- Physiography – dominated by the
- Population – concentrated along the periphery
- Half of the population is located in
- Cultural Pluralism/Fragmentation – expressed both within and between nations
- Uneven Regional Economic Interaction
- Increasing economic integration in progress
- Rapid Urban Growth
Nazca Culture (300 BC – 800 AD)
- In the deserts and uplands of the western coastal region (
- Highly sophisticated irrigation and aqueduct systems
- Nazca lines
- Precursor of the Inca
- Largest Empire in the
- A Cultural Hearth area of
- Multicultural, highly structured and centralized state ruled by an Incan minority.
- Founded and maintained through military conquest.
- Perhaps as many as 20 million inhabitants at the time of Conquest
- Highly integrated road and transportation system which linked the various parts of the Empire together
- The last Incan Emperor Atahuallpa was executed in 1533 by Spanish Conquistador Francisco Pizarro following his capture after his refusal to convert to Christianity.
- In a desperate attempt to preserve his soul Atahuallpa converted so that he could be garroted to death instead of burned…
Baures – in Bolivia, typical
- Created settlements with stockades on forested islands connected by causeways and fish weirs.
- Burned the forest to produce more savannah-like conditions.
- Major modifications of the
- Where various cultures/ethnic groups cluster in adjacent areas but do not mix
- Amerindians of various cultures
- Europeans (Spanish and Portuguese)
- Africans
- Asians
- European tied to more Commercial Farming patterns
- Amerindian, African, and Asian tied more to Subsistence Farming patterns
Tropical
- Similar to
- Five Atlantic/Caribbean-facing coastal strips
- Locations, Soils, and Tropical Environment favor Plantation Crops (sugar)
- Reliance on African Slave Labor
- Failure of Plantation System = Current poverty and subsistence farming
European Commercial Sphere
- Covers most of southern, mid-latitude
- Dominated by Euro-Americans (mainly Iberian or German)
- Focused on Commercial Agriculture (ranching and farming)
- Most Economically Advanced
- Modern Western transportation networks and quality of life
- Correlates with the former Incan Empire – Central, Upland Andes
- Spanish System remains (feudal socio-economic system)
- Subsistence Agriculture
- Some of
- Difficult environments (Tierra Fría and Tierra Helada)
- Surrounds the Amerindian Subsistence Sphere
- Mixture of European and Amerindian/African Cultures
- Transitional economy
- Mix of commercial and subsistence farming patterns
- Sparsely populated
- Least accessible areas of the continent - Isolation
- Surrounding the
- Limited Economic Development
- Shrinking due to development of the Amazon
- During the last twenty years the nations of
- Mercosur
- 1995
- Southern Core Common Market (
- Free-Trade Zone
- Andean Community
- Began in 1969 as the Andean Pact
- Restarted in 1995
- Customs Union – Common Tariffs for Imports
- South American Community of Nations
- Founded in 2004
- Modeled on the EU and hope to eventually include all 12 nations
- Promoting a common currency
- Agreement to construct a
- Free Trade Area of the
- Only in proposal form in 2006
- To join
- Not well received by the poorer people of
- Least urbanized are the Andean/Amerindian Nations
- Megacities (population greater than 10 million)
Urbanization
- Movement to and clustering of population in cities and towns
- Cities generally follow the “Latin American City Model” plan
- Centered around a Central Business District and a Commercial Spine
- Elite Residential Zone anchored to the CBD and CS
- A Zone of Maturity consists of mainly middle-class housing
- A Zone of In-Situ-Accretion is a mix of middle and low income housing, generally thought of as a transitional area (moving either up on down)
- A Zone of Peripheral Squatter Settlements surrounds the city, made up of the millions of impoverished and unskilled workers and recent migrants to the city
- A center for the Informal Sector (Black Market)
- Outside of government control or enforcement
- Barrios or Favelas
- Squatter Settlements on unused land along highways, rail corridors, and riverbanks. Even poorer then those in the PSS.
