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The Cultural Geography of Latin America

Unit 3 – Chapter 9

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I. Section I

Population PatternsPopulation Patterns

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A. Human CharacteristicsBlending of People

Indigenous People – the area’s native peopleEuropean settlers

Mostly Spanish & PortugueseAlso Italians, British, French, & Germans

Asian settlers on many of the islands

LanguageMost countries have Spanish as their primary languageBrazil – PortugueseSome English & some French countriesDialects – different versions of the same language

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B. Where Latin Americans LiveSouth America’s Populated Rim

Densely populated area around the continents edges (coasts)

Why do you think that people live here instead of the continent’s interior?

Population DensityVaries greatly throughout Latin America!

Look at the map on pg. 184

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C. MigrationMigrating North

Many people try to enter the U.S. looking for a better life

California, Texas, New York, Illinois, & Florida have the highest populations of immigrants

Internal MigrationRapid urbanization

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D. Growth of CitiesUrban Setting

Megacities – cities with more than 1 million peoplePrimate City – influences other cities

Mexico City – 18 Million– List 5 reasons people would move to a city– List at least 5 problems this overcrowding

can cause

4 of the 20 largest population cities in the world are located in this region!

#2 – Mexico City, Mexico#4 – Sao Paulo, Brazil#10 – Buenos Aires, Argentina#19 – Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Make sure you read pgs. 218-219!

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II. Section II

History & Government

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A. Native American Empires3 Native Groups

MayaA.D. 250 - 900S. Mexico & N. Central AmericaTikal (Guatemala) was their greatest citySkilled in math

– Developed a symbol for zero

– Created a calendar based on 365 days!

Conquered by the Spanish

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Native American Empires (Cont.)

AztecA.D. 1300

Tenochtitlan – capital city – now Mexico City

Grew beans & rice on chinampas – floating islands

Developed a class system

Spanish defeated them

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Native American Empires (Cont.)Inca

A.D. 1300

Cuzco – capital city – Peru

Cut terraces in the Andes mountains to grow crops

Built irrigation systems to bring water to desert areas

No written language – kept records on quipu

Built Machu Picchu in Peru

Conquered by Spanish

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B. Empires to NationsEuropean Conquests

Conquistadors – Spanish conquerors

Conquered many of the native people in the 1500s

Viceroys – Royal appointed officials

Gaining IndependenceIn the late 1700s, resentment grew against the Europeans

The first country to earn independence was Haiti

Many of he islands of the Caribbean did not gain their independence for much longer & some still haven’t today!

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C. Era of Dictatorship

Caudillo – dictatorMade all of the decisions

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D. Movements for Change

Panama & the U.S. signed a treaty creating the Panama Canal ZoneSlavery still existed in many countriesCommunism in Cuba – still today!

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III. Section III

Cultures & Lifestyles

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A. ReligionRoman Catholicism

During the colonial era (when Latin America was being colonized by European countries), many of the Latin Americans became Christians

Most Christians are Roman Catholic

Protestantism

Mixing of ReligionsSyncretism – mixture of religions

Look at pie graph on pg. 227

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B. The Arts of Latin America

Traditional ArtsWeaving, woodcrafting, pottery, & metalwork

Murals & Mosaics

Modern ArtsArtists, architects, dancers, musicians

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C. Everyday LifeFamily

Extended family – includes grandparents, aunts & uncles, cousinsLatin Americans have a strong sense of loyalty to this

Education & Health CareEducation quality varies greatly!Malnutrition – lack of proper food

Sports & LeisureSports

Futbol – SoccerJai Alai – Fast-paced game like handball

Fiestas – festivalsBest known is CarnivalMarti Gras – Rio de Janeiro