Download Geography of Latin America - Social Circle City Schools

Name: _______________________
Geography of Latin America
Study Guide
1. Describe the air pollution problem in Mexico City:
The Sierra Madre mountains act as a barrier around Mexico. They trap the air pollution over the area.
2. What export do Venezuela and Mexico have in common?
oil
3. Describe Cuba’s main industry:
farming
4. Explain why most Latin American countries speak either Spanish or Portuguese:
Spain and Portugal colonized Latin American countries
5. What 3 regions make up Latin America?
Central America, South America, & the Caribbean
6. Describe what a “literate” person can do:
Read and write
7. Describe how oil production is hurting Venezuela’s environment:
Oil spills kill plants and animals; oil drilling machinery destroys the animals’ habitats
8. What is the purpose of the Panama Canal?
Shortcut for trade between Atlantic and Pacific Oceans
9. Describe the location of Cuba:
Island in the Caribbean Sea
10. In which country would you find a lot of Portuguese speakers?
Brazil
11. What does the word “indigenous” mean?
native
12. Describe “deforestation”:
Clear-cutting trees and not planting new ones; happening in the Amazon rainforest
13. Where is the Panama Canal located (in regards to South America)?
North west of South America
14. Which country is experiencing major problems with deforestation of the Amazon Rainforest?
Brazil
15. What impact has the slave trade in the Caribbean and South America had on the region today?
Many people in Latin America have ancestors of African descent
16. How could a country improve its standard of living?
Investing in literacy rate (human capital)
17. Because Cuba is so small, it can only produce a few resources. What must Cuba do in order to
get more products for their people?
Import many goods
18. Describe the location of the Aztec empire:
Present day Mexico City
19. Describe the location of the Incan empire:
Present day Peru (Andes Mountains)
20. What role did Cortes play in the destruction of the Aztec empire?
He was the Spanish conquistador who conquered the Aztecs; Aztecs believed he was a god
21. Who was Montezuma?
Leader of the Aztecs when Cortes arrived in Mexico
© 2014 Brain Wrinkles
22. How did Pizarro conquer the Inca?
surprised the emperor’s army and took the emperor hostage
23. What happened to Atahualpa?
He was kidnapped and promised to be set free in exchange for a room full of gold and a room full of
silver – he did but was killed
24. What three things were “traded” in the Columbian Exchange?
Plants, animals, and diseases
25. What impact did the Columbian Exchange have on the native population of the Americas?
European diseases wiped out much of the native population
26. What is the main language spoken and religion practiced in Latin America today? Why?
Spanish – Spain colonized most of the area
27. List three adjectives to describe the Spanish conquistadors:
Powerful, cruel, risk-takers, greedy, etc.
28. How did a small band of conquistadors defeat the large and well established empires of the
Aztec and Inca?
They carried diseases the Native Americans weren’t immune to
29. Which European animal that was brought to the Americas helped the native people hunt and
trade over a large area?
horse
30. What was a main reason African slaves were brought to Latin America during colonial times?
Europeans needed workers and most indigenous people were killed by European diseases
31. Describe Toussaint L’Ouverture’s accomplishment.
Former slave who fought for Haiti’s independence from France
32. Describe Simon Bolivar’s accomplishment.
Organized an army and liberated New Grenada, Venezuela, and Ecuador.
33. Describe Miguel Hidalgo’s accomplishment.
Priest who began Mexico’s independence movement from Spain
34. What happened to Cuba in 1959?
Fidel Castro overthrew Batista’s government and brought communism to Cuba
35. What was the Cuban missile crisis?
Soviet Union placed nuclear missiles in Cuba, aimed at US
36. What type of government did Fidel Castro bring to Cuba?
Communist
37. What are the Zapatistas fighting for?
Rights & land for the indigenous people in Mexico (state of Chiapas, in particular)
38. How do the Zapatistas feel about NAFTA?
They were angry they took over several Mexican towns in Chiapas. They feel NAFTA hurts business
for poor Native American farmers.
39. Which group of people do the Zapatistas support?
Indigenous people of Mexico
© 2014 Brain Wrinkles