1. Chapter 9 The Tropical North (Pg. 271-294)
Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname & the colony French Guiana
Lesson 1 Physical geography – Angel Falls and the Galapagos Islands (online) videos
Lesson 2 – History – discuss how unstable governments have resulted in revolution and low investment, Hugo Chavez primary source document and video interview
Lesson 3: Culture – The Drug Trade in Colombia

2. Chapter 9, Lesson 1 Physical Geography of the Tropical North
(Pg )

3. Landforms of the Tropical North
The Andes mountains run through Ecuador, Colombia, and Venezuela
Cotopaxi – world’s highest volcano (elevation: 19,347 ft)
Llanos – inland tropical grassland north of the Amazon Basin, used for cattle ranching
Tepuis – forest-covered mesas along the Brazilian border
Most people live in mountain valleys & plateaus
Why not along the coasts?
Lowlands are covered with rainforests – too hot, wet, and densely forested
At the eastern end of the Canaima National Park, Mount Roraima lies on the intersection of 3 country borders: Brazil, Guyana, and Venezuela. At 2810m tall, it is the tallest of the tepuis and the most famous, having inspired Doyle’s The Lost World. Despite its height, a ramp-like feature called the Roraima Ramp makes it relatively scalable.
That doesn’t mean it’s a walk in the park, according to Up co-director/writer Bob Peterson:
“It was like your worst nightmare,” says Peterson. “It was like a six- or seven- hour climb to the top, and I had on way too much gear. When we got to the top, we had to hike across uneven terrain for another hour and a half. It was already dark when we got to our camp. And suddenly, from out of the darkness we saw this cave lit by candles and there was warm soup waiting for us. We we saw our tents, most of us just sat down and started crying. We were so happy to be there.”
What are the major physical features of the Tropical North?
How do Colombia's rivers help the nation's economy?

4. Angel Falls in Venezuela 
The Orinoco River (3rd longest in S.A.) flows 1,300 miles through the Guiana Highlands and contains Angel Falls
3200-foot drop – the world’s largest waterfall!
Picture of Angel Falls – 20 times as high as Niagra Falls! 11 football fields end to end
floods for 8 months, then the sun dries it out for 4 months
Look at a Physical Map of Venezuela
Angel Falls was actually named for pilot Jimmy Angel. While searching in 1937 for an amazing waterfall he originally spotted in 1933, Angel managed to crash-land on the summit of Auyantepui. He and his party had to walk for 11 days before finding help. The ensuing publicity surrounding his miraculous rescue prompted the Venezuelan government to name the falls after him. His airplane “El Rio Caroni” was ultimately retrieved in 1970 and now sits on display at the Ciudad Bolivar airport.
Quick 2 minute video of flying over Angel Falls
– video of tightrope walking over the Falls

5. The Galapagos Islands Rich plant & animal life
Marine Iguana, Giant Tortoises, Blue-Footed Boobies
A UNESCO World Heritage Site
600 miles from Ecuador in the Pacific Ocean
Named after the Equator!
Galapagos Islands - why so unique? Never connected to mainland, so many years of adapting apart from other animals
Marine iguana, Giant Tortoises, Blue-Footed Boobies
UNESCO: United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization Building intercultural understanding: through protection of heritage and support for cultural diversity. UNESCO created the idea of World Heritage to protect sites of outstanding universal value.

6. Waterways of the Northern Tropics
The region borders on the Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean Sea & Pacific Ocean
The Magdalena & Cauca Rivers allow shipping access to Colombia’s interior
Rivers in Guyana, Suriname, and French Guiana are shallower and not useful for transportation

7. Climate of the Northern Tropics
Tropical climate, cooler in the highlands
Much of the coastal and eastern lowlands of Ecuador & Colombia have a tropical monsoon climate.
The plains regions have an annual rainfall of inches, while the highlands have yearly rainfall ranging from inches.
How and why do climates vary in the Tropical North?
How do the climates of the Pacific coast, the Atlantic coast, and the Caribbean coast differ?

