Latin America and the Caribbean

Lists of Maps xi
Lists of Tables xiii
Preface xv
CHAPTER 1 The Changing Face of Latin America and the Caribbean 1
GEOGRAPHY AND REGIONAL STUDIES 7
DELIMITING LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN7 LATIN AMERICAN AND CARIBBEAN SUBREGIONS 9
Key Terms 13
Suggested Readings 13
Electronic Sources 14
PARTI Physical Geography
CHAPTER 2
15
Landform Regions of Latin America andthe Caribbean 16
THE EASTERN HIGHLANDS 16 THE CENTRAL LOWLANDS 22 THE WESTERN ALPINE SYSTEM 25 Recent Earthquake and Volcanic Activity 26
Case Study 2.1: The 2010 Haitian and
Chilean Earthquakes 28
Physiographic Regions of the Andes 31
Physiographic Regions of Central America 37 Physiographic Regions of Mexico and the Caribbean 39
Summary 48
Key Terms 48
Suggested Readings 48
Electronic Sources 50 CHAPTER 3 Weather and Climate 51
CONTROLS OF CLIMATE51
Temperature 51
Altitude 51
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CONTENTS
Ocean Currents 56
Latitude 57
Precipitation 59
Continentality 59
Atmospheric Pressure Belts 60
Prevailing Winds and Orographic Effects 62
HURRICANES67
Case Study 3.1: The 2008 Caribbean
Hurricane Season 71
Summary 73 Key Terms 74
Suggested Readings 74 Electronic Sources 75
CHAPTER 4 Natural Regions 76
TROPICAL RAIN FOREST 76
Case Study 4.1: Biodiversity and the Tropical
Rain Forest 81
TROPICAL AND TEMPERATE SAVANNA 82
DESERT 84 STEPPE 87
HUMID SUBTROPICAL 88
MEDITERRANEAN89
MARINE WEST COAST RAIN FOREST 89 HIGHLAND 91
Summary 93 Key Terms 93
Suggested Readings 94 Electronic Sources 96
PART II Cultural Patterns
CHAPTER 5 Iberian Heritage, Conquest, and Institutions 98
LATIN AMERICAS ROMAN HERITAGE 98
ISLAM IN IBERIA99
SPANISH RESPONSES TO ISLAMIC RULE 101 THE SPANISH RECONQUEST 102
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THE CONQUEST AND SETTLEMENT OF LATIN AMERICA102 Mexico and Central America 105 South America 107
THE COLONIAL ERA 109
The Mercantile System 111
The Encomienda System 113
Decline of Spanish Influence in the Greater
Caribbean Basin 114
Peninsular-Creole Divisions 115
INDEPENDENCE AND THE REPUBLICAN PERIOD115
ConservativeLiberal Schisms 117
Caudillismo 118
Case Study 5.1: The 2009 Honduran Coup dEtat 119
POLITICAL MATURATION IN THE LATE TWENTIETH CENTURY120
Summary 122
Key Terms 122
Suggested Readings 122
Electronic Sources 124 CHAPTER 6 Political Change 125
MEXICO 125
CENTRAL AMERICA127 Guatemala 127
Belize 128
Honduras 129
El Salvador 129
Nicaragua 129
Costa Rica 130
Panama 131 THE GREATER ANTILLES 132 Cuba 132
Jamaica 134
Haiti 134
Dominican Republic 135
Puerto Rico 135 ANDEAN SOUTH AMERICA 136 Venezuela 137
Colombia 138
Ecuador 139
Case Study 6.1: Colombias Violent Drug War 139
Peru 142
Bolivia 143 SOUTHERN SOUTH AMERICA 145 Chile 145
Paraguay 146
Argentina 147
Uruguay 148
Brazil 149
THE GUIANAS151 Guyana 151
Suriname 152
French Guiana 152
Summary 153
Key Terms 153
Suggested Readings 153
Electronic Sources 155
CHAPTER 7 Race, Ethnicity, and Social Class 156
NATIVE POPULATION LEVELS AT THE TIME OF THE CONQUEST156
NATIVE AMERICAN CIVILIZATIONS ON THE EVE OF THE CONQUEST 157 Western Highland Peoples 159
The Aztecs 159
The Maya 161
The Chibcha 163
The Inca 164
Case Study 7.1: Native Animals of the Andes 166
The Southern Andean Indians 166
Eastern Lowland Peoples 167
The Southern Hunters 168
The Tropical Forest Dwellers 168
Common Indian Traits 169
Impacts of European Conquest and Settlement 169
Causes of Indian Depopulation 170
Aftermath of the Conquest 172
BLACKS IN THE NEW WORLD173 Antecedents of Latin American Black Slavery 173
The African Slave Trade 173
Living Conditions in the New World 173
Forms of Slave Resistance 174
