1. MIDDLE AMERICA (CHAPTER 4)

2. INTRODUCTION TO MIDDLE AMERICA DEFINING THE REALM  MEXICO, CENTRAL AMERICA, CARIBBEAN ISLANDS MAJOR GEOGRAPHIC QUALITIES  FRAGMENTED - PHYSICALLY AND POLITICALLY  DIVERSE CULTURALLY – AFRICAN (CARIBBEAN), NATIVE AMERICAN & SPANISH (MEXICO & CENTRAL AMERICA)  POVERTY IS ENDEMIC (LEAST DEV. IN THE AMERICAS

3. REGIONS OF MIDDLE AMERICA MEXICO CENTRAL AMERICA GREATER ANTILLES LESSER ANTILLES

4. CENTRAL AMERICA

5. THE SEVEN REPUBLICS Guatemala Belize Honduras El Salvador Nicaragua Costa Rica Panama

6. THE CARIBBEAN BASIN The Greater Antilles  Cuba  Hispaniola – Haiti & Dominican Rep.  Jamaica  Puerto Rico The Lesser Antilles  The smaller Islands, e.g. Bahamas, etc.

7. THE CARIBBEAN BASIN

8. MIDDLE AMERICA

9. PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY LAND BRIDGE ARCHIPELAGO (“ISLAND CHAIN”)  GREATER AND LESSER ANTILLES (ABOUT 7,000 ISLANDS) NATURAL HAZARDS  EARTHQUAKES  VOLCANOES  HURRICANES  MOST DANGEROUS REALM OF ALL! I wonder why?

10. WORLD TECTONIC PLATES

11. DISTRIBUTION OF EARTHQUAKES & VOLCANOES

12. WORLD HURRICANE TRACKS

13. Pg 211, see caption

14. CULTURE HEARTH SOURCE AREAS FROM WHICH RADIATED IDEAS, INNOVATIONS, AND IDEOLOGIES THAT CHANGED THE WORLD BEYOND. STARTED IN WHAT IS NOW MEXICO AZTEC MAYA

15. MESOAMERICA (“MIDDLE”) CULTURE HEARTHS  MAYA CIVILIZATION 3000 BC CLASSIC PERIOD 200-900 AD HONDURAS, GUATEMALA, BELIZE, YUCATAN PENINSULA THEOCRATIC STRUCTURE  AZTEC CIVILIZATION 1300 AD VALLEY OF MEXICO TENOCHTITLAN (>100,000 PEOPLE)

17. THE LEGACY OF COLONIALISM LAND WAS APPROPRIATED - COLONIAL COMMERCIAL INTERESTS (MAP, PG 214) LANDS PREVIOUSLY DEVOTED TO FOOD CROPS FOR LOCAL CONSUMPTION WERE CONVERTED TO CASH CROPPING FOR EXPORT LAND ALIENATION INDUCES:  FAMINE  POVERTY  MIGRATION  LITTLE AGRICULTURAL DIVERSITY

18. COLONIAL SPHERES

19. MAINLAND / RIMLAND FRAMEWORK MAINLAND  EURO-INDIAN INFLUENCE  GREATER ISOLATION  HACIENDA PREVAILED RIMLAND  EURO-AFRICAN INFLUENCE  HIGH ACCESSIBILITY (surrounded by oceans)  PLANTATION ECONOMY

20. MAINLAND – RIMLAND DISTINCTION

21. MAINLAND vs RIMLAND LOCATIONGREATER ISOLATIONGREATER ACCESSIBILITY CLIMATEALTITUDINALTROPICAL ZONATION PHYSIOGRAPHYMOUNTAINSISLANDS CULTUREEURO / INDIANEURO / AFRICAN RACE MESTIZOMULATTO LANDHOLDING HACIENDASPLANTATION PATTERNS CULTIVATIONLESS INTENSIVEMORE INTENSIVE, HENCE SLAVES MAINLANDRIMLAND

