Latin America

What IS Latin America?

• Reaches from the Rio Grande to Cape Horn.

• Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean islands and South America

Latin America

• For more than 300 years most countries of L.A. were colonies of Spain and Portugal

• The term Latin refers to the Spanish and Portuguese languages

• It also refers to the cultural heritage that Spain and Portugal established in America

Location

• Lies between Atlantic and Pacific oceans. – These oceans link LA

to other parts of the world

– Movement of ideas/religion/goods

Latin and then some

• The cultural heritage of Africa is also a part of Latin culture.

Land and People

• More than 20 nations and many landforms, environments and peoples.

• Some land rich in resources-others have very few.

• Therefore-some places densely populated and others empty of human life.

• Extreme poverty

Landforms

• Include the second highest range of mountains in the world, as well as huge lowland.

• Andes Mountains and the Amazon Basin

Great Rivers

• Central America lacks rivers large enough for ships

• South America has three major river systems– Amazon-Peru-Brazil– Orinoco-Venezuela– Rio de la Plata-

Uruguay-Argentina

Climate and Ecosystems

• More than 1/2 the continent lies between the tropics-therefore the sun is directly overhead for much of the year. This makes it hot everywhere except mountains

• Mountains create their own climates-elevation and distance from the equator.

Three important early civilizations

• The Mayas Yucatan Peninsula & Guatemalan lowlands

• Aztecs in central Mexico

• Incas in the Andes Mountains (present day Peru)

Latin America is carved up

• Portugal took over Brazil

• The Spanish conquered Central America and the western coast of South America

• France, England and the Netherlands claimed certain islands in the Caribbean.

Economic Development

• Mexico-Farming and ranching, tourism, exporting goods.

• The people mainly European and Native American background. Language? Religion?