final Flashcards
What are the physical geography aspects of Middle America?
Volcanic islands, mountain ranges, coral reefs, earthquakes
What is the Mainland
the interior portions of Mexico and Central America
What was the primary means of procuring labor for plantation agriculture?
slavery
What is hacienda?
lands held by Spanish colonialists for social prestige and a comfortable lifestyle
What types of people were used as servants on haciendas?
Amerindian peoples
What crops did Europeans introduce to Middle America?
coffee, wheat, barley, rice, citrus fruits, and sugarcane
What industrial inventions did Europeans bring to Middle America?
the wheel, new building methods, and new agricultural practices
What was the European religion?
Roman Catholic
What happened to the Amerindian population in Middle America after the European invasion
it decreased from 15-25 million people, to 2.5 million people after a century
When was the Olmec era?
1200-400 BCE
When was the Maya Classical Era?
300-900 CE
When was the Tolet era?
900-1150 CE
When was the Aztec era?
1300-1521 CE
When was the Spanish Conquest of Middle America
1519-1521
Who did Hernan Cortes and his men kill during the Spanish Conquest?
learned classes of the religious clergy, priestly orders, and those in authority
What was lost of Maya and Aztec culture during the Spanish Conquest?
astronomy, advanced calendar, and engineering technology
What is the Spanish colonial city characterized by?
a central plaza bordered by church, government offices, and stores; filled in with residential buildings
What is the eighth largest country in the world by area?
mexico
What borders Mexico on the southeast coast?
the Yucatan Peninsula
What land features are in the north of Mexico?
Southern Sierra Nevada and the Rocky Mountain ranges
What land feature is in the south of Mexico?
The Cordillera Neovolcánia
How many languages are spoken in Mexico by more than 100,000 people?
17
What is the long term goal of NAFTA?
to equalize economies of all three countries and create an open border free travel zone
What are maquiladoras?
foreign-owned factories in Mexico that import materials, assemble the product with cheap local labor, and export the finished product
What is the primary source of illegal drugs in the US?
Mexican cartels
What do drug cartels do for the government?
They fund services in some areas of Mexico, a job that is meant for the government
What type of climate does Central America have?
tropical (Type A climate)
q
What causes a variation in climate in Central America?
mountains and height variances
What are some natural problems that Central America faces?
hurricanes, tropical storms, earthquakes, and volcanoes
What is altitudinal zonation?
vertical environmental zones that change with altitude in mountainous regions
What are the 5 altitudinal zones?
Tierra caliente, tierra templada, tierra fría, tierra helada, tierra nevada
What is tierra caliente?
sea level-2500 feet; humid tropical lowlands, tropical rainforest, plantations, and coastal plains
What is tierra templada?
2500-6000 feet; most populated zone, most food crops can be grown here
What is tierra fría?
6000-12000 feet; highest zone found in Central America; shorter growing season
What is the only area in Central America colonized by the British rather than the Spanish?
Belize
Which countries gained independence from Spain in 1821?
Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica
What is the political geography of El Salvador?
civil war from 1979-1992, elite backed by the US fought peasants backed by the USSR, natural disasters have hindered recovery, coffee republicq
What is the political geography of El Salvador?
civil war from 1979-1992, elite backed by the US fought peasants backed by the USSR, natural disasters have hindered recovery, coffee republicq
What is a coffee republic?
a political state whose economy is dominated by a single crop, coffee
What is the political geography of Nicaragua?
civil war to 1978-1980 to oust US backed regime, civil war from 1982-1990 after Iran-Contra-Affair funded counterrevolution, US backed candidate defeated Marxist candidate Sandinista
What is the political geography of Hondruas?
no civil war, but fruit companies have manipulated the government to buy land and use cheap labor of locals moved off of the land to make profits, banana republic
What is the political geography of Costa Rica
no army, nicknamed the Switzerland of Central America, tourism and outside investments pay the bills
What is the political geography of Panam?
gained independence from Colombia in 1903, US completed Panama Canal in 1914, Jimmy Carter agreed to give the Panama Canal to Panama in 1999
What is the political geography of Panam?
gained independence from Colombia in 1903, US completed Panama Canal in 1914, Jimmy Carter agreed to give the Panama Canal to Panama in 1999
What islands make up the Greater Antilles?
