attitude that tends to unify people and enhance support for a state (The word centripetal means “directed toward the center”; it is the opposite of centrifugal, which means “to spread out from the center”).



• Centripetal Forces– Unify a state– Provide stability, strengthen, bind together, create

solidarity

• Centrifugal Forces– Divide a state– Lead to balkanization/devolution, disrupt internal

order, destabilize/weaken a country

Not on PP Guide, take notes!

Characteristics of Centripetal and Centrifugal Forces


Could you list specific examples of centripetal and centrifugal forces that have affected the viability of any of the countries listed here?


From Previous Map• Examples of Centripetal Force

– Religion—Hinduism in India; Islam in Pakistan or Bangladesh; Buddhism in Bhutan

– Language—Hindi or English in India; Bengali in Bangladesh– Physical geography—Pakistan as a river valley, isolated by mountains

and desert.– Government—India has representative democracy

• Examples of Centrifugal Force– Religion—Conflict between Sunni/Shiite Muslims in Pakistan,

Islam/Hindu in India or Bangladesh– Language—India has 14-18 official languages– Regionalism—India has 28 states in its federal system of government.– Physical geography—Mountains divide communities in Nepal

Not on guide, Take notes!


Why Have Ethnicities Transformed into Nationalities?

• Multinational states– Multiethnic state

• A state with multiple ethnic groups, all of whom might contribute to a larger national identity

– Example: the United States

– Multinational state• A state with multiple ethnic groups who retain their own

distinctive national identity w/ traditions of self-determination

– Ex: United Kingdom—contains England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. The four display some ethnic differences, but the main reason for considering them as distinct nationalities is that each had very different historical experiences.


• Former Soviet Union—The Largest Multinational State– When USSR existed, its 15 republics were based on the 15

largest ethnicities. W/ breakup of USSR, the 15 republics became independent countries.

• Russia—Now the Largest Multinational State– Officially recognizes the existence of 39 nationalities, many

of which are eager for independence. – Russia’s ethnicities are clustered in two principal locations:

Along the borders w/ neighboring states & in the center of Russia (next slide)

– Independence movements are flourishing b/c Russia is less willing to suppress these movements forcibly than the USSR had once been.



Ethnicities in Russia

Figure 7-18


Revival of Ethnic Identity• In 21st century, ethnic identity has once again

become more important than nationality. – In Eastern Europe, the breakup of the Soviet Union,

Yugoslavia, and Czechoslovakia during the 1990s gave more numerous ethnicities the opportunity to organize nation-states.


Why Do Ethnicities Clash?

• Ethnic Competition in Lebanon– Lebanon is a bit smaller and more populous than Connecticut– Once known as the financial and recreational center in the Middle East,

it has been severely damaged by fighting among ethnicities.– Divided between 60% Muslims and 39% Christians– When Lebanon became independent in 1943, the constitution required

that each religion be represented in the Chamber of Deputies according to its percentage in the 1932 census.

– Christians initially controlled the country’s main businesses, but as Muslims became the majority, they demanded political and economic equality. A civil war lasting from 1975-1990 was ended by an agreement which gave each religion one-half of the 128 seats in Parliament.

– The US attempted to restore peace but pulled out after 241 US marines died in their barracks from a truck bomb in 1983.


Ethnicities in Lebanon

Christians dominate in the south and northwest, Sunni Muslims in the far north, Shiite Muslims in the northeast and south, and Druze in the south-central and southeast.


Why Do Ethnicities Clash?• Newly independent countries are often created to separate two

ethnicities. Conflicts arise when an ethnicity is split among more than one country.– India and Pakistan

• When British ended their colonial rule of Indian subcontinent in 1947, they divided the colony into India and Pakistan. Pakistan comprised two noncontiguous areas, West & East Pakistan, separated by India (next slide).

• 1971—East Pakistan became independent state of Bangladesh

• The basis for separating West and East Pakistan was ethnicity—the people living in the two areas of Pakistan were predominantly Muslim; those in India were mostly Hindu.

