Chapter 11 Central America and the Caribbean

Chapter 11Central America and the Caribbean

Central America • http://videos.howstuffworks.com/howstuffworks/40492-the-coolest-stuff-on-the-planet-tikal-video.htm • http://videos.howstuffworks.com/howstuffworks/40473-the-coolest-stuff-on-the-planet-panama-canal-video.htm

Central America • Central America is the land mass between North America and South America • It is an isthmus (a narrow strip of land with water on both sides that connects two larger bodies of land) • Until 1914, Central America hindered the movement of people and goods • The Panama Canal was opened and now ships can cross between the isthmus

Central America • There are seven countries in this area • Guatemala • Belize • Honduras • El Salvador • Nicaragua • Costa Rica • Panama

Central America – The Mountainous Core • Mountains run the length of Central America • These are difficult to cross and cause serious problems for transportation • Some are still active volcanoes • There are two climate zones in the high elevations of Central America • From 3000-6000 feet there is a year-round spring-like climate, free of frosts but cool enough to grow • Above 6000 feet climate is cold. Because of frequent frosts, few crops besides potatoes and barley can grow here

Caribbean Lowlands • On the East side of Central America – the mountainous core ends and gives way to lowlands that edge the Caribbean Sea • The Caribbean lowlands have a tropical wet climate • Hot and humid with year round high temperatures and heavy rainfall • Northeast winds bring about 100 inches of rain a year • Dense rain forest vegetation covers much of the land • The rain forest soil is not very fertile and limits the crops that can be grown

Pacific Coastal Plain • The Pacific coast has a tropical wet and dry climate with savanna, or grassland vegetation • The difference in climate on the two coasts is because of the moist winds that sweep from the northeast across the Caribbean toward Central America • The winds drop rain on the Caribbean coast and the eastern mountain slopes • The Pacific coast can depend on rain only in the summer • Volcanoes high in the mountains above the Pacific coastal plain affect the land • Lava flows and deposits of volcanic ash make Pacific coast soils extremely fertile • During the rainy season the land is green

Pacific Coastal Plain - Nicaragua • Nicaragua has several freshwater lakes • The largest is Lago de Nicaragua (Lake Nicaragua) • It is a large oval lake with small islands • More than 100 miles long • Scientists believe that it was once a bay, that was cut off from the Pacific Ocean when a volcanic eruption created a ridge of mountains • Although the lake is freshwater, ocean creatures such as sharks and swordfish live in the lake

Region’s People – Indians • The people who have lived longest in Central America are the Indians • Each native group has a traditional home as well as their own distinct history, culture, and language • The largest number of Central American Indians live in Guatemala and make up more than half of the population

Region’s People – Europeans and Mestizos • Because the Spanish conquered and colonized the region, Spanish is the official language in almost all of Central America • Belize – primary language is English (was a British colony • The largest European settlement is Costa Rica – 90% of the people are European (mostly Spanish) • There is a large population of people with a mixture of European and indigenous – called Mestizos • There is a large group of this population in El Salvador and Nicaragua

Region’s People - African Descent • People of African decent are mostly located on Central America’s Caribbean coast • Some are descendants of slaves that were brought to Central America during the 1500’s • Most are descendants from people who migrated to the region from the Caribbean islands in the early 1900’s • They came to work on banana plantations or help build the Panama Canal

Wealth and Poverty • Most of the people in Central America are very poor • The wealthy constitute only a tiny percentage of the total population • Most are plantation owners and European or mestizo • The rich dominate government and politics in the region • 2/3 of Central Americans are poor • Farmers with little or no land • Laborers who earn low wages on plantations or in factories • Most are people of Indigenous or African descent • A very small percentage are middle class • Farmers owning small, non-commercial farmland • Some employees of urban industries

Farming Economy • Most of Central America’s people earn their living by some kind of farming • Farming employees more than 50% of the people in Guatemala and Honduras • Most rural population lives by subsistence farming • The large plantations have many workers and ship most of their crops to the United States or Europe

Political Unrest • There has been conflict in Central America for much of its history • Each country has specific problems • One important problem is the shortage of farmland to meet the needs of the growing population • Made worse by the unequal distribution of useable land • Many governments in Central America have served the interests of the wealthy • Opponents of the governments have organized guerrilla movements (armed forces outside the regular army who often fight in small bands

Nicaragua • 1979 • Group called the Sandinistas led a movement that overthrew Nicaragua’s government • For 40 years the country had been controlled by the wealthy Somoza family • The Sandinistas governed the country under a socialist system • Taking property from wealthy land owners and giving it to their supporters • The government control caused lower production and drop in exports • Nicaraguans were dissatisfied with this and tried to overthrow the Sandinistas • Fighting broke out again between the contras and the Sandinistas • Cease fire in 1990 • Democratically elected government but problems with poverty and unemployment grew worse during the 90’s • Currently their president is a Sandinista

El Salvador • Wealthy landowners feared a popular revolution • They hired “death squads” to eliminate political opponents who wanted reform • Between 1979-1992 El Salvador was in a bloody civil war • More than 70,000 people died • 1992 a peace agreement meditated by the UN ended the war • Today: Mauricio Funes, a former journalist and member of the FMLN party was elected President in 2009 • Ended two decades year conservative rule

