10.2/ 10.3 History, Culture & the Countries of Pacific South America

1. 10.2/ 10.3 History, Culture & the Countries of Pacific South America

2. Early History • Advanced civilizations lived in places like Peru as early as 900 BC. • The raised crops in the mountains of the Andes and made huge stone carvings. • The Inca controlled an area that stretched from northern Ecuador to central Chile in the early 1500s. • The Inca Empire was home to as many as 12 million people.

3. The Inca city of Machu Picchu

4. Spanish Rule • Francisco Pizarro conquered the Inca’s with his army of conquistadors by 1535. • The Spanish treated the South American Indians harshly and made them work in gold or silver mines, or on the Spaniards’ plantations. • A Spanish viceroy (governor) was appointed by the king of Spain to make sure the Indians followed Spanish laws and customs that had replaced native traditions.

5. Pizarro & Atahualpa …remember them?

6. Independence • Creoles (American-born descendants of Europeans) were the main leaders of revolts for independence in this region. • All four Pacific South American countries were independent by 1825.

7. Culture • Spanish is the official language of all four countries in this region. • Many South Americans also speak the language of their native culture. • Most people of the region practice Roman Catholicism. • Some people in the Andes still practices ancient religious customs. • For example, every June, people participate in the festival that was celebrated by the Incas to worship the sun.

9. Ecuador Today • Ecuador is a democracy. • However, the country has had 9 different presidents in 10 years which has made the country unstable.

10. Ecuador has three different economic regions: • The coastal lowlands region relies heavily on agriculture and industry. • The country’s largest city, Guayaquil is located here. • The Andean region is very poor. • Quito, the capital of Ecuador, is located here. • The Amazon basin has valuable oil deposits which is Ecuador’s main export.

11. Bolivia Today • After years of military rule, Bolivia is a democracy. • Bolivia’s government is divided between two capital cities – Sucre and La Paz. • The Supreme Court meets in Sucre and the congress meets in La Paz. • La Paz is the highest capital city in the world at 12,000 feet.

12. Bolivia is the poorest country in South America. • There are few roads and little money in the country to help the problems it is facing.

13. PeruToday • Peru is the largest and most populous country in Pacific South America. • Its capital is Lima – it’s the largest city in the region. • Lima was the colonial capital of Peru so the city still contains many beautiful old buildings from the colonial era.

14. Lima

15. During the 1980s and 1990s a terrorist group known as the Shining Path was active in Peru. • They waged deadly attacks because they opposed the government. • 70,000 people died in the violence between the Shining Path and Peru’s military. • Today, the violence has ended and Peru has an elected president and congress.

17. Chile Today • In 1970 Chileans elected a president who had some ideas influenced by communism. • A few years later he was overthrown and died in a U.S.-backed military coup (a sudden overthrow of a government by a small group of people). • After the coup, Chile’s military government was harsh and violent as it imprisoned or killed thousands of people. • After years of unrest, Chile is one of the most stable countries today with a democratic government.

18. About one-third of all Chileans live in central Chile which includes the country’s capital of Santiago and nearby seaport, Valparaiso. Santiago