Post on 01-Jan-2016
description
Geographic Features
Mountains Sierra Madre East & West, Andes Mountains part of Ring of Fire, causing
frequent earthquakes and volcanoes. Lowlands
Found along the coast, largest is the Great Amazon Basin, 40% of South America, and largest rainforest.
Mountains along with tropical forests in lowlands created barriers for movement of people. Limited contact among areas and people.
Regionalism – Strong local traditions that divide people within a country or region.
Rivers – Amazon, Orinoco, Rio de la Plata (River of Silver), Rio Grande
Climate and Resources
Climate 3/4th lies in tropics
Mostly hot and dry In Amazon & Caribbean warm and wet.
Dry climates in northern Mexico, parts of Argentina, and Chile
Deserts border semi-arid areas.Resources Gold and silver lured Europeans
Also have copper, tin, bauxite Some have oil and natural gas
Mexico, Venezuela, Bolivia, Ecuador, Colombia, Peru Cash crops like bananas, sugar, coffee, tobacco, rubber,
lumber Reliance on single crop or good leads to economic
dependence in many countries
Peeps
People Native Americans, Asians, Europeans, Africans. Mestizos – People of mixed European and
Native American ancestry Concentrated in temperate highland areas and
coastal plains.Issues/Problems with Geography 6% of land arable
Irrigation has helped in some areas. Soil in rain forest areas is not very fertile, can
only use for a few years Leaching and erosion damages land Landforms and climate limited contact between
people creating differences in culture
Mayans Time Period
300-900 A.D. Abandoned cities, do not know reason for decline
• Soil exhaustion, water loss & erosion, earthquakes, hurricanes, disease, invasions all possible scenarios
Government City-States, no unified empire Kings ruled city-states, nobles and priests helped govern Society
Priests performed rituals to please godsArtisans & merchants supplied ruling class with clothes & gold
Advanced metallurgy Agriculture base of economy (primarily maize—then cotton, beans, squash and cacao)Peasants grew food and built templesSlaves were captured soldiers or criminalsAchievements
365 ¼ day calendarSophisticated writing system—recorded history; inscribed on building and books from tree bark found in tombsComplex math, concept of zeroArchitecture skills, pyramids
AztecsTime Period 1200-1520 A.D.
Government 1 ruler from Tenochtitlan (capital) Very warlike—goal not to destroy but to capture and expand empire productively (although
temples were burned to ensure loyalty) War also used to capture victims for ceremonials use (sacrificed on huge alters in front of
large crowds—heart cut out, symbolically offered to the gods, and the body rolled down the stairs)
Fall revolved around internal and external pressures (internal revolts in conjunction with Hernando Cortes arrival who exploited his looks and the internal products)—small pox did not help either
Society Worshipped many gods, priest guarded temples, performed rituals, and recorded advancements.
Religion tied to calendar—deities represented in the Day-count and Solar year (day count had 20 days based on signs and 13 numbers); it was an endless cycle that constantly repeated itself providing a 260 day year; the Solar year provided guidelines for planting and harvesting times
Boys & girls educated, women could remarry and own property.
Achievements Gum, popcorn, chocolate Education for all Canoes, wheel, math
Medicine
IncasTime Period
1200-1533
Conquered by Spain and Pizarro, who killed Emperor, took gold, destroyed temples
Government
Capital Cuzco.
Emperor owned all land, mines, wealth; taxes collected on crops
Emperor ruled with aid from priests and nobles
Cities built in mountains and architecture built into the cliffs—stone houses and temples had block weighing several tons and fit together so tightly that a razor blade cannot fit through Machu Picchu
Violent punishment system If someone stole, murdered or had sex with a Sapa (holy man) wife or a Sun Virgin, they were
thrown off a cliff, hands cut off or eyes cut out or hung up to starve to death
Irrigation (canals and drainage systems)—grew potatoes, tomatoes, cotton, peanuts and cocoa
Society
Warrior society & hierarchical—evidence of social classes
Worshipped many gods, main one sun god (royal family thought to be descended from sun god)
Animal spirits lived on earth Heaven depicted by the condor, the underworld by the anaconda, and the brother who was on earth
was the puma
Winter and summer solstices mark important dates in the religious calendar
Skilled farmers. Officials told people were to live and what jobs to do.
Achievements
Fertilizer, terraced mountains to grow food, road system, 12 month calendar, instruments, system of measurement, evidence of brain surgery
Fall of Empires
Peak for Inca and Aztec empires was 1500 Spanish conquistadors came and hunted gold
kingdoms Cortés conquered Aztecs by winning allies
among conquered people, smallpox killing many people, fear of their weapons and horses, and Emperor Montezuma's belief that Cortés was god-king Quetzalcoatl
Pizarro conquered Incas by taking gold and killing Emperor
Destroyed much of the material wealth, melted down gold and silver, smashed temples and sculptures, and burned books
Rebellions frequent People who survived preserved their heritage
European Rule
By the mid-1500s Spain and Portugal ruled over vast amounts of land in Latin America
Treaty of Tordesillas – Drew a line North to South Everything west would be Spanish Everything east would be Portuguese
Spain had 2 kingdoms ruled by an official called a viceroyNew Spain – Based in MexicoPeru – South America
Economy
Treasure from Americas like gold and silver were shipped back to Europe
Spanish and Portuguese colonists set up large plantations set up to grow a cash crop Grew sugar, coffee, bananas Also turned some land into cattle or sheep
ranches for meat, leather, and woolTo work these plantations, turned to slave
labor of Africans Many of the native population had died due to disease and harsh treatment
Class System
Peninsulares – Officials from Spain that controlled economic and political life
Creoles – American-born descendants of Spanish settlers, educated and wealthy
Mestizos – Mixed Indian and European descent Mulattos – Mixed African and European decent Native Americans – Worked as farmhands or
lived in own villages, most became Christian (or faked it)
Free Blacks – Slaves allowed to buy their freedom, were farm workers and laborers
Slaves – Considered property; but could marry, own property and buy their freedom
Winning Independence
By late 1700s, many groups demanded freedom from Spanish rule
Creoles often led this struggle, felt they deserved to rule Mestizos also felt they could move up in
society Influenced by events such as American
and French revolutions
Revolution in Haiti
First revolt was French-ruled Haiti, leading producer of sugar
1791 – Slaves rebelled, burning sugar cane and killing slave owners 13 years of civil war followed
L’Ouverture was a self-educated former slave who led the rebels and drove out foreigners by 1800
In 1802, Napoleon sent a French army to Haiti to recapture the island Capture and imprisoned L’Ouverture
By 1804, French soldiers fled after many died of yellow fever Haiti declares independence, 1st nation in Latin
America