Middle America

I. The Regions of Middle America

· Mexico

· Central America

· Greater Antilles, Lesser Antilles

II. Defining the Realm of Middle America

· Some geographers combine middle and South America into a realm they Call "Latin America."

· Middle America’s population consists of African, Asian and European ancestry.

· Middle America gives vivid definition to concepts of cultural geographical pluralism.
  1. The Physiography of Middle America

· The Middle America Realm is divided and fragmented.

· Middle America looks like a bridge between the Americas, this is what physical geographers call an isthmian link: a land bridge.

· Middle America consists of approximately 7,000 islands of the Caribbean Sea.

1. The four large islands:

a. Cuba

b. Hispaniola (Haiti & Dominican Republic)

c. Puerto Rico

d. Jamaica

2. The four large islands are known as the Greater Antilles
    1. The remaining smaller islands are known as the Lesser Antilles.

· The entire archipelago (island chain) consists of the crests and tops of mountain chains that rise from the floor.

· Middle America’s environment ranks among the world’s most hazardous.
  1. The Legacy of Mesoamerica

    2. · It was the scene of the emergence of a major ancient civilization,

    · It is one of the world’s true culture hearths due to two ancient

    civilizations:

    1. The Lowland Maya

    2. The Highland Aztecs

  2. The Collision of Cultures

· The Spanish, who arrived in Middle America, convinced Amerindian people to join their forces in attacking the Aztecs.

· Middle America was left with long lasting effects of this conquest:

1. Drastic decline in population.

2. Rapid deforestation

3. Pressure on vegetation from grazing animals

4. Substituting Spanish wheat for maize

5. Concentration of Amerindians into newly built towns

6. Change in religion

7. The Spanish brought diseases:

a. Smallpox

b. Typhoid fever

c. Measles

d. Influenza

e. Mumps

VI. The Mainland — Rimland Concept of Middle America

· Mainland - Rimland

1. Euro — Amerindian, Mainland

2. Euro — African, Rimland

3. Mestizo — Both ancestries mixed.

· Hacienda - Plantation
    1. Hacienda –
      1. Productivity on Haciendas might never be pushed to its limits.

b. Such a vast estate brought prestige

2. Plantation —

a. Located in humid tropical coastal lowlands of the realm

b. Plantations produce for export almost exclusively — usually a single crop.

c. Capital and skills are often imported

d. Labor is seasonal and often imported

e. The plantation is more efficient in its use of land and labor than the hacienda.

· Legacy of Land- Tenure Traditions, (the Hacienda and Plantation)
  1. Political Differentiation

· Independence movements

· Monroe doctrine (1823)

VIII. Regions of the Realms of Middle America

· The Caribbean Basin

· Mexico and its unfinished Revolution

· The Central American Republics

IX. The Caribbean Basin: A place of unrelenting misery

· Densely populated

1 . Life for the average person can be difficult, often hopeless and strategically short

· Problems of widespread poverty

1. Crops grown in the Caribbean face severe competition from other parts of the world, which prevents any improvement in the standard of living.

2. The minerals that exist do not support any significant industrialization

3. Workers can be hired for very low wages, only to have the jobs relocate for even cheaper labor.

4. Food supplies are frequently inadequate

5. Soil erosion

· African Heritage

1. The European or white person is in the best position in this island chain.

2. The Mulatto (mixed white-black) ranks next.

3. The black person ranks lowest.

· Tourism: The Irritant Industry

1. Invasion of overtly poor communities by affluent, raucous tourists creates anger and resentment from the locals.

2. Intervention of island governments and multinational corp. removes opportunities from local entrepreneurs.

3. Tourism contributes positively to island economies, but strains the fabric of local communities involved,

· Regional Cooperation

1. Association of Caribbean states (ACS)

2. Caribbean Community and Common Market (CARICOM)

3. Under the ACS banner, the Caribbean states had been able to exert pressure on the U.S. to give them some NAFTA parity. The U.S. rebuffed these requests.
  1. The Continental Mosaic of Middle America

    2. · Continental Middle America consists of two regions:

    1. Mexico, a single country

    2. Central America, seven countries

    · Mexico is Middle America’s giant by virtue of:

    1. It’s physical size

    2. Population

    3. Cultural qualities

    4. Resource base

    5. Relative location

    · The 7 Republics of Central America cannot match Mexico since it is a region plagued by:

    1. Armed conflict

    2. Leadership struggles

    3. Economic stagnation

    4. Rapid population growth

    5. Environmental crisis

  2. Mexico and its Unfinished Revolution

    3. · Population — Since 1970, Mexico’s population had doubled and is expected to double again by 2030.

    · Amerindianization of modern Mexico

    1. Acculturation — A culture borrowing from a society that is technologically superior.

    2. Transculturation — A culture borrowing from a society that is technologically equal.

    · Revolution, which was about the redistribution of land

    · The changing Geography of Economic Activity

    1. NAFTA — will bind the economies of Mexico, U.S. and Canada into a single free-trade zone,

    2. Agriculture and cattle raising

    3. Energy resources, petroleum

    a. Mexican leaders took a risk that was caused by their not
    receiving expected oil revenues to pay interest on foreign
    loans

    4. Industrialization
    a. Maquiladoras     — factories that assemble imported, duty-free
    components and raw materials into finished products
    b. "Dry Canal"     — an overland rail or road corridor across an isthmus to perform the functions of a canalized waterway

    · Continuing challenges as Mexico strives to join the ranks of the world’s advantaged states.

  3. The Central American Republics

· Altitudinal zones — vertical regions defined by physical environmental zones:

1. Tierra Caliente

2. Tierra Templada

3. Tierra Fria

4. Tierra Helada

5. Tierra Nevada

· Emergence from a Turbulent Era

1. Inequities

2. Repressive governments

3. External interference

4. Frequent unleashing of armed forces

5. Central America’s countries have grown since the return of peace

· Guatemala: A Phantom Peace?

1. Military regimes have dominated political life

2. Civil War in 1960 between the Mestizo (ladinos) and Amerindians

Belize: Changing Identity

1. Thousands of residents of African descent (the Creoles) have migrated. Spanish speaking immigrants has replaced them.

· Honduras: Deluged by Disaster

1. Hurricane Mitch

2. The country occupies a critical place in the political geography of Central American.

· El Salvador: Postwar Reconstruction

1. Civil War caused some of the wealthy citizens to leave the country, doing well in the U.S. they sent substantial funds back home to boost the economy.

2. The clothing industry grew rapidly in the 1990’s.

· Nicaragua: Mired in Misfortune

1. Civil War for most of the 1980’s.

2. Nicaragua's economy is ranked, as Middle America’s poorest.

3. Hurricane Mitch

· Costa Rica: Durable Democracy
1. Costa Rica is a nation with old democratic traditions
2. Politically Costa Rica is quite stable.

· Panama: Strategic Canal, Reorganizing Corridor

1. The Panama Canal shortens the sailing distance between the East and West coasts by 8,000 nautical miles.

2. At the opening of the new century, Panama took control of the canal.