Download 5. Lesson 5 - Middle America

World Regional
Geography
INTRODUCTION TO
MIDDLE AMERICA
z DEFINING
THE REALM
– MEXICO, CENTRAL AMERICA,
CARIBBEAN ISLANDS
z MAJOR
David Sallee
GEOGRAPHIC QUALITIES
– FRAGMENTED - PHYSICALLY AND
POLITICALLY
Lesson 5
– DIVERSE CULTURALLY
– POVERTY IS ENDEMIC
MIDDLE AMERICA
REGIONS OF MIDDLE
AMERICA
Greater Antilles
Mexico
Lesser Antilles
Central America
Countries of the
Realm
Mexico
Belize
Guatemala
Honduras
El Salvador
Nicaragua
Costa Rica
Panama
Mexico City
Belmopan
Guatemala City
Teguchigalpa
San Salvador
Managua
San Jose
Panama City
Cuba
Haiti
Dominican Republic
Puerto Rico
Jamaica
Havana
Port au Prince
Santo Domingo
San Juan
Kingston
PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY
z LAND
BRIDGE
z ARCHIPELAGO
– GREATER AND LESSER
ANTILLES
z NATURAL HAZARDS
– EARTHQUAKES
– VOLCANOES
– HURRICANES
1
WORLD
TECTONIC PLATES
WORLD
HURRICANE TRACKS
DISTRIBUTION OF
EARTHQUAKES & VOLCANOES
CULTURE HEARTH
z SOURCE
AREAS from which radiated
ideas, innovations, and ideologies
that changed the world beyond.
MesoAmerican Hearths
Aztecs
Mayans
MESOAMERICA
COLONIAL HERITAGE
z CULTURE HEARTHS
– MAYA CIVILIZATION
3000 BP
CLASSIC PERIOD 200-900 AD
z HONDURAS, GUATEMALA, BELIZE, YUCATAN
PENINSULA
z THEOCRATIC STRUCTURE
z
z
– AZTEC CIVILIZATION
z 1300 AD
z VALLEY OF MEXICO
z TENOCHTITLAN (>100,000 PEOPLE)
SPAIN
FRANCE
BRITAIN
2
THE LEGACY OF
COLONIALISM
COLONIAL SPHERES
z Land
was appropriated - colonial
commercial interests
z Lands devoted to food crops for local
consumption were converted to cash
cropping for export
z Land Alienation induces:
– Famine
– Poverty
– Migration
– Little agricultural diversity
MAINLAND/RIMLAND
FRAMEWORK
z MAINLAND
– EURO-INDIAN INFLUENCE
– GREATER ISOLATION
– HACIENDA PREVAILED
z RIMLAND
– EURO-AFRICAN INFLUENCE
– HIGH ACCESSIBILITY
– PLANTATION ECONOMY
MAINLAND – RIMLAND DISTINCTION
MAINLAND vs RIMLAND
MAINLAND
RIMLAND
Location
greater isolation
greater accessibility
Climate
altitudinal
zonation
tropical
Physiography
mountains
islands
Culture
Euro/Indian
African-European
Race
Mestizo
Mulatto
Landholding
Patterns
haciendas
plantation
HACIENDA vs PLANTATION
z
HACIENDA
– SPANISH INSTITUTION
– NOT EFFICIENT BUT SOCIAL PRESTIGE
– WORKERS LIVED ON THE LAND
z
PLANTATION
– NORTHERN EUROPEAN ORIGINS
– EXPORT ORIENTED MONOCROPS
– IMPORTED CAPITAL AND SKILLS
– SEASONAL LABOR
– EFFICIENCY IS KEY
3
Puerto Rico
Turks and Caicos
Costa Rica
MAQUILADORAS
Natural
Resources
z
Initiated in the 1960s
z
Today > 4,000 maquiladoras
> 1.2 million employees
• Export the finished products
• Mostly foreignforeign-owned (U.S., Japan)
• 80% of goods rere-exported to U.S.