- The North
- The West
- The South (the Southern Cone)
- Historic Colonial Footholds by non-Iberian Powers – Mix of South American and
- French Guiana (
- Coastal Focus (less in
- Importation of limited numbers of African Slaves for labor
- Large population of Asian migrants (immigrated as contract laborers)
- Third most populous country in
- 58% Mestizo
- 20% Black African descent
- 20% European descent
- Approximately 66% of the population is urbanized
- Petroleum, natural gas, coal, iron ore, nickel, gold, copper, emeralds, hydropower, coffee
- Key Cities are Bogotá and
- Torn by internal conflicts
- Typical Spanish model of colonial government
- Small European Elite rules an impoverished majority
- Physical Geography segments/fragments the country
- Conflict between leftists and rightwing
- Rise of the drug trade due to North American Demand
- American led military anti-drug efforts
- Emergence of drug lords and cartels with private armies
- Stages of Conflict (general)
- Contention
- Generally between groups fighting for control of the government
- Equilibrium
- One side has control of the central government
- Other side(s) control areas of the country
- Rise of an
- Counteroffensive
- Central Government attempts to regain control
- Focus on the Venezuelan Highlands in the North and West
- Main export is oil
- Natural Resources - petroleum, natural gas, iron ore, gold, bauxite, other minerals, hydropower, diamonds
- Major cities are
- Was site of
- Venezuelan Highlands are flanked by the Maracaibo Lowlands to the west and the
- Oil reserves are focused around
- Llanos exploited primarily as grazing land
- Exploitation of iron deposits in the
- Between 25 and 27.4 million population
- 60% Mestizo
- 29% European
- 8% African
- 2% Asian
- 1% Amerindian
- Hugo Chavez was elected in 1998 as a Socialist Strongman as the reaction of the majority of the poor, non-European peoples of the country to the failure to more evenly distribute oil wealth.
- Exploits racial divisions between the Mestizos and Europeans
- Ignores the use of Venezuelan territory by Columbian cartels and rebels
- Revived old claim to large portions of
- Actively seeks to thwart
- Instituted an “Imperial” presidency
Guyana
- Former British holding
- Population of 800,000 or so
- Divided between African and South Asian
- Former Dutch holding
- Divided between African, South Asian, and Indonesian
- Some natural resources
- Remains a department of the
- Site of the French Spaceport of Kourou
- Lowest per-capita income of the
- Mountainous with strong Altitudinal Zonation
- Mainly of the Amerindian Subsistence Sphere
- Large Amerindian population
- Generally low incomes and standards of living
- Grinding poverty of the landless peonage
- Common civil unrest
- Largest of the nations in this region
- Entirely Andean in geography
- Natural Resources - copper, silver, gold, petroleum, timber, fish, iron ore, coal, phosphate, potash, hydropower, natural gas
- Population is around 28 million
- 45% Amerindian
- 37% Mestizo
- 10% Spanish (Criollos)
- 3% African
- 3% Asian
- Peruvian Regions
- Coastal Strip
- Site of the Capital
- On the Geographic Periphery
- The Economic Center
- The Sierra (Andean) Region
- About 1/3rd of the country
- Center of the Amerindian Population
- Economy focused on Mining and Subsistence farming
- The Oriente or East
- Inland slopes of the Amazon
- Rainforest
- Connected to the Atlantic by the
- Site of the Chavín Empire (900 BC – 200 AD)
- set the stage for the following empires and cultures
- Moche Empire (100 AD – 700 AD)
- loose conglomeration of farming villages
- extensive aqueducts and irrigation projects
- Paracas culture (750 BC – 100 AD)
- some of the finest textiles produced in
- Huari Culture (500 – 1200 AD)
- First truly unified Andean Empire
- Contemporary with Early Incan development
- Chimú Culture (contemporary with the Inca)
- Descendents of the Moche
- Conquered by the Inca around 1480 AD
- Tiwanaku Culture (200 AD – 700 AD)
- Precursor to the Inca
- Exploration and exploitation of gas and oil reserves in the Amazon Oriente is a positive step
- Defeat of the Shinning Path is balanced by the damage done to basic democratic principles during the Fujimori regime.
- Population of about 14 million
- 65% Mestizo
- 25% Amerindian
- 7% Spanish
- 3% African
- Three Regions
- Coastal Belt – very fertile
- Andean Zone
- Oriente
- Very large petroleum reserves.
- Natural Resources - petroleum, fish, timber, hydropower
- Landlocked
- In the Altiplano (elongated, high-altitude basin)
- 2.78% of land is arable
- One of the poorest nations in
- Coca is a, if not the, major crop
- Population of around 9 million
- 30% Mestizo
- 55% Amerindian
- 15% European
- Natural Resources: tin, natural gas, petroleum, zinc, tungsten, antimony, silver, iron, lead, gold, timber, hydropower
- Landlocked
- Two major regions
- Paraneña Region – southeastern portion of the country – rolling hills and valleys. Rich agriculture and where the majority of the population lives.