Guatemala • Most populous country in Central America • Gained independence from Spain in 1821 • Rules by a series of Caudillos (military dictators) • After WWII a liberal government was elected • Civil war erupted in the 1960’s • During the civil war “death squads” routinely tortured and murdered critics of the military regime • More than 100,000 people were killed and another 40,000 disappeared • Returned to civilian rule in the 1980’s • The military ousted the president in 1993 and elected Ramiro de Leon Carpio who is internationally seen as a champion of human rights • The 30 year civil war ended and the UN blamed state authorities for the human rights violations • For the first time police and military personnel were arrested for their “death squad” activities

The Caribbean Islands • The Caribbean is a beautiful region of forest-covered mountains, warm temperatures, and clear, blue waters • Many Caribbean nations are struggling to develop their economies • Many people have left the islands to find opportunities that the islands cannot offer

Caribbean Islands • http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/world/2010/01/30/penhaul.haiti.latest.cnn

A Tropical Location • The Caribbean islands consist of three island groups • Greater Antilles • This includes the four largest islands in the region: Cuba, Jamaica, Hispaniola (Haiti and the Dominican Republic), and Puerto Rico. • Lesser Antilles • Most of the islands form another archipelago, a curving arc that separates the Caribbean Sea from the Atlantic Ocean • Includes Aruba and Trinidad and Tobago • The Bahamas • The Bahamas archipelago (group of islands) includes nearly 700 islands northeast of Cuba

Island Formations • There are varying landforms in the Caribbean islands • This is a result of differing physical forces that shaped the islands • The Greater Antilles and some of the Lesser Antilles are the tops of volcanic mountains that have pushed up from the ocean floor • These rugged islands general slope from a central mountain to coastal plains • The western arc of islands in the Lesser Antilles were formed by more recent volcanoes • Some are still active • Violent eruptions have taken place within the last 100 years • The Volcanic islands have rich soil but their slopes are quickly drained of nutrients • The islands with flatter terrain are coral islands • They were created by the remains of colonies of tiny, soft-bodied sea animals called coral polyps • These coral polyps take in water and nutrients and release limestone, to form a hard outer skeleton. As the corals die, the limestone skeletons form a coal reef. Sand and sediment begin to pile on top of it. Eventually soil forms , plants root, and an island is formed . The sandy soil cannot support much agriculture • All of the Bahamas are coral islands

Marine Climate • The climate of the Caribbean islands is affected more by sea and wind than by elevation • When the winds blow onshore, they moderate the land temperature • Even though most of the Caribbean islands lie in the tropics where the sun’s rays are most direct year-round temperatures reach only about 80 degrees • Humidity can be high • Winds affect the amount of rainfall • Windward (facing the wind) northern and eastern sides of the islands rain can fall in torrents, reaching as much as 200 inches • On the leeward sides (facing away from the wind) rainfall may be only 30 inches a year

Ethnic Roots • Natives • Today there is little evidence of the original inhabitants of the Caribbean islands – nearly a century after Columbus arrived in 1492, all of the natives had died • Africans • European colonists needed laborers after all of the natives were gone. • They brought millions of Africans to work as slaves • Most of the regions present population is descended from the enslaved Africans • Most of the Caribbean culture has been influenced by African roots • Calypso music – folk music that spread from Trinidad throughout the Caribbean • Asian • There is a sizable Asian population in the Caribbean islands • Many people immigrated from East and South Asia to work on Caribbean islands after slavery was abolished in the nineteenth century

Caribbean Nations Today • 90% of the Caribbean’s population live in independent countries • Like Cuba, Haiti, Dominican Republic, Barbados, Jamaica, The Bahamas, and Trinidad and Tobago • Many other Caribbean islands are still politically linked to European countries or the United States • British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Montserrat are all colonies of England • Jamaica and the Bahamas are independent but members of the British Commonwealth • U.S. Virgin Island is a territory of the U.S. • Puerto Rico is a United States commonwealth – residents of Puerto Rico and U.S. Virgin islands are American Citizens • Guadeloupe and Martinique are departments of France

Living from the Land • The economies of the Caribbean islands depend on agriculture • The soil is very fertile • Much of the worlds sugar, bananas, coconuts, cocoa, rice, and cotton are produced in the region • Many work in industries related to agriculture • Because of the natural beauty and the climate of the islands draw tourists from all over the world • Tourism thrives, but the people living on the island reap few benefits • Most of the tourist areas are owned by foreign corporations • Some people are hired to work in service jobs, but face layoffs during the off-season

Migration • People migrate in search of jobs • Sugar plantations are a major employer, but the busy season lasts only four months • The other eight months are called the tiempo muerto (the dead season) • During the dead season workers head to other islands, Central America, or the United States in search of work - then they send the money home • Many worked on the Panama Canal

Political Unrest – Cuba • In 1959 – Fidel Castro led a successful revolution and ousted the dictatorial government • Castro set up a Communist government • Since then about one million Cubans have moved to Florida

Political Unrest - Haiti • Between 1957-1986 Haiti was ruled by military dictatorship • Thousands of people fled to the U.S. • In 1986 Haitians ousted their dictator but the military regained control • In 1994 with backing from the U.S., they restored to office the democratically elected president • In 1995 there was another election • In the 2000’s there was still political unrest – parliament ousted 3 Prime Ministers • The current Prime Minister has been in office since 2009

Economic Benefits of Migration • The Caribbean islands have benefited from the loss of people • The hundreds of millions of dollars that emigrants have sent home have reduced the burden of poverty throughout the Caribbean

Chapter 11 Central America and the Caribbean