The document provides an overview of human geography in Latin America. It discusses the Spanish conquest of the Aztec empire in Mexico and the lasting Spanish influence on language and religion. It also describes the Mayan civilization in Central America and the Inca empire which arose in the Andes mountains, conquered by the Spanish in 1533. The Mercosur trade bloc in South America and Portuguese control of Brazil under the 1494 Treaty of Tordesillas are also summarized.

1. Human Geography of Latin America

8.  Places & Terms
 Spanish Conquest: The conquering of the Native
Americans by the Spanish.
 Tenochtitlan: Ancient Aztec capital
 Mestizo: People of mixed Spanish & Native American
heritage
 Maquiladoras: Factories in Mexico that turn imported
materials into finished products for export.
 NAFTA: North American Free Trade Agreement

9.  Native Americans & the Spanish
Conquest
 The rich fabric of native life in Mexico was torn
apart by the Spanish conquest. In 1519 Hernando
Cortes landed on the coast of Mexico & marched
until he reached the Aztec city of Tenochtitlan
(present day Mexico City). By 1521 he & his soldiers
had conquered the Aztecs.

10.  Aztec
 Years in existence: 1200-
1530 AD
 Location: South Mexico
 Inventions/Accomplishments
 Conquered peoples were
forced to pay tribute to central
government
 Montezuma greatest ruler
 Military roads to the outposts
from Capital
 Built causeways to connect
island to mainland
 Sacrificing of POW’s!!!
One of
the new
7
wonder
s of the
world
Chichen Itza

12.  Human Geography
 Until 1821 Mexico remained apart of the Spanish Empire.
 Spanish influence still remains in Mexico with it’s language & Catholic
religion.
 Mexico has large mestizo population – people of mixed Spanish & Native
American heritage.
 Economics: Cities & Factories
 Mexico continues to struggle with two main economic challenges.
 Many people are moving to the cities seeking jobs, largely abandoning their
farming roots.
 Most factories or Maquiladoras’ are located along the border of the US.
(Why? Think NAFTA)

13.  Places & Terms
 Cultural hearth: Heartland or place of origin of a major
culture.
 Panama Canal: Ship canal cut through Panama connecting
the Caribbean Sea with the Pacific Ocean.
 The Panama Canal connects the two great oceans making
Panama a crossroads of world trade.

14.  Central America is know as a cultural hearth as
well as a crossroads.
 The Mayan Indians built a great civilization that
spread throughout the region. What exactly
happened to the Mayan people still remains
very much a mystery.

15.  Mayans-
 Years in existence: 300-900 AD
 Location: Tropical highlands of
Central America & Yucatan
Peninsula
 Inventions/Accomplishments:
 Elaborate irrigations system
 Organized independent city states
 Cities were religious centers
 Polytheistic
 Precise Calendar
 Numbering system that included
zero
 No one knows why they began to
abandon their cities in the 800’s

16.  Places & Terms
 Inca: People of South America who built a
civilization in the Andes Mountains. (conquered by
Francisco Pizarro in 1533)
 Quechua: Language of the Inca Empire. Now
spoken in the Andes highlands.
 Mercosur: Economic common market that began
operating in the southern cone of South America in
1995. (think NAFTA for South America)

17.  Incas
 Years of existence: 1350-
1533 AD
 Location: Andes Mountains,
Amazon Rainforest, From
Ecuador to Chile & Argentina
 Inventions/Accomplishment
s
 Government cared for sick &
elderly by collecting taxes
 Dammed rivers to look for gold
 Invented the crowbar
 Brain surgery
 Treated Malaria

One of the greatest civilizations of the
Americas arose in the rugged Andes
Mountains of Peru.

18.  Machu Picchu-
Incan nobility
retreat.
 Most famous of
the Incan ruins
One of the
new 7
wonders of
the world
Video

19.  One of the greatest civilizations of the Americas
arose in the rugged Andes Mountains of Peru.

20.  The Mercosur Trade Group
 Economic common market that began in South
America in 1995.
 Goals include:
 Make member economies more stable
 Increase trade within the region
 Channel some profits to groups who need it most

21.  Places & Terms
 Treaty of Tordesillas: Treaty between Spain &
Portugal in 1494 that gave Portugal control over the
land that is present day Brazil.
 Carnival: The most colorful feast day in Brazil.(think
Mardi Gras)
 Samba: Brazilian dance with African Influences.
 Capoeira: Martial Arts dance developed in Brazil
from African influences.

23.  The Treaty of Tordesillas (1494) gave Portugal
control over much of the land that became
present-day Brazil. South America became a
continent divided into the Spanish speaking
west & the Portuguese-speaking east.

24.  Brazilian Life Today
 The most colorful feast day in Brazil is Carnival.
Floats and parade through the streets of Rio de
Janeiro and people dance to the music of the
samba.
 There is a widening gap between the rich & the
poor much like other Latin American countries
resulting in crime waves and drug abuse.