1. The Cultural Landscape: An Introduction to Human Geography
Chapter 7: Ethnicity
The Cultural Landscape:
An Introduction to Human Geography

2. Ethnicity Ethnicity = from the Greek ethnikos, meaning “national”
Ethnicities share a cultural identity with people from the same homeland
Ethnicities have distinctive cultural traits
Ethnicity is immutable; we may choose to suppress it or deny it, but we can’t change it in the same way we learn a new language, or adopt a new faith
No ethnicity is attempting global dominance, but many ethnic groups are fighting with each other to control certain areas of the globe
Race = people who share a biological ancestor

3. Where Are Ethnicities Distributed?
Geographers are interested in where ethnicities are distributed
Ethnic groups are tied to a particular place
Members of the group, or ancestors were born there
Particular traits are derived from conditions and practices from the groups homeland
Distinctive ethnic traits derive from the interplay of connections with other groups and isolation from them
Clustering occurs on two scales:
Particular regions of a country in a distinctive patterns of distribution across the U.S.
Particular neighborhoods in cities

4. Distribution of Hispanics in the U.S.-15% of the population
Clustered in the Southwest
Hispanic or Hispanic American: term the U.S. government chose to apply to all people of Spanish Speaking countries
Some Americans of Latin descent have adopted Latino (male) or Latina (female)
Most Hispanics identify with a more specific ethnic group:
2/3 come from Mexico (sometimes called Chicanos or Chicanas)
Figure 7-1

5. Distribution of African Americans in the U. S
Distribution of African Americans in the U.S.- 13% of the population/Clustered in the Southeast
Figure 7-2

6. Distribution of Asian Americans in the U. S
Distribution of Asian Americans in the U.S. - 4% of the population: clustered in the West
Figure 7-3

7. Distribution of American Indians in the U. S
Distribution of American Indians in the U.S. – 1% of the population: most numerous in the Southwest and the Plain states
Figure 7-4

8. Where Are Ethnicities Distributed?
Concentration of ethnicities in U.S. cities
90 percent of African Americans and Hispanics live in cities
Distribution is distinctive at the state level for both groups (be aware of individual states and ethnic distribution)
Remnants of twentieth-century European migration = still evident on the landscape
Example: clustering of restaurants in Little Italy, Greektown
Descendants of European immigrants moved out of the cities in the early 20th C.
Ethnic concentrations increasingly consist of African Americans who’ve migrated for economic reasons from the South to Northern Cities

9. Distribution of Ethnicities in Chicago and Los Angeles
Figure 7-5
Figure 7-6

10. Where Are Ethnicities Distributed?
Clustering of ethnicities helps explain patterns of Migration
African American migration patterns have been culturally distinctive and shaped distribution
Three major migration patterns
Forced migration from Africa (eighteenth century)
The triangular slave trade
Immigration from the South to northern cities (first half of the twentieth century)
Identifiable paths of migration
Immigration out of inner cities to other urban areas (second half of the twentieth century to present)
The ghetto

11. Where Are Ethnicities Distributed?
Slavery was practiced for many centuries by different cultures
Europeans responsible for diffusion of Africans to the Americas for the purpose of slavery
British brought Africans to the Caribbean Islands for
Portuguese brought Africans to Brazil
Cheap labor: it was less expensive to keep slaves than pay wages to European laborers
Fewer than 5% of slaves ended up in the U.S.
Africans brought to American Colonies:
Jamestown, Virginia on a Dutch ship in 1619
During the 18th C. the British shipped 400,000 Africans to the 13 colonies
In 1808 The U.S. banned the shipping of additional Africans as slaves
Estimated 250,000 were illegally imported during the next half century
Triangle Slave Trade (See Map)
Civil War in the U.S. resulted in the abolishment of slavery
Most freed slaves remained in the south working as share croppers