Cuba, Jamaica, Hispaniola (split into Haiti and the Dominican Republic), and Puerto Rico
What islands make up the Lesser Antilles?
Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Dominica, Grenada, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago
What were the other three minor colonizers of the Caribbean?
Portugal, Sweden, and Denmark
The present day middle class of the Caribbean is largely comprised of _______
mulattos
Who led the Cuban Revolution>
Fidel Castro
What was the Bay of Pigs?
a failed counterrevolution in 1960
What does Cuba hope for that will increase tourism?
fully lift the US travel ban
What type of economy is Cuba shifting towards
shifting from fully socialist to capitalism
Who originally claimed Puerto Rico?
the spanish
Who took over Puerto Rico after the Spanish?
the US (after the Spanish American war)
When did Puerto Ricans gain US citizenship?
1917
How is Hispaniola divided in terms of colonialism?
Spain in the east, France in the west during colonialism
What is the Dominican Republic’s economic state?
stable economy, good tourism, although there is a wealth inequality
What is Haiti’s economic state?
plantation agriculture, African slaves, slave revolt and independence in 1804
What is the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere?
haiti
What are some ecological issues in Haiti?
Deforestation, environmental devastation, natural disasters
Who colonized Jamaica?
the Spanish
Who took Jamaica from Spain?
England
What is the problem with cruise ships in the Rimland?
large cruise ships can overtax an island and cause a disparity between rich tourists and poor workers
What is offshore banking?
individuals escape paying taxes in their home country by banking in the islands
What are some examples of Caribbean music and dance styles?
meringue, bouyon, rara, calypso, reggae
Where do tropical storms almost always develop?
between the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn
How do hurricanes form?
Warm moist air rises from warm water, water vapor condenses and cools, low pressure draws air upward from the surface
What is a storm surge?
high water driven forward by a hurricane, usually causes the most damage and death
Where do hurricane systems lose strength?
over land
When is hurricane season in the North Atlantic?
June 1 - November 30
What are the main geographical features of South America?
Andes mountains, Amazon rainforest, Pampas and Patagonia plains
What is the Atacama desert?
One of the driest places on earth
Where is the Pampas region?
eastern Argentina, Uruguay, and southern Brazil
What is the Tordesillas Line
a line created by the Catholic Church that divides South America: Spain in the west and Portugal in the east
What are the Guianas?
it is an area on the north of South America colonized by the British, Dutch, and French
What was the destination in South America for most slaves?
BRAZIL
Who captured the Inca ruler in 1533
Francisco Pizarro
When did the Inca Empire collapse?
1535
What did British Guiana become?
Guyana
What were runaway slaves called in Suriname?
maroons
What is the population of French Guiana mostly?
Creole (French and African)
Q
Where does more than half of the French Guiana population live?
in Cayenne
Where in South America does the European Space Agency have a launch site?
French Guiana
Where is the Rural Amerindian Region of South America located?
Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia
What type of climate does the Rural Amerindian Region have?
mountainous (type H)
Where is the Mixed Mestizo Region located?
coastal west and interior highlands of north and east; Paraguay, portions of Brazil, Colombia, and Venezuela
Where is the European Commercial Region located?
Chile, Argentina, Uruguay, parts of Brazil
What did the creation of the EU and NAFTA pressure South America to do?
develop similar organizations
What was formed in 2008 in South America?
UNASUR - The Union of South American Nations
Where is Venezuela located?
along the northern coast of South America
Where are the Andes located in Venezuela?
they run along the north all the way to the capital city of Caracas
What are llanos?
grassland plains bordering Colombia
What are the Guiana Highlands?
forests and mountainous terrain in the south of Venezuela
What is Angel Falls?
the largest waterfall in the world
Where does the majority of the Venezuelan population live?
on the north coast
Who was the founding member of OPEC?
Venezuela
What is a large majority of the Venezuelan population?
urban
What are the two largest legal exports of Colombia
coffee and oil
What is FARC?
Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia
What are some political/social issues Colombia faces?
government corruption, crime, death and destruction for normal citizens
What are the Rural Amerindia States?
Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia
What South American city is a port city for the Atlantic Ocean?
Iquitos, Peru
What language is spoken in rural and remote areas of the rural Amerindia states?
Quechua
What resources are found in Bolivia?
natural gas, gold, silver, tin, and other minerals