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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