Abolition 175
Case Study 7.2: Maroon Societies in Latin America 176
EAST ASIANS IN THE CARIBBEAN176
RACIAL MIXING177
The Evolution of Social Races 178
RACIAL WHITENING 180
RACISM AND ITS RAMIFICATIONS182 Case Study 7.3: Indian Homelands and the Mesoamerican
Biological Corridor 184
CURRENT RACIAL PATTERNS 185
Mexico and Central America 185
South America 185
The Caribbean 187
Summary 188
Key Terms 188
Suggested Readings 188
CHAPTER 8 Latin America as a Culture Region 193
HONOR AND SHAME: INDIVIDUAL IDENTITY AND SELF-WORTH193 Machismo 193
Marianismo 194
Reproduction and Honor 194 PERSONALISMO 195 SOCIOECONOMIC CLASSES 197
The Upper Class 197
Case Study 8.1: The Hidden Costs of Corruption 198
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The Middle Class 201
Case Study 8.2: The Perpetuation of Oligarchical Power in
a Central American Nation 202
The Lower Class 202
Consequences of Social Rigidity 204
Fatalism and Luck 204
Dual Educational Systems 204
FAMILY LIFE205
Street Children 208
Possible Responses 210
Status of Women 210
Case Study 8.3: Women and the Informal
Economic Sector 211
OTHER ELEMENTS OF CULTURE 216
Literature and Poetry 216
Architecture, Painting, and Sculpture 217
Music 219
Sports 220
Mass Media and Tempo of Living 221
Summary 221
Key Terms 222
Suggested Readings 222
Electronic Sources 224
CHAPTER 9 Religion 225
RELIGIOUS PRACTICE IN INDIGENOUS AMERICA225
MEDIEVAL IBERIAN CATHOLICISM ON THE EVE OF
THE CONQUEST226
THE SPIRITUAL CONQUEST OF THE NEW WORLD227
RELIGIOUS SYNCRETISM229
Marianism and the Cult of the Virgin Mother 230
Challenges to Colonial Catholicism 232
Case Study 9.1: Cuzcos Lord of The Earthquakes 233
THE ECONOMIC AND POLITICAL POWER OF THE CHURCH IN THE COLONIAL AND REPUBLICAN PERIODS 234
THE CURRENT STATUS OF LATIN AMERICAN CATHOLICISM 235 Subtypes of Latin American Catholicism 236
Forms of African Folk Catholicism 240
NON-CATHOLIC FAITHS IN LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN 241
Hinduism and Islam 242
Case Study 9.2: Jamaican Rastafarianism 243
Judaism 244
Case Study 9.3: Venta Prieta: A Jewish Community
in Mexico 245
Protestantism 245
Characteristics of and Challenges to Latin American
Protestantism 246
The Catholic Counter-Reformation 249
Summary 253
Key Terms 253
Suggested Readings 253
Electronic Sources 257
PART III EconomicPatterns259
CHAPTER 10 Agriculture and Agrarian Development 260
Case Study 10.1: Waru Waru Agriculture 261
IMPACT OF THE EUROPEAN CONQUEST262 ENCLAVE ECONOMIES 263 Haciendas 263 Estancias 264
Plantations 264
Sugar Cane in the Caribbean 265
Coffee in Colombia, Central America,
and Brazil 267
Bananas in Central America and Ecuador 268
The Plantation Controversy 269
SMALLHOLDER AGRICULTURE 271 Common Attributes of Smallholder Agriculturists 271
Slash and Burn Agriculture 274 Peasant Agriculture 276
AGRARIAN REFORM 277 New Land Colonization 279
AGRICULTURAL MODERNIZATION 280 EXPANSION OF COMMERCIAL AGRICULTURE 282 Plant Crop Production 283 Animal Husbandry 284
Tree Farming 286 Fishing 287
Case Study 10.2: Harvest Strip Forestry 288
Narcotic Drug Production 289
Summary 291
Key Terms 291 Suggested Readings 292
Electronic Sources 296
CHAPTER 11 Mining, Manufacturing, and Tourism 297
PRE-CONQUEST MINING AND MANUFACTURING297
MINING AND MANUFACTURING IN COLONIAL LATIN AMERICA 297 Silver Mining 298 Impact of Amalgamation 300
Labor Supply 301 Gold and Diamond Mining in Colonial Brazil 302
Other Colonial Mining Centers 303 Impacts of Mining 303
MANUFACTURING IN COLONIAL LATIN AMERICA 303 Case Study 11.1: Mining and Regional Development in
Colonial Latin America 304
MINING AND MANUFACTURING DURING THE EARLY REPUBLICAN PERIOD 305