8. Natural Resources in the Northern Tropics
Oil, gold, natural gas, & coal, diamonds, emeralds, bauxite (for aluminum), copper, & iron ore
Venezuela: world’s 11th largest oil producer
Colombia: world’s #1 emerald producer
Differing elevations and climates in Ecuador & Colombia allow farmers to grow a variety of crops.
Coffee is a valuable cash crop in Venezuela & Colombia
Which natural resources are most important to the economies of the Tropical North's countries?
Which fossil fuel, mineral, and gem are most widespread in the Tropical North?
Picture of “Columbian Coffee”
Cocaine brings in twice as much money as coffee does

9. Ecuador’s Economy Farming is an important economic activity
Coastal plains: Bananas, cacao, coffee, rice, sugarcane
Andes: Coffee, beans, corn, potatoes, wheat
Farmers dig potatoes in the sierra region northeast of Quito, Ecuador.
The commercial center of Ecuador’s cacao industry is the humid lowland plains of the central coast. Most of the beans come from trees that grow along river banks, called bancos, on farms in the provinces of Los Rios, Guayas and Manabi. The farms extend as far north as Esmeraldas Province where in such indigenous communities as Estero de Platano, cacao is harvested from what is left of the Choco forests. Cacao farmers work small plots of land, most comprising less than ten acres. An acre of trees may produce a ton of beans per year.

10. Chapter 9, Lesson 2 History of the Tropical North
(Pg )

11. Early History of the Tropical North
The Tropical North’s indigenous peoples lived there for thousands of years & had advanced societies.
The Inca Empire controlled the area by the 1400s
In search of gold, the Spanish arrived in the early 1500s and colonized Ecuador, Colombia, & Venezuela
Created governments in Quito, Bogotá, & Caracas
How did Europeans colonize the Tropical North?
Which European nations founded colonies in the Tropical North, and which countries did each nation colonize?

12. Life under Colonization
Native Americans suffered greatly under Spanish rule
Slaves in the encomienda system OR
Died due to a lack of immunity to European diseases.
The Guianas were colonized by Great Britain, the Netherlands, & France
brought African slaves to work on their sugar plantations.
The encomienda system was created by the Spanish to control and regulate American Indian labor and behavior during the colonization of the Americas. Under the encomienda system, conquistadors and other leaders (encomenderos) received grants of a number of Indians, from whom they could exact “tribute” in the form of gold or labor. The encomenderos were supposed to protect and Christianize the Indians granted to them, but they most often used the system to effectively enslave the Indians and take their lands.

13. Independence
1823: Venezuela’s Simon Bolívar led an independence movement for Ecuador, Colombia, & Venezuela to break away from Spain
Formed a new country (Gran Colombia), but it broke apart in 1830
The British (Guyana), Dutch (Suriname), & French (French Guiana) abolished slavery in the mid-1800s, but stayed colonies until the mid-1900s
Recruited workers from India, Indonesia, & China to work instead
Spain had been invaded by France, so couldn’t manage their colonies well, so that started the independence movement
How did Spain’s colonies become independent countries?
How did British, Dutch, and French colonists find workers after slavery ended in their colony?

14. Challenges for the Tropical North
1900s - a lack of strong, stable governments plagued the region, leading to conflict, civil war, & dictatorship
Today:
French Guiana – still a colony
Venezuela – socialist democracy
The US has accused Venezuela’s government of violating human rights of protestors and allowing Colombian drugs to be trafficked through the country
Colombia –
struggling with FARC (Revolutionary Forces of Colombia) who wants to limit foreign influence in the country and help poor farmers, but is funded by drug sales.
What challenges do the countries of the Tropical North face?
Which of the region’s nations have experienced serious internal unrest since gaining independence?
– video about food riots
Trump has spoken out about placing sanctions on Venezuela due to their treatment of protesters.
Hugo Chavez –
Led a failed coup in 1992, in jail for 2 years, then got into politics
Died from cancer
Supports socialism
Came to power in 1998
Criticizes the US a lot- Bush was “fighting terror with terror”
Mr Chavez is renowned for his flamboyant public speaking style, which he puts to use in his weekly live TV programme, Alo Presidente (Hello President), in which he talks about his political ideas, interviews guests and sings and dances.
7 minute video (only for first 4 minutes) of an interview of Chavez with Barbara Walters – from