22. ALTITUDINAL ZONATION Middle & South America’s Vertical Climate Zones

23. HACIENDA vs PLANTATION HACIENDA  SPANISH INSTITUTION  NOT EFFICIENT BUT BROUGHT SOCIAL PRESTIGE  WORKERS LIVED ON THE LAND PLANTATION  NORTHERN EUROPEAN ORIGINS  EXPORT ORIENTED MONOCROPS  IMPORTED CAPITAL AND SKILLS  SEASONAL LABOR  EFFICIENCY IS KEY

24. AGRICULTURAL INSTITUTIONS PLANTATIONPLANTATIONHACIENDAHACIENDA PRODUCTION FOR EXPORTPRODUCTION FOR EXPORT SINGLE CASH CROPSINGLE CASH CROP SEASONAL EMPLOYMENTSEASONAL EMPLOYMENT PROFIT MOTIVE $$$PROFIT MOTIVE $$$ MARKET VULNERABILITYMARKET VULNERABILITY EJIDO DOMESTIC MARKETDOMESTIC MARKET DIVERSIFIED CROPSDIVERSIFIED CROPS YEAR ROUND JOBSYEAR ROUND JOBS SMALL PLOT OF LANDSMALL PLOT OF LAND SELF-SUFFICIENTSELF-SUFFICIENT SMALL SURPLUSESSMALL SURPLUSES LAND “OWNERSHIP”LAND “OWNERSHIP” COMMUNAL VILLAGECOMMUNAL VILLAGE COLLECTIVECOLLECTIVE

25. MAQUILADORAS Tijuana Nogales Ciudad Juarez Matamoros Reynosa Monterrey Chihuahua

26. Modern industrial plants Assemble imported, duty-free components/raw materials Export the finished products Mostly foreign-owned (U.S., Japan) 80% of goods reexported to U.S. Tariffs limited to value added during assembly MAQUILADORAS

27. GDP PER CAPITA ALONG THE US-MEXICAN BORDER

28. Initiated in the 1960s Assembly plants that pioneered the migration of industries in the 1970s Today  >4,000 maquiladoras  >1.2 million employees MAQUILADORAS

29. Maquiladora products MAQUILADORAS  Electronic equipment  Electric appliances  Auto parts  Clothing  Furniture

30. Advantages  Mexico gains jobs.  Foreign owners benefit from cheaper labor costs. Disadvantages – U.S. Jobs Effects  Regional development  Development of an international growth corridor between Monterrey and Dallas - Fort Worth MAQUILADORAS

31. NAFTA Effective 1 January 1994 Established a trade agreement between Mexico, Canada and the US, which:  Reduced and regulated trade tariffs (taxes), barriers, and quotas between members  Standardized finance & service exchanges

32. NAFTA How has Mexico benefited from NAFTA?

33. MEXICO AND NAFTA Foremost, it promises a higher standard of living. NAFTA creates more jobs for Mexicans as US companies begin to invest more heavily in the Mexican market. Mexican exporters increase their sales to the US and Canada. Downside – cheap U.S. corn now floods Mexico, leading to bankruptcies among local farmers.

34. U.S. TRADE WITH CANADA & MEXICO Canada remains as the United States’ largest export market. Since 1977, Mexico has moved into second place (displacing Japan). 85% of all Mexican exports now go to the United States. 75% of Mexico’s imports originate in the United States.

35. ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERNS Tropical Deforestation 3 million acres of woodland in Central America disappear each year! (we’ll talk about Brazil in South America later) What are the causes of tropical deforestation?

36. CAUSES OF TROPICAL DEFORESTATION Clearing of rural lands to accommodate meat production and export Population explosion: forests are cut to provide crop-raising space and firewood Rapid logging of tropical woodlands to meet global demands for new housing, paper, and furniture

37. Costa Rica, pg 231.

38. TOURISM: A MIXED BLESSING? Advantages  Presents state and regional economic options  A clean industry Disadvantages  Disjunctive development  Degrades fragile environmental resources  Inauthentic representations of native cultures