WGH- Chapter 9

Although people migrate to cities to find a better life, they don't often find what they seek. Why?

As a city's resources are strained by rapid population growth, jobs and housing become scarce. This can cause the collapse of a city's infrastructure, depriving people of necessary basics. But most rural migrants don't have the $ to return home.

What cultures have influenced Mexico's art?

Early Native American architecture includes Maya pyramids and Aztec temples and palaces. The Spanish built churches and other buildings reflecting classic European architectural styles.

State one example of an exchange that was intentional and unintentional.

Europeans intentionally brought food plants and domesticated animals to the Americas to 'europeanzie' the region. But they unintentionally brought infectious diseases.

Who was the first to grasp the unique geographic features of Panama?

Explorer Vasco Nunez

Dialects

Forms of a language unique to a particular place or group

Who led a revolt to enslaved Africans in Haiti?

Francois Toussaint- Louverture

What sports and popular leisure activities are popular in Mexico?

Futbol (Soccer), baseball, jai alai (handball), and celebrating.

In 1823, independent Central American provinces formed a federation, United Provinces of Central America. But the powerful elites opposed such a union, so the United Provinces separated into 5 separate countries. What are they?

Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica

What countries in particular are experiencing a large brain drain?

Guyana, Ecuador, and Colombia

Who defeated the Aztec in 1521 and claimed Mexico for Spain?

Hernan Cortes

Where do most indigenous groups (of which there are more than 350) live?

in the Andes region of Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia

Where do most people live in Central America?

In the highlands along the Pacific coast.

Who were the first inhabitants of Central America & the Caribbean?

Indigenous peoples. Today, Maya descendants make up about half of the indigenous population in Guatemala. Two thirds of Central Americans are mestizos.

Megacities, and list one example

Megacities are cities with more than 10 million people. Mexico is a megacity, with a pop. of more than 19 million.

What make up the largest part of the population in Mexico today?

Mestizos

Primate city, and list one example

Mexico City is also a primate city because of its size and influence. A primate city is an urban area that dominates its country's economy, culture, and political affairs.

When did Mexico's first inhabitants probably migrate from?

Mexico's first inhabitants probably migrated from Asia 40,000 to 60,000 years ago.

Nearly 90% of Mexico's population is ____.

Roman Catholic

Matriarchal

Ruled by a woman, such as a mother, grandmother, or aunt

What cities in Brazil and Argentina rank among the world's 15 largest urban areas in population?

Sao Paulo & Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) & Buenos Aires (Argentina)

What is the primary language of most countries in Central America?

Spanish

What is the official language of Mexico?

Spanish, it is spoken by more than 95% of the population

Where did the Aztecs live?

The Aztec civilization arose in central mexico in the A.D. 1300s. Their capital, Tenochtitlan, was built on an island in a large lake. Today, it is the site of Mexico City. To feed the growing population, the farmers cultivated all available land and grew crops on chinampas. They developed a highly structured class system headed by an emperor and military officials.

Where did the Mayans live?

The Maya dominated southern Mexico and northern Central America from about A.D. 250 to 900. They established many cities and built terraces, courts, temples. They based their economy on agriculture and trade. The Maya developed accurate calenders and used astronomical observations to predict solar eclipses. They made glyphs, picture writings carved in stone, on temples to honor their gods and record history.

What triggered the eventual conquest and colonization of Central America & the Caribbean?

The arrival of Christopher Columbus

Syncretism

The blending of Mayan and roman Catholic beliefs and practices

How has migration shaped Mexico's population?

The desire for job opportunities and improved economic conditions drives external migration to other areas of the world. Internal rural-to-urban migration has greatly changed the population distribution. (75% of the pop. live in cities)

How does the federal gov. make health care available to all citizens?

The federal gov. subsidizes health care.

Where did the majority of these first peoples live?

The majority of these groups lived in the southern part of the Mexican Plateau- the center of the Aztec Empire.

What are some art forms that the Native Americans produced?

Woodcarving, pottery, metalwork, and weaving

Indigenous peoples

- Native Americans today are known as indigenous - peoples descended from an area's first inhabitants

What year did Mexico finally become independent and who led the revolution?

1821; Father Miguel Hildalgo

What year did a new constitution bring reforms and establish Mexico as a federal republic with powers separated into executive, legislative, and judicial branches ?

1917

What percentage of South America's population is urban?

80%

Mestizo

A blending of peoples of Native American and European descent

Quipu

A series of knotted cords of various colors and lengths that is used to keep financial and historical records

What two Native American empires were in Mexico centuries before Europeans arrived in Americas?

Aztecs & Mayans

In the Caribbean, what sports have large followings?

Baseball, basketball, and volleyball

Why do people migrate to urban areas?

Because of limited agricultural land and lack of access to social services.

Why do South American countries tend to have low population densities?

Because of their relatively large land areas

Why do most South Americans live on the continent's edges ('populated rim')?

Because rain forests, deserts and mountains that dominate South America's interior discourage human settlement.

Why was the outcome of Mexico's 2000 presidential election so significant?

Because the PRI (Partido Revolucionario Institucional) dominated the presidency and Mexican policits for nearly 70 years. (Since 1929) in 2000, the PRI's control ended when the Partido Accion Nacional (PAN) won the election.

What country became independent without a violent upheaval?

Brazil

How does the average pop. density of Central American contrasts sharply with that of the Caribbean?

Caribbean countries combine small land areas with large populations that tend to grow at rapid rates. Caribbean countries are some of the most densely populated in Latin America.

The Columbian Exchange was set off by ...?

Columbus's arrival in the Americas

Health care is linked to standards of living. Countries with a highly developed welfare system have better standards of living and high life expectations. By contrast...

Countries with less developed economies have little money to spend on health care.

What was the capital of the Inca empire?

Cuzco (in what is now Peru)

As employment and education improve, health problems linked to poverty, lack of sanitation, and malnutrition _____.

Decrease

Patois

Dialects that blend indigenous, European, African, and Asian languages.

Caudillo

Dictator

The ancestors of Native Americans were the first people to settle in what region? List one specific country.

Mexico, (and in other Latin American countries)

What country is the world's most populous Spanish speaking country?

Mexico, with 170 million people

In 2006, the people of Chile elected their first female president named _______?

Michelle Bachelet

Where was the first permanent European settlement founded?

On the island of Hispaniola in 1493

20% of Sao Paulo consists of favelas. Where are most of them located?

On the outskirts of the city.

In 1903, the US & Panama signed a treaty creating the ________.

Panama Canal Zone

Why did Panama provide the best place to create a shortcut to the Pacific Ocean?

Panama has a body of water as vast as the Atlantic Ocean. Panama is also very thin.

The Spanish easily conquered the Native Americans and forced them to work in gold mines and on plantations. By the mid-1600's, hard labor, starvation and European diseases had nearly wiped out the Native Americans. How did the European colonists respond?

They imported enslaved Africans to meet the labor shortage.

To draw people away from the densely populated coast, what did the Brazilain government do in 1960?

They moved the capital from coastal Rio de Janeiro to Brasilia, a planned city built in the country's interior.

What role does the family have in Mexican society?

They play an important role. Mexicans highly value the family. Parents & children often share their home with members of the extended family.

In Mexico, a president is elected to ____?

To a single 6-year term

What led Spanish conquistadors to the shores of Peru?

Vast mineral resources of silver and gold (which provided the Inca with their great wealth)

Urbanization

the migration of people from the countryside to cities and the natural population growth within urban areas