• Assemble imported, dutyduty-free components/raw
materials
• Tariffs limited to value added during assembly
4
MAQUILADORAS
MAQUILADORAS
z Maquiladora products
Examples of Maquiladoras in Mexico
3 Day Blinds
General Electric
20th Century Plastics
Company
Acer Peripherals
JVC
Bali Company, Inc.
GM
Bayer Corp./Medsep
Corp./Medsep
Hasbro
BMW
Hewlett Packard
Canon Business MachinesHitachi Home
Casio Manufacturing
Electronics
Chrysler
Honda
Daewoo
Honeywell, Inc.
Eastman
Hughes Aircraft
Kodak/Verbatim
Hyundai Precision
EberhardEberhard-Faber
America
Eli Lilly Corporation
IBM
Ericsson
Matsushita
Fisher Price
Mattel
Ford
Maxell Corporation
Foster Grant Corporation
Mercedes Benz
Mitsubishi
Electronics Corp.
Motorola
Nissan
Philips
Pioneer Speakers
Samsonite
Corporation
Samsung
Sanyo North
America
Sony Electronics
Tiffany
Toshiba
VW
Xerox
NAFTA
MAQUILADORAS
z
ADVANTAGES
– Mexico gains jobs.
– Foreign owners benefit from cheaper
labor costs.
z
EFFECTS
– Regional development
– Development of an international growth
corridor between Monterrey and Dallas Fort Worth
MEXICO AND NAFTA
z Foremost,
z Effective
1 January 1994
a trade agreement
between Mexico, Canada and the US,
which:
– Reduced and regulated trade
tariffs, barriers, and quotas
between members
– Standardized finance & service
exchanges
z Established
it promises a higher standard
of living.
z NAFTA creates more jobs for Mexicans
as US companies begin to invest more
heavily in the Mexican market.
z Mexican exporters increase their sales
to the US and Canada.
z Is that the
entire story?
5
U.S. TRADE WITH
CANADA & MEXICO
WAGE RATES COMPARED
$20
z Canada remains as the United States’
States’
$20.21
$25
largest export market.
$17.38
z Since 1977, Mexico has moved into
$15
second place (displacing Japan).
now go to
the United States.
z 75% of Mexico’
Mexico’s imports originate in
the United States.
Mexico
z 85% of all Mexican exports
U.S.
$10
$1.55
$2.87
$5
$0
Assemblers
Skilled Labor
THE TOURISM OPTION
ALTITUDINAL ZONATION
Middle & South America’s Vertical Climate Zones
z
z
z
ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERNS
z Tropical Deforestation
z 3.5 million acres of woodland in Central
America disappear each year!
•Clearing of rural lands to accommodate
meat production and export
•Rapid logging of tropical woodlands to meet
global demands for new housing, paper, and
furniture
•Population explosion:
explosion: forests are cut to
provide cropcrop-raising space and firewood
Antigua and Barbuda
– Direct contribution of 13% to GDP and affects growth in
other sectors
The Bahamas
– Tourism alone
provides
50% of GDP
and directly
or indirectly
employs 40%
of the population.
Cuba
– Growing industry
CULTURAL ASSESSMENT
MEXICO – adult males are perceived to be healthier than females and children
BELIZE – bones of spoiled fish are used to make a soup to cure illness from
eating spoiled fish
GUATEMALA – witch doctors are important health care providers in rural areas
COSTA RICA – machismo society but women are viewed as morally and
spiritually superior
PANAMA – having body fat in women is considered to be healthy and sign of
fertility
CUBA – direct eye contact practiced and looking away may be interpreted as
disrespect or dishonesty
JAMAICA – matrifocal society where it is not important for women to have a
lifetime partner; therefore several different fathers may visit
with their children in one household
HAITI – some believe that they must continue sexual intercourse during
pregnancy to keep the birth canal lubricated and cold air should
be avoided during this time
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC – traditional mothers may not wish to bathe, wash
hair or have intercourse for 40 days following childbirth
6