12. Triangular Slave Pattern
Figure 7-8

13. Where Are Ethnicities Distributed?
The rural South to northern cities
Identifiable paths of migration in the 1st half of the 20th Century
Jobs became scarce in the south
With more machinery taking over production in agricultural and rural areas, sharecropping became less available as a means of earning a living
Jobs became more plentiful in northern and western cities
Southern African Americans moved to manufacturing centers in two waves:
First in 1910s and 1920s (WWI)
Second in 1940s and 1950s (WWII)

14. African American Migration in the U.S. (20 C.)
Figure 7-10

15. Where Are Ethnicities Distributed?
Immigration out of inner cities to other urban areas
The ghetto emerges in the 2nd half of 20th C
On arrival in northern cities African Americans clustered in neighborhoods with those immigrants who had come north earlier
Shortage of housing in ghettos forced people to live together in apartments or in small rooms that lacked basic amenities
With more African Americans migrating to the cities, tight ghettos were expanded into immediately adjacent neighborhoods in the 1950s and 1960s

16. Differentiating ethnicity and race
Race = traits that are shared genetically, however… biological features within one racial group are highly variable
The U.S. Bureau of the Census divides people for classification every 10 years, but biological classification of people into distinct racial groups is meaningless
“Asian” as a race and “Asian American” as an ethnicity encompass the same group of people; however Asian American ethnicity refers to several disparate cultures from all over Asia
“African American” and “Black” are two different groups, but have been lumped together in the Census.
While most African Americans are descended from African Slaves, not everyone hails from that gene pool.
“Black” merely refers to dark skin and carries an historical connotation laced with judgment and prejudice
Hispanic or Latino is not considered a “race,” so people who are culturally or ethnically Latino or Hispanic mark what ever they choose on the Census form

17. Spatial effects of racism
“Separate but equal”
Discouragement of spatial interaction of the races in the U.S.
Initially by legal means after the abolishment of slavery through segregation, but more recently cultural preference or discrimination
“White flight”
After the legal elimination of segregation requiring integration in education and other public institutions, many whites fled to the suburbs
White flight allowed for the expansion of black ghettos in American Cities
Blockbusting
Unscrupulous real estate practice
White residents sold their homes at a depressed rate when living too close to areas where African Americans lived
Real estate agents sold the homes at an inflated rate to African Americans
Apartheid in South Africa
The legal physical separation of racial groups into geographic areas
Recognized 4 groups: Black, White, Colored (mixed race or Indian), Asian
Each group had a separate legal status

18. Apartheid:
South Africa
Jim Crow:
United States
Figure 7-13

19. Transforming into Nationalities
Rise of nationalities
Nationality = identity with a group of people who share a common allegiance to a particular country
Nationalism: shared values derived from civic duties and identification (similar to ethnicity: shared traits of religion, language, material cultural)
Nation-state: a state (country) whose territory corresponds to an ethnicity that has been transformed into a nationality
Denmark: Strong sense of unity that derives from shared traits and characteristics that extend back more than 1000 years. Nearly all Danes speak Danish, and most speakers of Danish live in Denmark
Nation-states in Europe: Ethnicities transformed into nationalities in the 19th Century (not all at once)
Nationalism = loyalty and devotion to a nationality
Once established, a nationality must hold the loyalty of its citizens to survive

20. Nation-states in Europe
Figure 7-15

21. Transforming into Nationalities
Multinational states
Multiethnic state: A state with multiple ethnic groups, all of whom might contribute to a larger national identity
Example: the United States
Multinational state: A state with multiple ethnic groups who retain their own distinctive national identity
Example: the United Kingdom
Example: Russia (the largest multinational state)
Revival of ethnic identity
While the Soviet Union was in power it used centripetal forces to discourage ethnicities from expressing their cultural uniqueness, but with the fall of the USSR, and dilution of Communism around the world, ethnic identities though extinguished are reemerging
New/Old reorganized nations states are forming in Eastern Europe