15. Chapter 9, Lesson 3 Life in the Tropical North
(Pg )

16. People of the Tropical North
Ethnic diversity:
Mostly Spanish heritage, but also Native American, Indian, English, Dutch
Ecuador - 90% of citizens have some indigenous ancestry
Suriname – 40% have Indian ancestry
Language:
Mostly Spanish, but also indigenous, English, Dutch, Hindi
Creole – a group of languages developed by African slaves on plantations
Religion:
Roman Catholic in Ecuador, Colombia, & Venezuela
A variety of religions are practiced in the Guianas
What ethnic groups populate the Tropical North, and where do they live?
Where do the greatest number of people in the Tropical North live?
Food: Colombia – toasted fire ants (hormiga), and Ecuador – barbequed guinea pigs (cuy)

17. Where do people in the region live?
Most people live in cities
90% of people in Venezuela live in coastal cities like Caracas 
Bogota, Colombia and Quito, Ecuador are large inland cities, but most population centers are on the coasts
Most people that live inland are Native American, while most other ethnic groups are found near the coasts

18. Art & Music in the Northern Tropics
Andean basket and cloth-weaving
Music & Dance
Andes - Pan flute, drums
Coastal – cumbia, merengue, salsa
Llanos – maracas, guitar
Pan flute – panpipe video from machu picchu
2 links – CUM is the lesson, BIA is the actual dance
Merengue dance – starts at :35
Cumbia is a music style that originated in Colombia's Caribbean coastal region. Cumbia began as a courtship dance practiced among the African slave population that was later mixed with European instruments and musical characteristics. Cumbia started in the northern coast of South America, what is now Colombia and Panama, mainly in or around Cartagena during the period of Spanish colonization. Spain used its ports to import African slaves, who tried to preserve their musical traditions and also turned the drumming and dances into a courtship ritual. Cumbia was mainly performed with just drums and claves
Quechua fabric weaving in the Andes of Ecuador
Panama Hat video…

19. Ongoing Issues in the Tropical North
Poverty is common even though there are plentiful natural resources
Wealth from those resources is only shared by a few
Many leaders want to expand free trade to strengthen their countries’ economies.
Tension with the USA
Colombian drugs & Venezuelan socialism
Civil Conflict
Indigenous people protesting for rights in Ecuador
Colombian drug sales fund FARC to help the nation’s poor farmers
What challenges do the countries of the Tropical North face?
How has Hugo Chávez increased tensions between Venezuela and the United States?
Ecuador’s People - Quechua – KECH wah
Story of grocery stores in Ecuador that have to keep everything behind a counter
40% of population is Native American
Also speak Quechua – Incan language
Subsistence farmers in the highlands
40% of population is mestizo (Spanish & Native)
Work in factories or on plantations
Europeans own the largest farms & factories and run the government
Mostly mestizo (European & Native American)
Speak Spanish
Catholic
Government is a republic
Farmers (campesinos) are moving to cities to find work and escape drug violence

20. Colombia’s Drug Problem
Main illegal crops –cocaine, marijuana, & heroin
Results in violence and conflict with other countries
Read the TIME perspectives on the Drug Trade on pg in the old textbooks. maybe read 262 and 263 also?

21. Former US Congressman Dan Burton said:
“I don’t think they would be refining coca and heroin in Colombia if they couldn’t make any money.... Don’t just talk about education. Don’t just talk about eradication. Don’t just talk about killing people like Escobar [a Colombian drug lord], who is going to be replaced by somebody else. Let’s talk about what would happen if we started addressing how to get the profit out of drugs.”
In groups, discuss the issue. Each group should write a letter to their congressman telling him how we could get the “profit out of drugs”.
Burton retired in 2012