1. Central America & the Caribbean Ch. #11

2. I. Natural Environments

3. A. Landforms West Indies: 13 Independent countries & 12 territories
Greater Antilles (BIG islands)
Cuba, Jamaica, Hispaniola, Puerto Rico
The Bahamas (700 islands)
Lesser Antilles (small islands)
20 island countries & territories
Volcanic (eastern part of Caribbean Plate)
Netherlands Antilles (part of Lesser Antilles)
Aruba, Curacao, Bonaire

4. Central America? Rugged terrain due to… Tectonic activity
7 countries south of Mexico
Isthmus of Panama
Rugged terrain due to…
Tectonic activity
Volcanic activity = FERTILE SOILS for ag.
Cocos Plate is diving
below Caribbean Plate =
volcanoes
*rugged terrain had an isolating effect & prevented unification following independence from Spain

5. B. Natural Resources & Hazards
Warm climate, fertile soils, fish
Environmental Hazards (3)
Earthquakes, volcanoes,
hurricanes

6. II. Central America

7. A. Colonization & Independence
Colonized by what Euro. country?
Impact on Indigenous pops.?
Spanish settlement?
Culture traits?
Belize (British Honduras) (1981)
Independence (1820s)
Foreign investment
US & UK = built RRs to extract coffee & bananas = $$$$$$$$
United Fruit Company (Chiquita) – American firm = controlled banana business in Central Amer.
Banana republics—unstable, non-democratic country dependent on limited agriculture & ruled by a corrupt, wealthy organization
Supported by U.S. to maintain peace (prevent spread of Communism) & American business interests
Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua = POLITICAL INSTABILITY!
Wealthy landowners controlled most wealth & made most political decisions in their favor
Aristocracy = govt. ruled by an elite class
Civil Wars broke out betw. aristocrats & poor--ended in 1990s w/democracies

8. Costa Rica Less ethnic diversity (85% = white)
Few natives when Spanish arrived--Euros did not develop large estates due to lack of labor, ALSO, no valuable minerals!
Many small farms (coffee) & middle class developed = DEMOCRACY!
No wealthy, corrupt aristocracy
Became democratic & economically productive
Tradition of democracy & education = foreign investment by foreign computer firms (highest literacy rate in Cent. Amer. = 95%)
“Silicon Valley of Latin America”
Microsoft, GE, Abbot Labs, Continental Airways & Intel have invested here (produce microprocessors)
Ecotourism: guided travel thru natural areas
Nature Preserves = 25% of land
Cent. Amer’s. highest standard of living

9. Panama A territory of Colombia until 1903 Panama Canal
: French attempted to construct canal
FAILED b/c of Panama’s poor geology & mosquito diseases
1899: U.S. bought remaining lease from French ($40 mill)
BUT, Colombia wanted a new lease----Pres. Roosevelt disagreed
1903: U.S. helped Panama gain their independence
WHY WAS U.S. SO INTERESTED IN PANAMA?!
: U.S. completed the canal
US had control of canal until 1999 (Panama makes billions in toll fees
How canals work
Expansion of the canal
Time Lapse Video
Trip through the canal video

10. Expansion of the Panama Canal
Construction =
Cost = $5.25 bill.
Annual tolls = >$2 bill. (14% of Panama’s GDP)

11. B. People, Languages, & Religion
The legacy of Euro. colonialism is present
Wealth = still in the hands of a few
Religion = ?
Spanish is the official language except in Belize
Most Central Amers. = Mestizos
Some Central Amers. = Mulattoes
People w/mixed Euro & African ancestry
Guatemalan population?
Largest Amerindian pop. (Mayan)

12. C. Economic Development
Cash crops = coffee, bananas, sugar, CACAO
Cacao = type of tree from which we get cocoa beans
which are used to make chocolate

13. III. The Caribbean
Climate?
Merengue
calypso

14. A. Colonization & Independence
Christopher Columbus (1492) los indios?
The West Indies
Gold?
Plantation agriculture
Bananas, citrus, sugarcane, coffee
Cuba, Dominican Republic, & Puerto Rico = SPAIN
Haiti = FRENCH
Jamaica = BRITISH
Netherlands Antilles (Aruba, Curacao, Bonaire = DUTCH
Caribbean populations descend from Euros & Africans
Language/culture depends on who the island

15. Cuba 1898: Spanish-American War
Cuba, Puerto Rico, Philippines = U.S. territories
1902: Cuban independence
Havana = “the Las Vegas of the Caribbean”
Money was NOT shared w/Cuban people
1959: Fidel Castro (dictator) overthrew corrupt leadership
Castro = allied w/USSR (received $4-$6 bill/yr in aid)
1961: Bay of Pigs Invasion
1962: Cuban Missile Crisis
U.S. Trade Embargo?
1991: USSR collapse = Cuban economic downturn
Sugar plantations have led to food shortages?

16. The Island of Hispaniola
Haiti
French colony (1804)
Poorest country in Western Hemisphere
Poor infrastructure & political instability = no foreign investment
Large wealth gap
80% live in poverty
36% = urban
Literacy rate = 52%
Most work in ag.
Dominican Republic
Spanish (1844)
Tourism, cash crops, manufacturing
Large wealth gap
10% of pop = 40% GDP
64% = urban
Many great baseball players
Pedro Martinez, Manny Ramirez, David Ortiz

17. Puerto Rico Spanish colony 1898 = became U.S. territory
1952: became a commonwealth of the U.S.
a self-governing territory associated w/another country
Puerto Ricans = U.S. citizens
Do not pay U.S. taxes
Cannot vote in presidential elections
Can vote in presidential primaries
Has attracted Amer. industrial investment
Free access to U.S. market & low corporate taxes
Manufacturing has overtaken ag.
Most industrialized economy of the Caribbean!

18. Jamaica British colony until 1962
Tourism, remittances, agriculture & bauxite
Mineral used in aluminum
Bob Marley (reggae music)
Sang about poverty of Jamaica

19. Language/culture depends on who ___________ the country.
Nearly all of the Caribbean islands today still show effects of ____________ &
_____________.