- One of the least developed nations in
- Very large informal sector (blackmarket)
- Major exporter of soybeans
- Large areas of land owned by foreign (Brazilian) landowners
- Population
- 95% Mestizo
- 5% Other
- About 56% urbanized
- Heart of the European Commercial Sphere
- Mercosur – Hemisphere’s second largest trading block
- Eighth largest country in the world
- Great landscape variation
- Population concentration on the
- Highly Urbanized Population (89%)
- Population of almost 39 million
- 97% European (Spanish, Italian, German)
- 3% Mestizo with some Amerindian an others
- Was one of the richest countries in the world
- Economy focused around primate cities of
- Rich natural resources
- Economic and Political Mismanagement
- Endemic corruption
- Loss of power by the periphery (focused on urban areas)
- County was bankrupted by Juan Perón (1946 – 1955)
- Series of internal violence and alternating regimes
- 1976 Military Coup deposes civilian government and holds power
- Dirty War – 1976-1983
- The Disappeared
- The
- Return to civilian government in 1983
- Massive national debt related to rebuilding causes economy to collapse 1999 - 2002
- Current period of economic recovery and growth
- Runs for 4000 km (2500 miles) along the west coast of southern
- Forms an Elongated State
- Severe altitudinal Zonation
- Multiple climate and environment systems north to south
- Center of population (90%) is in central
- Population of around 16.5 million
- 95% European and Mestizo
- 3% Amerindian
- Three sub-regions
- Middle
- Capital
- Divided into northern and southern sections
- Northern Middle
- Hacienda System giving way to plantation farming
- Mediterranean climate
- Southern Middle
- Ranching and fruit plantations
- Large German settlement
- Worlds largest, exploitable deposits of nitrates
- Very large copper reserves
- Mountains broken by fjords and islands
- Little permanent settlement
- Very restricted transportation routes
- Cut off
Positives:
- Following the removal of Military Dictatorship in 1990
- Free-market economic reforms
- Stable growth
- Low inflation and unemployment
- Poverty reduction
- Foreign investment
- Intensified trade linkages with its neighbors
Problems
- Highly reliant on copper prices
- Lack of export diversification
- Inadequate education system
- Income inequality (20% poverty rate)
- Compact, small, densely populated
- Most European-like nation of
- Capital of
- Holds 35% of the population
- Population of almost 3.5 million
- 88% European
- 8% Mestizo
- 4% African
- Speak both Spanish and Portuguese
- Focus on Tourism as well as ranching and textiles
- A classic example of the Von Thünen Model
- Market Gardens and Dairy Production near
- Surrounded by an agricultural ring in concentric land-use zones
- Consists of almost half of
- Only Portuguese speaking country in
- Ethnically Diverse
- Population of almost 190 million people
- 53.7% European
- 38.5% Mulatto
- 6.2% African
- Rich natural resources: bauxite, gold, iron ore, manganese, nickel, phosphates, platinum, tin, uranium, petroleum, hydropower, timber
- Ninth largest economy in the world
- Strong aeronautics/space industry
- Strong banking and financial markets
- Brazilian IT technology is some of the most advanced in the world
- A true National Culture
- Capital of
- Population
- Very racially mixed
- Large Muslim population
- Population Growth slowed to 1.4 (less then replacement)
- Highly urbanized culture
- Two Mega-Cities (
- Infused with African themes (somewhat
- Due to presence of former slaves
- Portuguese colonial presence in
- Inequality
- Stark gap between affluence and poverty
- Almost 19% poverty rate
- 10.2% illiteracy rate
- Major problem with human trafficking
- Among the world’s highest nations on the Gini Coefficient
- A measure of inequality distribution
- It is defined as a ratio with values between 0 and 1
- 0 corresponds to perfect income equality (i.e. everyone has the same income) and 1 corresponds to perfect income inequality (i.e. one person has all the income, while everyone else has zero income)
- Poverty has increased 50% since 1980
- Wealthiest 10% of the population own 66% of the land and control over 50% of its total wealth
- Cultural Center and Focus of the Nation
- Industrial Hub and Economic Center
- Capital and Political Focus
- A Forward Capital
- A capital positioned in actually or potentially contested territory
- To confirm a state’s determination to maintain its presence in the region of contention
- A “Growth Pole” Concept
- A city founded to encourage regional economic development of the hinterland
Northeast
- Culture Hearth
- Large influx of African Slaves
- Inland backcountry one of the poorest areas of the country
- Around 30% of the population lives in this region
- Focus on large landowners due to poor soil
- Massive immigration to urban areas
- Tourism focus on the coast
- Increasing national and international investment in the region
- Core Area
- Major cities and population clusters
- Based on gold and now iron ores
- Tourism
- Leading industrial region
- Center of development
- Accounts for 50% of the nation’s GDP
- Coffee, orange juice, and soybeans
- Highly skilled and educated workforce
- City of
- Three states
- Population of 27 million
- Rice, tobacco, beef, vineyards
- Very European region
- Large anti-migrant feelings
- Racism
- Highly skilled and educated workforce
The Interior or Central West Region
- Site of
- Built in 1960
- An internal frontier
- Slow development until the 1990’s
- Establishment of large scale, mechanized farming
- Soybeans, cotton, grains
- Growth slowed by lack of good transportation routes
The North
- Largest and most rapidly developing region
- The
- Region stagnated following the collapse of the rubber boom in 1910
- Minerals, cattle, crops, and forestry
- Substantial problems with deforestation
- Violent conflict between poor migrants and settlers and wealthy landowners
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