Global History And Geography Latin America

7/30/2019 Global History And Geography Latin America

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Latin America

I. Early Indian CivilizationsA. Aztecs (1200s1521)occupied much of central/southern Mexico (capital: Tenochtitlan, builton an artificial island which was present-day Mexico City; built on Lake Texcoco)

1. RELIGIOUS PEEPS: Sun GodLots of human sacrifices to satisfy himLARGETEMPLES

2. Great military power3. Roads and causeways which connected capital to mainland for trade and conquest4. Contributionsaccurate calendar, paintings, aqueducts5. Nauhatl Writing6. Montezuma IIlast leader during the arrival of Hernando Cortes in 1521; this rulerthought that Cortes and his men were gods completely welcomed them. (You can guesswhat happens next! Cortes is thinking that he can ask the Aztecs for gold and the building ofchurches at first completely MANIPULATING/TAKING ADVANTAGE of him. Andthen later, his men kidnap Montezuma)7. And that was the end of their incredible reign

B. Mayas (300-900 C.E.) - southern Mexico/Central Americae.g. modern-day Guatemala, Belize,

Honduras, El Salvador1. city-states (Major City: Tikal)2. pyramid temples3. FULLY DEVELOPED WRITTEN LANGUAGEhieroglyphscommunication/record-keeping4. Contributionsconcept of zero, accurate 365-day calendar, astronomical advancements,complex irrigation network5. Reason for downfall unknown (perhaps abandonment, perhaps violence, perhapsfamine/epidemic)

C. Incas (1400s -1532) - Peru, Chile, Ecuador, Bolivia (Capital: Cuzco)1. quipu (knotted string) for record-keeping

2. No written language3. Known for extensive roads throughout the Andes4. Terrace farming for non-flat terrain5. Temple of Sun in Cuzco6. Contributions/Advancementsroads, terrace farming, brain surgery,herbal remedies7. Ended with the arrival of Francisco Pizarro (a conquistador), who quickly conquered anddefeated Incas

II. Arrival of the SpaniardsA. Columbus discovers the Americas in 1492B. Magellan (Portuguese) circumnavigates the globeC. CONQUISTADORSSpaniards who conquered areas

1. THREE MOTIVES FOR EXPLORATION (THREE Gs): Gold, Glory and God (riches,power through obtaining as many colonies as possible that was the European gameor competition of the time, and to spread Christianity)

2. Spain and Portugal divide the newly-conquered Latin America in 1494 along a meridian(line of longitude) because the competition caused conflict between them (TREATY OFTORDESILLAS)


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3. Hernan Cortesconquers Aztecs in 15214. Francisco Pizarroconquers Incas in 15325. Triangular trade & Mercantilism

i. Trade among Americas, Europe and later Africaii. Mercantilismcolonies exist for the benefit of the mother country; colonies send

raw materials to mother country and it sells the final manufactured goods backiii. Attempted to enslave Native Americans but they were less suited for plantation

work, knew the land better and could easily run away AND they were all dying ofdiseases (e.g. small poxdeadlynot good)iv. African leader accepts slave trade because he gets the dough and rum

III. Social structure of Latin America1. PENINSULARESthose that were born on the Iberian Peninsula (in Spain or Portugal)2. CREOLESborn in the Americas but of Spanish descent (They had the $, no political power

though)3. MESTIZOSpart Native American, part Spanish4. MULATTOSpart African American, part Spanish5. NATIVE AMERICANS6. AFRICAN AMERICANS/SLAVES

IV. INDEPENDENCE!!! (Early 1800s) (Pink= CAUSES OF THE REVOLUTIONS)A. Creoles had little political power even though they had money and wanted to rebelB.Native Americans and African slaves werent too fond of them eitherC.Napoleon (from France) invades Spain making Spain less powerfulD.Napoleons brother, who took the thrown in Spain after the invasion, imposed high taxes for

Latin AmericansE. U.S. beat Great Britain and whats this? HAITI BEAT FRANCE (1804)? DOMINO

EFFECT!!!! They were motivated by these successes!F. Plus, ideas of philosophy spread to the Americas during this time called the Enlightenment (John