22. Ethnicities in Russia
Figure 7-18

23. Ethnicities Clash: Competition to dominate
People do not always find it easy to live together peacefully
Ethnic competition in the Horn of Africa
Ethiopia and Eritrea: Ethiopia was captured by Italy in 1930s and regained its independence after WWII. Eritrea defeated Ethiopia during a Civil War in 1991 and became an independent nation.
Sudan: Civil war has raged since 1981 as different ethnic groups attempt to form themselves as separate from the Arab- Muslim Dominated Government
Somalia: While seemingly united ethnically, is divided into clans seeking to control the government. Islamist militias have fought for control of the government pulling Ethiopia and Eritrea into the conflict. The U.S. has been involved off and on in the conflict over the past decade.
Religious and Ethnic competition in Lebanon:
60% Muslim (Majority Shiite, minority Sunni), 39% Christian
Christians traditionally controlled government and trade, but as Muslims became more numerous, they demanded a controlling interest.

24. Ethnic Diversity in Eastern Africa
Figure 7-21

25. Ethnicities in Lebanon
Figure 7-23

26. Why Do Ethnicities Clash?
Dividing ethnicities among more than one state
South Asia
India and Pakistan: When Britain ended their rule of the Asian Subcontinent, they divided India and Pakistan according to ethnicity: Hindu and Muslims.
The division into two states resulted in massive migration as people moved to be among others of their ethnicity
Hindus and Muslims have had long fights for control of territory, and cannot agree on the boundary between the two states in the northern region of Kashmir
Sinhalese and Tamils in Sri Lanka: Sinhalese comprise the majority of the population of Sri Lanka, and are Buddhist. Tamils, about 14% of the population, are Hindu. During Civil war resulting from conflict that spanned 1000s of years, the Tamils were defeated. They fear losing their rights and status as Hindus.

27. Ethnic Division in South Asia
Figure 7-24

28. What Is Ethnic Cleansing?
Ethnic cleansing = process in which a more powerful ethnic group forcibly removes a less powerful group from their territory
The purpose is not to subjugate, but to remove
Today, most ethnic cleansing happens in Europe and Africa

29. Ethnic cleansing in Europe
Largest forced migration = 1939–1945
Jews, gypsies, and others forcibly removed and deported to concentration camps where they were exterminated by Nazis
The Balkan Peninsula: Long a hot bed of ethnic unrest
North controlled by the Austro-Hungary Empire in the 19th C. and the Ottoman Empire in the South (Catholic in the North, Muslim in the south)
In 1914 heir to the throne in Austro-Hungary was assassinated by a Serbian nationalist, seeking independence for Bosnia (setting off WWI)
Yugoslavia: After WWI the organization of southern ethnic groups into a new country
Multiethnic Yugoslavia: After WWII
“Yugoslavia has seven neighbors, six republics, five nationalities, four languages, three religions, two alphabets, and one dinar.” (plus one dictator, Josip Broz Tito)
The breakup of Yugoslavia: After Tito’s death
Struggle to create boundaries as the the country redefined itself
Ethnic cleansing in Bosnia: Divisions between Muslim groups attempting to control the Bosnia & Herzegovina
Ethnic cleansing in Kosovo: Serbians took control of Kosovo and attempted to wipe out the Albanian majority
Balkanization: Originally described a country that failed to organize into stable state. Now it refers to the breakdown of a state through conflicts between its ethnicities

30. The Balkans in 1914
Figure 7-29

31. What Is Ethnic Cleansing?
Ethnic cleansing in central Africa
Most boundaries in Africa do not correspond to ethnic groups
Conflict between Hutu and Tutsi destabilizes the region
Ethnic cleansing and genocide in Rwanda
Refugees spill into neighboring countries
Democratic Republic of Congo falls into civil war

32. Ethnicities in Africa
Figure 7-33

33. Up next: Political Geography
The End.
Up next: Political Geography