Latin America Flashcards
Panama Canal
Water shortcut from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean for ships to use instead of going all the way around South America.
Aztecs
Old civilization that was located in the city of Tenochtitlan, which is present day Mexico City. They were conquered by Spain(Hernan Cortez).
Montezuma II
He was the last Aztec ruler.He was conquered by Hernan Cortez.
Hernan Cortez
Spanish Conquistador that conquered Montezuma II and Aztecs.
Incas
Old civilization located in the Andes Mountains of Peru.They were conquered by Spain(Francisco Pizarro).
Atahualpa
The last ruler of the Incan empire. He was known as the Sapa Inca(descendent of the Sun god). He was conquered by Francisco Pizarro.
Francisco Pizarro
Spanish Conquistador who conquered the Incas and Atahualpa.
Columbian Exchange
The exchange of goods and ideas between Europe and Americas. Responsible for introducing the horse to the Americas.
European Diseases
When Europeans would explore and colonize new lands,they brought foreign diseases to the new lands that killed many people(Examples: Measles and Smallpox).
Mulattoes
It’s the mixture of Europeans ancestry and African ancestry.
Mestizos
It’s a mixture of European ancestry and Native American ancestry.
Triangular Slave Trade
Also known as the African Slave Trade. After Europeans conquered Latin America, they brought people from Africa to become slaves. They came by boat.
Toussaint L’Ouverture
He was responsible for freeing Haiti.It became the first independent country of Latin America.
Miguel Hidalgo
He was responsible for freeing Mexico.
Simon Bolivar
Led the independence movement in South America.He freed many countries there.Bolivia was named after him.
Cuban Revolution
This took place when Fidel Castro overthrew Fulgencio Batista and took control of Cuba.
Zapatistas
A guerilla movement started in Chiapas, Mexico.(Chiapas has very rich land, but people are very poor.)They fought for the rights of the indigenous people (Mayan) in that area.Government did not care about the rights of the Mayan.
North America Free Trade Agreement(NAFTA)
Created to eliminate trade barriers between the North American countries of Canada, Mexico, and the U.S.A.
Language of Latin America
Spanish and Portuguese are the main languages in Latin America because they settled the religion.
Religion of Latin America
Most of the people in this religion are Roman Catholic, which is a branch of Christanity, because Spain and Portugal belong to that religion.
Dictatorship in Cuba
Cuba’s official name is “Republic of Cuba” which usually means Democracy.However, Cuba really has a Communist government. (Past Dictator = Fidel Castro; New Dictator = Raul Castro)
Cuba(Trade and Economy)
Cuba is very small and doesn’t have many natural resources, so trading is very important for Cuba to get the goods that it needs.(Cuba and U.S. have an embargo on each other.)
Air Pollution in Mexico
Problem in Mexico City because it’s located in the crater of an old volcano and exhaust from cars and smoke from factories get trapped in the crater.
Deforestation in the Rainforest of Brazil
Deforestation is the cutting down of many trees.This process decreases the world’s oxygen supply.20% of the world’s oxygen comes from the Brazilian rainforest.
Oil Spills in Venezuela
Off of Venezuela’s coast oil spills happen often.It destroys the heath of plant and animal life in the ocean.
Mexico and Venzuelan Oil
Oil is the main natural resource in both of these countries.Oil makes up 90% of the income of Venezuela.
