9.2 Central America and the Caribbean

The People In Central America and the Caribbean, you have a mixture of peoples. You find indigenous, Mestizos, European, and people of African descent throughout the area. This varied blend of people is mostly from European conquests

Culture: Language Central America: Main language is Spanish, and indigenous Caribbean Islands: mix of English, Spanish, French, and Dutch- depending on which European power conquered their island o Some islands mixed indigenous language with European language

Culture: Religion Central America: 4/5 people are Catholic Christian Caribbean Islands: mostly a mix of Protestant Christian and Catholic Christian

Think-Pair-Share How may having only an elementary school education help a poor family, but hurt the overall economy of a country?

Culture: Education Quality of education varies depending on the country and the location (rural vs. city) Most students are required to attend at least elementary school, but not high school

Culture: Government Governments vary by country. Some governments are a democracy -the people vote/rule Some are Dictatorships -where 1 person controls basically everything (usually rule harshly)

Culture: Art Natives produced the earlier art in the regions: pottery, wood carvings, weaving… etc. Todays art is a mixture of European and native influence: music, dance, etc.

Culture: Family Central America: Family is very important! It usually decides your social status in the Latin American societies. Caribbean Islands: Family life is usually matriarchal- lead by the women of the family

Sports and Leisure Baseball, basketball, volleyball, and soccer are the most prominent sports in Latin America. In the Caribbean, baseball is very popular.