Latin America Human and Cultural Geography GCU 122 – World Regional Geography Jason Donoghue Chandler-Gilbert Community College

Latin AmericaLatin America

Human and Cultural GeographyHuman and Cultural Geography

GCU 122 – World Regional GeographyGCU 122 – World Regional Geography

Jason DonoghueJason Donoghue

Chandler-Gilbert Community CollegeChandler-Gilbert Community College

Human and Cultural GeographyHuman and Cultural GeographyLatin AmericaLatin America

• Population Distribution and Density– Growth rates– Urban centers

• Race, Language and Religions• Cultural Models

Population CharacteristicsPopulation Characteristics

• Total population of the region (including the Caribbean) is about 520 million.– Bulk of which is

clustered around historical highland settlements, or in coastal ports and cities.

Population distribution of Latin America 1995

Latin AmericaLatin America• Population Characteristics

– Birth rates 25/1000– Death rates 7/1000– Natural Increase 1.8%– Infant Mortality 36/1000– Doubling Time <35 years– Pop <15 = 34%– Pop > 65 = 5 %

Problems of GrowthProblems of Growth

• Because most countries are growing at more than 2% per year and doubling so fast it puts pressure on food, water, housing and infrastructure.

• Large percentage of population is under age 15, which means populations are likely to continue to grow.

Other Latin American Countries - Other Latin American Countries - 20082008

Population Per Square MilePopulation Per Square Mile

Population DensityPopulation Density

• Most people in Latin America now live in cities.– Levels of urbanization

are among the highest in the world.

• ~50% - Central America• >80% in Argentina,

Chile, Uruguay, and Venezuela

• Region hosts three of the worlds 10 largest cities:– Mexico City – 21 mil– São Paulo – 18 mil– Rio de Janeiro – 11 mil

POPULATIONCARTOGRAM

Urban PrimacyUrban Primacy

• In many countries one city dominates.– Argentina – Buenos Aries – 34% of pop– Peru – Lima – 30% of pop– Chile – Santiago – 30% of pop– Mexico – Mexico City – 19% of pop

• Problems– Focuses physical and human resources in one area– Political power, and pollution confined to one or two

cities.

Urbanization

• The movement to and clustering of people in towns and cities

• The percentage of a country’s population living in cities:– 79% - Continent wide in South America

• South America’s increase based on rate of “natural increase” and internal motivation

• The “Latin American City” model…

Generalized Model of a Latin American City

Commercial/Industrial

CBD

CommercialSpine



Elite Residential Sector

CBD




Zone of MaturityCBD




Zone of Maturity

Zone in Situ Accretion

CBD




Zone of Maturity


Zone of peripheralsquatter settlements

CBD




Zone of Maturity


Zone of peripheralsquatter settlements

CBD

Disamenity Disamenity

Major Racial Groups – Latin Major Racial Groups – Latin AmericaAmerica

• Prior to European arrival – 1500– Population ~50 mil

• Aztecs, Inca and many smaller groups of hunter/gatherers, and agricultural communities.

• Colonialism– Arrival of Europeans and slaves from Africa

• Few European women accompanied early Spanish and Portuguese explorers, so many fathered children with Indian women

Castes or Castes or castascastas

• The resulting mix of races were classified according to their racial mix:– Mestizo – mixed Spanish and Indian heritage

• Most common

– Mulatto – Spanish/African– Zambo – African/Indian

• These categories reflected racist perceptions that pervaded society.– Correlated strongly with social class and society.

““Whiteness”Whiteness”

• “Whiteness” – carried social and economic advantages.– Some mixed-race families would try to change their

class by dressing, talking, and eating like those with whiter skin.

• This construction of race by styles of dress and diet continued into the twentieth century.– 1930 Mexican census includes wearing sandals and

eating corn tortillas, together with indigenous language as indicators of Indian race, and hence, lower class.

Recent TrendsRecent Trends

• Argentina and Costa Rica report large numbers of Europeans

• Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia and Guatemala show large percentages as Indian.

• Colombia, Chile, Venezuela and Mexico are more than half mestizo.

Languages of Latin AmericaLanguages of Latin America

• Indo-European dominates the region– Spanish – ¾ of Latin America

speak it– Portuguese – the other ¼,

mainly Brazil• Indigenous languages endure,

primarily in the highland regions.– Quecha – Andean region (13

mil)– Guarani – Paraguay (4.6 mil)– Aymara – Mexico and Bolivia

(2.2 mil)– Mayan – Guatemala and

Southern Mexico (1.7 mil)

Religions of Latin AmericaReligions of Latin America

Religions of Latin AmericaReligions of Latin America

• Going back to colonial times the goals of Spanish and Portuguese explorers was the conversion of Indigenous people to Catholicism.

• Slave trade from Africa brought many African religious traditions to Latin America as well.

Culture Hearth• SOURCE AREAS from which radiated

ideas, innovations, and ideologies that changed the world beyond.

Mesoamerica HearthsAztecsMayans

Mesoamerica

• Culture Hearths– Maya Civilization

• Classic Period 200-900 AD• Honduras, Guatemala, Belize, Yucatan

Peninsula• Theocratic Structure

– Aztec Civilization• 1300 AD• Valley of Mexico

SPAINSPAIN

FRANCEFRANCE

BRITAINBRITAIN

Colonial Heritage

The Legacy of Colonialism

• Land was appropriated - colonial commercial interests

• Lands devoted to food crops for local consumption were converted to cash cropping for export

• Land Alienation induces:– Famine– Poverty– Migration– Little agricultural diversity

The Inca Empire

• Culture hearth- – Basin around Cuzco (1200-

1535 a.D.)• Altiplanos were key to

settlement patterns.• 20 million subjects at its

zenith• Transportation networks

and integration efforts were most impressive.

• A highly centralized state

INDIGENOUS PEOPLES&

COLONIAL DOMAINS

SOUTH AMERICA’SCULTURE SPHERES

Tropical-plantation

• Locations, soils, & tropical climates favor plantation crops, especially sugar.

• Initially relied on African slave labor

Culture Spheres

European-commercial

• The most “Latin” part of South America

• Includes the Pampas - temperate grasslands

• Economically most advanced

• Transportation networks and quality of life are excellent.

Culture Spheres

Amerind-subsistence

• Correlates with the former Inca Empire

• Feudal socioeconomic structure persists

• Includes some of South America’s poorest areas

• Subsistence agriculture must contend with difficult environmental challenges.

Culture Spheres

Mestizo-transitional

• Surrounds the Amerindian-subsistence region

• A zone of mixture- culturally & agriculturally

• Transitional -- economic connotations

Culture Spheres

Undifferentiated

• Characteristics are difficult to classify.

• Sparsely populated• Isolation and lack of

change- notable features

• Development of Amazonia may prompt significant changes.

Culture Spheres

Tropical-plantation

European-commercial

Amerind-subsistence

Mestizo-transitional

Undifferentiated

Culture Spheres

Documents

Latin America Human and Cultural Geography GCU 122 – World Regional Geography Jason Donoghue Chandler-Gilbert Community College