BEGINNINGS OF MODERN MANUFACTURING305 Case Study 11.2: Big Bill Greene and American
Industrialization in Northern Mexico 306
THE GREAT DEPRESSION AND IMPORT SUBSTITUTION
INDUSTRIALIZATION307
GROWTH POLES AND THE SPATIAL CONCENTRATION OF
INDUSTRY309 Chile and the Arica Automobile Manufacturing
Experiment 310
Brazil: Large-Scale Regional Development and
Underdevelopment 311
Venezuela: Growth Pole Development in
a Frontier Setting 312
STATE OWNERSHIP AND PRIVATIZATION 314
EXPORT PROMOTION MANUFACTURING: AN ALTERNATIVE
DEVELOPMENT MODEL316
Puerto Ricos Operation Bootstrap 316
The Mexican Maquiladora Industry 317
Other Export Promotion Initiatives 319
Case Study 11.3: Offshore Caribbean
Financial Services Industries 320
CURRENT INDUSTRIALIZATION PATTERNS 321 CURRENT MINING DEVELOPMENTS 321
ENERGY RESERVES AND DEVELOPMENT324
Hydroelectric Power Generation 326
Renewable Organic Fuels 327 TOURISM 328
Summary 332
Key Terms 332
Suggested Readings 333
Electronic Sources 336
CHAPTER 12 Urbanization, Population Growth, and Migration 337
NATIVE AMERICAN URBANIZATION337
COLONIAL EUROPEAN SETTLEMENT338 Colonial Urban Primacy 342
Functional Classification of Cities 342
Morphology of the Colonial City 345
Settlement in Portuguese America 348
Rural Settlements 349
Late Colonial Population Levels 350
THE REPUBLICAN PERIOD 351 THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 353 Case Study 12.1: Confederate Settlements in
Latin America and the Caribbean 353
The Demographic Transition Model 355
Urbanization 356
City Size in the Modern Era 360
Urban Primacy 362
The Inner City: Zone of Commercial High-Rises and
Low-Income Tenements 367
Case Study 12.2: Social Expressions of the
Latin American Plaza 368
Peripheral Squatter Settlements 370
Urban Population Densities 372
Case Study 12.3: Planned Squatter
Settlement Invasions 372
NEW CITIES373 MIGRATION 376
Interregional Flows 377
Migration between Latin American and Caribbean Countries 377
Migration to Europe, Asia, and Anglo America 377 POLITICAL REFUGEES 380 THE BRAIN DRAIN 380
Remittances 382
CONCLUSIONS: ARE LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN OVERPOPULATED? 384
Key Terms 384
Suggested Readings 385
Electronic Sources 389
CHAPTER 13 Development and Health 390
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND UNDERDEVELOPMENT DURING THE COLONIAL AND REPUBLICAN PERIODS 393 The International Financial Cycle 393
Recurring Economic Crises 393 THE LOST DECADE 394 Foreign Indebtedness 394 Inflation 396
Currency Devaluation 397 Economic Stagnation and Human Suffering 397
FISCAL RESTRUCTURING AND AUSTERITY399
Case Study 13.1: IMF Austerity Measures and Civil Unrest
in Latin America and the Caribbean 401 THE FOUND DECADE 402
REGIONAL AND SUBREGIONAL ECONOMIC UNIONS402
Case Study 13.2: Structural Reform and Argentine
Economic and Political Turmoil 403 Central American Common Market 404
Andean Community 407 Caribbean Community 407
Southern Cone Common Market 407 North American Free Trade Association 408
Free Trade Area of the Americas 408
HEALTH AND NUTRITIONAL DEVELOPMENT IN LATIN AMERICA
AND THE CARIBBEAN408 Provision of Clean Water and Sewage Treatment 410
Food and Nutrition 411
Case Study 13.3: The Latin American
Cholera Epidemic 412 Child Mortality Rate 417
MORPHOLOGY OF THE MODERN CITY362 HEALTH AND THE PHYSICAL-CULTURAL ENVIRONMENT419
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Tropical Lowlands 419
Highlands 423
Case Study 13.4: Environment and Health in
Mexico City 424 Urban Centers 425
Rural Regions 428
Summary 428
Key Terms 429
Suggested Readings 429 Electronic Sources 432
GLOSSARY 433 CREDITS 436 INDEX 43