1. Chapter 11 Central America and the Caribbean

2. Central America

3. 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

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

5. 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 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

6. 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

7. 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

8. 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

9. 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

10. 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

11. 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

12. 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

13. 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

14. 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

15. Nicaragua 1979 Cease fire in 1990
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

16. El Salvador Wealthy landowners feared a popular revolution
They hired “death squads” to eliminate political opponents who wanted reform
Between 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

17. 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

18. 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

19. Caribbean Islands

20. 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

21. 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

22. 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

23. Ethnic Roots Natives Africans Asian
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

24. 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

25. 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

26. 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

27. 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

28. Political Unrest - Haiti
Between 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

29. 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