1. Human Geography of Latin America

8.  Places & Terms
 Spanish Conquest: The conquering of the Native
Americans by the Spanish.
 Tenochtitlan: Ancient Aztec capital
 Mestizo: People of mixed Spanish & Native American
heritage
 Maquiladoras: Factories in Mexico that turn imported
materials into finished products for export.
 NAFTA: North American Free Trade Agreement

9.  Native Americans & the Spanish
Conquest
 The rich fabric of native life in Mexico was torn
apart by the Spanish conquest. In 1519 Hernando
Cortes landed on the coast of Mexico & marched
until he reached the Aztec city of Tenochtitlan
(present day Mexico City). By 1521 he & his soldiers
had conquered the Aztecs.

10.  Aztec
 Years in existence: 1200-
1530 AD
 Location: South Mexico
 Inventions/Accomplishments
 Conquered peoples were
forced to pay tribute to central
government
 Montezuma greatest ruler
 Military roads to the outposts
from Capital
 Built causeways to connect
island to mainland
 Sacrificing of POW’s!!!
One of
the new
7
wonder
s of the
world
Chichen Itza

12.  Human Geography
 Until 1821 Mexico remained apart of the Spanish Empire.
 Spanish influence still remains in Mexico with it’s language & Catholic
religion.
 Mexico has large mestizo population – people of mixed Spanish & Native
American heritage.
 Economics: Cities & Factories
 Mexico continues to struggle with two main economic challenges.
 Many people are moving to the cities seeking jobs, largely abandoning their
farming roots.
 Most factories or Maquiladoras’ are located along the border of the US.
(Why? Think NAFTA)

13.  Places & Terms
 Cultural hearth: Heartland or place of origin of a major
culture.
 Panama Canal: Ship canal cut through Panama connecting
the Caribbean Sea with the Pacific Ocean.
 The Panama Canal connects the two great oceans making
Panama a crossroads of world trade.

14.  Central America is know as a cultural hearth as
well as a crossroads.
 The Mayan Indians built a great civilization that
spread throughout the region. What exactly
happened to the Mayan people still remains
very much a mystery.

15.  Mayans-
 Years in existence: 300-900 AD
 Location: Tropical highlands of
Central America & Yucatan
Peninsula
 Inventions/Accomplishments:
 Elaborate irrigations system
 Organized independent city states
 Cities were religious centers
 Polytheistic
 Precise Calendar
 Numbering system that included
zero
 No one knows why they began to
abandon their cities in the 800’s

16.  Places & Terms
 Inca: People of South America who built a
civilization in the Andes Mountains. (conquered by
Francisco Pizarro in 1533)
 Quechua: Language of the Inca Empire. Now
spoken in the Andes highlands.
 Mercosur: Economic common market that began
operating in the southern cone of South America in
1995. (think NAFTA for South America)

17.  Incas
 Years of existence: 1350-
1533 AD
 Location: Andes Mountains,
Amazon Rainforest, From
Ecuador to Chile & Argentina
 Inventions/Accomplishment
s
 Government cared for sick &
elderly by collecting taxes
 Dammed rivers to look for gold
 Invented the crowbar
 Brain surgery
 Treated Malaria

One of the greatest civilizations of the
Americas arose in the rugged Andes
Mountains of Peru.

18.  Machu Picchu-
Incan nobility
retreat.
 Most famous of
the Incan ruins
One of the
new 7
wonders of
the world
Video

19.  One of the greatest civilizations of the Americas
arose in the rugged Andes Mountains of Peru.

20.  The Mercosur Trade Group
 Economic common market that began in South
America in 1995.
 Goals include:
 Make member economies more stable
 Increase trade within the region
 Channel some profits to groups who need it most

21.  Places & Terms
 Treaty of Tordesillas: Treaty between Spain &
Portugal in 1494 that gave Portugal control over the
land that is present day Brazil.
 Carnival: The most colorful feast day in Brazil.(think
Mardi Gras)
 Samba: Brazilian dance with African Influences.
 Capoeira: Martial Arts dance developed in Brazil
from African influences.

23.  The Treaty of Tordesillas (1494) gave Portugal
control over much of the land that became
present-day Brazil. South America became a
continent divided into the Spanish speaking
west & the Portuguese-speaking east.

24.  Brazilian Life Today
 The most colorful feast day in Brazil is Carnival.
Floats and parade through the streets of Rio de
Janeiro and people dance to the music of the
samba.
 There is a widening gap between the rich & the
poor much like other Latin American countries
resulting in crime waves and drug abuse.