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Latin America: Central America and Caribbean

Latin America: Central America and Caribbean. INTRODUCTION. DEFINING THE REGION Mexico Central America Caribbean Islands (Greater and Lesser Antilles) MAJOR GEOGRAPHIC QUALITIES FRAGMENTED - PHYSICALLY AND POLITICALLY CULTURALLY DIVERSE. Cultural Hearth. CULTURE HEARTHS–

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Latin America: Central America and Caribbean

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  1. Latin America: Central America and Caribbean

  2. INTRODUCTION • DEFINING THE REGION • Mexico • Central America • Caribbean Islands (Greater and Lesser Antilles) • MAJOR GEOGRAPHIC QUALITIES • FRAGMENTED - PHYSICALLY AND POLITICALLY • CULTURALLY DIVERSE

  3. Cultural Hearth • CULTURE HEARTHS– • MAYA CIVILIZATION • CLASSIC PERIOD 200-900 AD • HONDURAS, GUATEMALA, BELIZE, YUCATAN PENINSULA • THEOCRATIC STRUCTURE • AZTEC CIVILIZATION • 1300 AD • VALLEY OF MEXICO • TENOCHTITLAN (>100,000 PEOPLE)

  4. THE LEGACY OF COLONIALISM • LANDS DEVOTED TO FOOD CROPS FOR LOCAL CONSUMPTION (subsistence farming) WERE CONVERTEDTO CASH CROPPINGFOR EXPORT ________________________ • Land Alienation INDUCES: • FAMINE AND POVERTY • MIGRATION • LITTLE AGRICULTURAL DIVERSITY

  5. MAINLAND v. RIMLAND • MAINLAND • EURO-INDIAN INFLUENCE • GREATER ISOLATION • HACIENDA PREVAILED • RIMLAND • EURO-AFRICAN INFLUENCE • HIGH ACCESSIBILITY • PLANTATION ECONOMY

  6. Mainland vsRimland • Mainland • Isolation • Altitudinal Climates • Mountains • Euro/Indian • Mestizo (mixed Euro and Native American) • Haciendas • Rimland • Accessablility • Tropical Zone Climates • Islands • African-European • Mulatto (mixed African and Euro) • Plantations

  7. HACIENDA vs. PLANTATION • Hacienda • Spanish Institution; inefficient, but held prestige; workers lived on the land • Plantation • Northern European Institution; export oriented; mono-crops; seasonal labor and efficiency are key

  8. Agriculture: Plantation v. Hacienda PLANTATION HACIENDA • PRODUCTION FOR EXPORT • SINGLE CASH CROP • SEASONAL EMPLOYMENT • PROFIT MOTIVE $$$ • MARKET VULNERABILITY • DOMESTIC MARKET • DIVERSIFIED CROPS • YEAR ROUND JOBS • SMALL PLOT OF LAND • SELF-SUFFICIENT

  9. Mexico- Population • Mexico is the most populated, and economically most developed of the Middle American nations • Population 112 Million (11th largest) • Also the most populated Spanish speaking country in the world.

  10. MAQUILADORAS Tijuana Ciudad Juarez Nogales Chihuahua Reynosa Matamoros Monterrey

  11. MAQUILADORAS • Initiated in the 1960s as coupon houses (pay was in food coupons redeemable at local stores) • Assembly plants that pioneered the migration of industries in the 1970s • Basically a factory the imports materials and equipment, then re-exports the finished product

  12. MAQUILADORAS • Modern industrial plants • Assemble imported, duty-free components/raw materials • Export the finished products • Mostly foreign-owned (U.S., Japan) • 80% of goods re-exported to U.S.

  13. MAQUILADORAS • DISADVANTAGES • May take jobs away from originating country • ADVANTAGES • Provides higher paying jobs for locals • Foreign owners benefit from cheaper labor costs. • EFFECTS • Regional development • Development of an international growth corridor between Monterrey and Dallas - Fort Worth

  14. U.S. TRADE WITH CANADA & MEXICO • Canada remains as the United States’ largest export market. • Since 1977, Mexico has moved into second place (displacing Japan). • 85% of all Mexican exports now go to the United States. • 75% of Mexico’s imports originate in the United States.

  15. CENTRAL AMERICA • Guatemala • Belize • Honduras • El Salvador • Nicaragua • Costa Rica • Panama What type of export products do we get from these countries?

  16. Exports • Guatemala – Coffee, Beans, and Sugar • Belize – Sugar, Citrus, Bananas, Seafood, and Clothing • Honduras – Clothing and Coffee • El Salvador – Clothing • Nicaragua – Coffee, Beef, Shrimp and Lobster • Costa Rica – Electronics, Bananas, and Coffee • Panama – Salmon/Tuna, Beef, and Watermelon

  17. THE CARIBBEAN BASIN • The Greater Antilles • Cuba • Hispaniola (consists of Haiti/Dominican Republic) • Jamaica • Puerto Rico • The Lesser Antilles - Barbados - Trinidad and Tabago

  18. Central America Mountainous, with small coastal plain. Caribbean Basin Volcanic islands, mountainous with reef formation around them. Physical Geography

  19. PRIMARY SECTOR DEPENDENCE • Dominican Republic (49% Agriculture) • Sugarcane, coffee, cotton, cocoa, and tobacco • Jamaica (22.5% Agriculture) • Sugar, bananas, and rum • Cuba (20% Agriculture) • Sugar, tobacco, citrus, and coffee

  20. THE TOURISM OPTION • Antigua and Barbuda • Direct contribution of 13% to GDP and affects growth in other sectors • The Bahamas • Tourism alone provides 60% of GDP and directly or indirectly employs 40% of the population.

  21. TOURISM: A MIXED BLESSING? • Advantages • State and regional economic options • A clean industry • Educational • Disadvantages • Disjunctive development • Degrades fragile environmental resources • Inauthentic representations of native cultures

  22. ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERNS • Tropical Deforestation • 3 million acres of woodland in Central America disappear each year!

  23. CAUSES OF TROPICAL DEFORESTATION • Clearing of rural lands to accommodate meat production and export • Rapid logging of tropical woodlands to meet global demands for new housing, paper, and furniture • Population Explosion: forests are cut to provide crop-raising space and firewood

  24. Middle America and Caribbean: Conclusions • The landscape is mountainous with some coastal regions. • Climate is tropical, varies with elevation, and dependent upon windward/leeward sides. • Economic activity is dependent upon primary sector, although tourism is profitable. • Population is primarily found in temperate areas. • Culture is a mix of European, Indigenous and African populations.

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