– Muslims have long fought w/ Hindus for control of territory• Mahatma Gandhi was the leading Hindu advocate of nonviolence and

reconciliation w/ Muslims. He was assassinated in 1948, which ended the possibility of creating a single state with Muslims and Hindus living together.

• The partition of South Asia into two states resulted in massive migration b/c the boundaries did not correspond precisely w/ territories inhabited by the two ethnicities.


1947—British India partitioned South Asia into two independent states, which resulted in the massive migration of 17 million people.


What Is Ethnic Cleansing?• Ethnic cleansing—A process in which a more powerful ethnic

group forcibly removes a less powerful group from their territory – The purpose is not to defeat an enemy, but to completely remove the

ethnicity. Today, most ethnic cleansing happens in Europe and Africa.

• Ethnic Cleansing in Europe– Largest forced migration came during WWII when Nazis forced the

Jews, gypsies, and other ethnic groups to concentration camps, where they were exterminated.

– After WWII ended, millions of ethnic Germans, Poles, Russians, and other groups were forced to migrate as a result of boundary changes.

– In recent years, ethnic cleansing w/in Europe has occurred in portions of former Yugoslavia. This is part of a complex pattern of ethnic diversity in the region of SE Europe known as the Balkan Peninsula (about the size of Texas), which includes Albania, Bulgaria, Greece, and Romania, as well as several countries that once comprised Yugoslavia.


What Is Ethnic Cleansing?• Creation of Multiethnic Yugoslavia

– Balkan peninsula—Has long been a hotbed of unrest– June 1914—heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary was assassinated by a

Serb who sought independence for Bosnia. The incident sparked WWI.– After WWI, the Allies created Yugoslavia to unite several Balkan

ethnicities that spoke similar South Slavic languages.– Under leadership of Josip Broz Tito who promoted the ethnic diversity of

the nation, Yugoslavia maintained stability for most of 20th century.

• Destruction of Multiethnic Yugoslavia– After Tito’s death in 1980, rivalries among ethnicities resurfaced.– When Yugoslavia’s republics were transformed into independent states,

ethnicities fought to redefine boundaries.– Not only did the boundaries of Yugoslavia’s six republics fail to match

the territory occupied by the five major nationalities, but the country contained other important ethnic groups that had not received official recognition as nationalities.


At the outbreak of WWI, Austria-Hungary controlled the northern part of the region. The Ottoman Empire controlled some of the south.


What is Ethnic Cleansing?• Balkanization

– The process by which a state breaks down through conflicts among its ethnicities. World leaders regarded this as a threat to peace throughout the world, not just a small area. They were right: Balkanization led directly to WWI, b/c the various nationalities in the Balkans dragged into war the larger powers w/ which they had alliances.


• Ethnic Cleansing in Central Africa– Ethnic conflict is widespread in Africa largely b/c the present-day

boundaries of states do not match the boundaries of ethnic groups.– Conflict between Hutu and Tutsi destabilizes central Africa.

• Hutus—settled farmers who grew crops in the fertile regions of Rwanda

• Tutsis—cattle herders who migrated to Rwanda and Burundi from the Rift Valley of western Kenya beginning 400 years ago.

• The Tutsis took over the kingdom and turned the Hutu into their serfs, although Tutsis comprised only 15% of population.

– Rwanda became a German colony in 1899. • After Germans were defeated in WWI, the League of Nations gave Belgium

mandate over Rwanda. Colonial administrators permitted a few Tutsis to hold gov’t positions, but excluded the Hutu altogether.

• When Rwanda gained independence in 1962, the Hutus were finally permitted to vote, and comprising the majority of the population, won the elections. Once in power, the Hutus killed between ½ million and 1 million Tutsis in 1994 as reprisals for past injustices.

• In neighboring Burundi, Hutus and Tutsis both engaged in ethnic cleansing, resulting in several hundred thousand casualities.


Ethnicities in Africa

The boundaries of modern African states do not match the territories long occupied by thousands of ethnic groups.

State boundaries derive from the administrative units imposed by European colonial powers a century ago.


The End.

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Chapter 7: Ethnicity

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