Download Middle America

 Middle
America includes 3 distinct areas
- Mexico, Central America, and the
Caribbean Islands.
 Geographically it is still part of North
America, but culturally it is called Latin
America.
 The heritage of Middle America is mainly
Spanish because Spain once controlled
most of Middle America.
Political Map of Middle America
 Middle
America is far smaller than either
the US or Canada.
 Most of its land is mountainous or thick rain
forest.
 Only in the valleys and on sea coast plains
people grow a number of crops in the fertile
soil.
 In the mountain plateaus or along the coast
are large cities.
 Deposits of gold, silver, copper, and
petroleum have been found here.
 Middle
America is made up of a funnel
shaped piece of land and an arc of
islands.
 The strip of land appears to join North
and South America, but from Panama
north is North America, from Panama
south is South America.
 The isthmus is only 64 km wide near
Panama City, Panama.
 Coastal
plains extend
along both the Pacific
and Caribbean coasts of
the mainland.
 The remainder is
mountainous, and the
mountains form a Y.
 In the north (Mexico)
the Western Sierra
Madre and Eastern
Sierra Madre form the
upper part of the Y.
 South
of where the
Eastern and Western
Sierra Madre join,
volcanoes rise more
than 17,000 ft. above
the Valley of Mexico.
 This single mountain
range (bottom part of
the Y) runs through
Central America and
joins the Andes in
South America.
 Plate
movement
along Mexico’s west
coast caused a huge
earthquake in 1985.
In Mexico City,
thousands lost their
lives, and many
buildings were
destroyed.
The Caribbean islands
are found on the
Caribbean Sea and
cover an area of 3200
km.
 The northern most
islands are just off the
coast of Florida and they
stretch south just off the
coast of South America.
 The islands are part of a
chain of mountains, the
tops of which rise above
sea level in a number of
places.

 Most
of Middle America lies south of the
Tropic of Cancer.
 Most of the region has a tropical climate
(hot and wet).
 There are 2 exceptions to this climate:
1. Northern Mexico is desert like
2. The mountain areas become cool and dry as
the land rises.
 Most
of the area gets a
lot of rain (except
northern Mexico).
 A southwest wind blows
off the Atlantic Ocean
onto the Caribbean
Islands and the east
coast of mainland
Middle America. It
brings heavy rain with
it.
 Dense rainforest grow
on this coast because of
the rain.
 The
high mountains on
the mainland cut the
west coast off from these
heavy rains and there it
rains less and more
steady.
 Because of this type of
rainfall the main forest
type is savanna.
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What are the 3 distinct regions of Middle America?
What is the main language spoken here? Why?
Describe the mountains of the mainland of Middle
America.
How were the island areas of Middle America formed?
What is the climate of most of Middle America? What
are 2 exceptions?
What body of water lies west of Central America?
What body of water lies just east of Mexico?
What body of water lies east of the Bahamas?
 Middle
America used to be colonies of
European countries, but now nearly all
countries here are independent.
 The Spanish came first to the Caribbean
in the 1400’s and then to the mainland in
the 1500’s.
 Most people on the mainland have Native
or Spanish ancestry. Most on the islands
are of African or European ancestry.
 Natives
lived here for
thousands of years
before Europeans
came.
 The Maya people (300
to 900 A.D. or C.E.)
were farmers and grew
maize, beans, cacao,
sweet potatoes, and
other crops.
 They
lived in farming
villages, but also built
large cities.
 Their
priests created
an advanced system of
math and an accurate
calendar.
 Mayan
Pyramids of
Chichen Itza
 In
the 1400’s, the warlike
Aztec conquered much
of Mexico.
 The established their
capital on island in a
lake.
 They grew crops by
building islands from
the mud at the bottom of
the lake.
 They ruled other native
groups throughout
Mexico from the capital.
 Early
in the 1500’s, with help from the
other native tribes, the Spanish defeated
the Aztec empire.
 They built Mexico City near the old Aztec
capital.
 Eventually the Spanish controlled all the
mainland, except for Belize.
 The
Spanish spread
their culture throughout
Central America in
several ways:
• Built well planned towns
• Placed Catholic church at
the center of each town
• Catholic priests
converted natives to
Christianity.
• Some Spanish men
married native women
 In
the Caribbean, European
countries other than Spain
colonized the islands.
• Dutch
• French
• Portuguese
• English
 The
language and customs
of each island is the same
as the country that
colonized it.
 On
the islands,
Europeans built
plantations. At first, they
used natives to work
there. Some were
forced.
 Later the Europeans
began bringing slaves
from Africa to work the
plantations.
 One
consequence of
colonization was the
destruction of the native
population.
 Natives lacked immunity
to smallpox, measles,
the flue and other
diseases carried by the
Europeans. Millions
died because of this,
dropping the native
population by 90% in
the first 100 years of
contact.
Smallpox
 Middle
America has
population problems.
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Over 135 million people
Not a large land area
High birth rates
Rapidly growing birthrate
 Many
Middle Americans
used to live in rural
areas, but now most
have moved to major
cities and struggle to
find work. Many end up
living in slums.
 Spain’s
colonies won their independence
in the early 1800’s.
 The other European colonies did not gain
independence until the middle to late
1900’s.
 After gaining independence, most
Middle American countries found it hard
to create stable governments.
 The
rich controlled the
government and the
people with very little,
had little say.
 The result was a number
of rebellions and
uprisings, but most
failed.
 In Cuba in 1959 a rebel
uprising led by Fidel
Castro overthrew the
government, but Castro
soon turned into a
communist dictator.
 Tourism
is important to the economy, but
agriculture, the production of oil, and
mining are the key activities in the region.
 Middle American countries usually sell their
natural resources to industrial countries to
earn money to pay for finished goods.
 Gold and silver brought the Spanish
colonists to Middle America, but mining is
limited today.
 Middle
America is an
important region for
agriculture.
 American companies
own large sugar, cacao,
bananas, and coffee
plantations here.
 Most people in the
region earn a living on
small farms, selling
their crops to feed their
family.
 There are some cattle
ranches along the west
coast of the mainland.
 In
the past, natural barriers like
mountains, deep valleys, tropical forests,
and wide rivers made trade difficult.
 Most of the regions trade was done by
sea and with the US, that is still true today.
 Only recently have good north-south
trade links been built. The Pan-American
highway connects all of mainland Middle
American countries with both North and
South America.
 Over
the years the
United States and
United Nations have
had a special interest
in Middle America.
Both have invested
millions in financial
and military
assistance to many
Middle American
countries.
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Which European country had the greatest influence on the
mainland of Middle America?
What cultures have influenced life in the Caribbean?
What happened to the Native populations after the first 100
years of contact with Europeans?
What kinds of governments are there in the region?
What are the main economic activities in Middle American
countries?
What is the name of the highway linking North and South
America?
What country shares the island with Haiti?
What Island country is south of Cuba?
What country shares the northern border of Costa Rica?