Locke talks about how every person has natural rights, right to rebel against an unjust

government, DEBATE!!). This further persuades Latin Americans to rebel.G. Leaders in the revolutions *these were violent rebellions*ALL RESULTED ININDEPENDENCE

1. Toussaint LOuverture Haiti18042. Simon Bolivar (Creole)SOUTH AMERICA (Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru,

Bolivia, Argentina)(1810mid 1820s)3. Jose de San MartinSOUTH AMERICA (Argentina, Chile with Simon Bolivar, and

Peru) (1818 1820)4. Miguel Hidalgo (Catholic priest)MEXICO1821

V. Post-independence problems (Blue = EFFECTS OF THE REVOLUTIONS)A. Many deaths occurred in the warsB. New nationsneed to build new governments/constitutionsC. Civil wars break outThese nations are highly unstable now because they have no authorityfrom Europe or economic/financial assistanceThey dont know what to do!D. Caudillos take powerstrict and corrupt military rulers that keep power through corruptionbecause the government is weakE. New nations become economically dependent on Europe (their economies are in a horrible state)F. Wide gap between rich and poor (increased poverty)


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G. New countries do not protect the rights of the people; colonial hierarchy still exists(mestizos/mulattos/natives/Africans are still at the bottom)H. Lack of unity

VI. History of U.S. involvement/intervention in Latin AmericaA. Why we care about Latin America: (1) Theyre so close, we need good relations, and we need tokeep Europe out (2) Build the Panama Canal (3) Invest in industries/trade/U.S. economic benefit

B.

Monroe Doctrine (1823)1. Pres. says out of the blueEUROPE, dont try to re-colonize Latin America, its offlimits to youbecause of instability in Europe, this somehow WORKS

2. Protected Latin America and promoted trade/better relations between Latin America andU.S.

C. Mexican-American War (1846-1848)1. U.S. wins BIG TIMEwe get California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico in part,Colorado

D. Spanish-American War (1898)1. Cuban Revolts anger U.S.2. Mysterious sinking of the U.S.S. Maine causes public to blame it on Spain (not really

Spains fault)3. Ulterior motive gain territory/imperialize3. US wins and gets territory (Guantanamo Bay, Guam, Puerto Rico, Philippines (until1940s))

E. Roosevelt Corollary (Big Stick Diplomacy 1904) this is Teddy, not Franklin1. military intervention into Latin America to protect it from the threat of European control2. Dont speak, but carry a big stick (intimidate the Latin Americans)

F. Construction of the Panama Canal also Teddy (1904-1914)1. Ted helps Panama gain independence from Colombia and in return asks for the

building of the canal as a U.S. zone (strategic waterway, gives US economic and politicalpower)

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Many died while building through yellow fever3. Zone given back to Panama in 2000G. Dollar Diplomacy (early 1900s)

1. US government and private companies invest in Latin America, giving US economiccontrol there

H. Good Neighbor Policy (1933-1945) THIS is Franklin Roosevelt1. America tries to win allies for WWII and agrees not to intervene in Latin American

Issues2. Be a good neighbor Lets be friends Mexico/Latin America

I. Organization of America States (1948)35 countries involved in promoting cooperation inLatin AmericaJ. Alliance for Progress (1961)JFK program to assist Latin American economic developmentK. Cuban Missile CrisisCuba sides with Soviets during Cold War and it nearly starts a nuclearwarL. Bay of PigsCold WarUS attempts to kill Fidel Castro through sending troops to the Bay ofPigs in Cuba it was a miserable failure

VII. Modern Latin America & U.S. Relations


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A. CubaWe have embargos with Cuba, it is Communistits economy is falling apart and peoplecant speak out against their government However, Raul Castro came into power and seems a bitmore rational and grounded than Fidel

B. Lack of industry, inflation by printing the $ to meet expenses, theyre in debt, population growth,deforestation

C. DRUG CARTELSwars between drug companies - theyre killing innocent civilians for moneyor for misunderstandings (thinking theyre part of other drug cartels)

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smuggled drugs into U.S. and selling them here2. smuggle cash and weapons into Mexico3. fight against Mexican government with economic power (through US cash & weapons)4. endangering and killing innocent civilians5. breaking Mexican/US law

D.NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement1990)1. US, Canada and Mexico can trade with each other without taxes/tariffs

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Global History And Geography Latin America