1. Central America & the Caribbean

3. Physical Geography

4. Physical Features
 Sandy beaches, volcanic mts., rain forests, & clear blue
water

5. Central America
 Actually the southern part of North America
 7 countries
 Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa
Rica, & Panama
 Is an isthmus
 Narrow strip of land that connects two larger land areas
 Not more than 125 miles from Pacific Ocean to Caribbean Sea
 Chain of mts. & volcanoes separate Pacific & Caribbean
coastal plains
 Has a few short rivers
 Rugged land & lack of water routes makes travel difficult

6. Caribbean Islands
 Comprised of hundreds of islands
 Make up an archipelago or large group of islands
 Divide Caribbean Sea from Atlantic Ocean
 Two main island groups
 Greater Antilles (4 large islands):
Cuba, Jamaica, Hispaniola, & Puerto Rico
 Lesser Antilles: other smaller islands; stretch from
Virgin Islands to Trinidad and Tobago
 Bahamas: 3rd group of islands; includes 700 islands &
thousands of reefs

7.  Many islands are the tops of underwater mts. &
volcanoes
 Some began as coral reefs that gradually pushed up
 Tectonic plates have also created some of the islands
 Earthquakes & volcanic eruptions occur frequently

8. Climate & Vegetation
 Both areas are generally sunny & warm
 Humid tropical & tropical savanna climates are common
 Along Pacific coast original savanna vegetation has been cleared
& replaced w/ plantations & ranches
 Caribbean coast has areas of tropical rain forest
 Inland mt. areas contain cool, humid climates
 Cloud forests: a moist, high elevation tropical forest where low
clouds are common
 Temps generally do not change much from day to night or from
summer to winter
 Change is marked by rainfall
 winters = dry
 summers = rains daily
 summer to fall = hurricane season

9. Resources
 Land & climate are best resources
 Tourism
 Agriculture
 Profitable where volcanic ash has enriched the soil
 Coffee, bananas, sugarcane, & cotton
 Timber exported form rain forests
 Few mineral resources
 Energy resources also limited
 Rely on energy imports
 Limits devlopment

10. Central America

11. Early250
 A.D.
History
 Maya were building large cities w/ pyramids & temples
 Abandoned cities around A.D. 900, but ruins remain today
 People of Maya descent still live in Guatemala & Belize &
customs still influence modern life
 1500s
 Europeans control
 Claimed mostly by Spain
 Est. plantations & grew tobacco & sugarcane
 Made Indians work on plantations & gold mines
 Enslaved Africans also brought to region
 Britain claimed Belize & part of Nicaragua

12. Central America Since
Independence
 1821
 Colonies declared independence
 Region remained together as United Provinces of
Central America
 Separated in 1838-1839
 Panama remained part of Colombia until 1903
 Belize remained part of Britain 1981
 Independence brought little change
 Wealthy landowners continued to run the countries &
the economies
 Bananas & coffee supported economy

13.  Mid-1900s
 U.S. based United Fruit Company developed railroads &
port facilities to help its business in Central America
 This helped w/ transportation & communication in region
 Many people resented foreign companies for owning
so much while others struggled to make a living
 Led to armed struggles in many countries

14. Culture
 Influenced by colonial history
 Reflect Spanish and native practices
 People and Languages
 Most people are mestizos (of mixed European and
Indian ancestry)
 Mostly live in places like the Guatemalan Highlands
 African ancestry
 Live mostly along Caribbean coast
 In some countries native Indian languages are still
spoken
 English & Spanish are main languages spoken

15. Religion, Festivals, & Food
 Many practice a religion brought by Europeans
 Roman Catholic & Protestant Christians
 Religion has influenced celebrations in towns
 Celebrate special saints’ feast days; Easter
 During festivals people eat traditional foods
 Corn, tomatoes, hot peppers, and cacao

16. Central America Today
 Have similar histories and cultures
 Have own economic & political challenges
 2005 Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, el
Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, & Nicaragua signed
Central American Free Trade Agreement with U.S.
 Goal is to increase trade among countries

17. Guatemala
 Most populous (12 million people)
 Although most are mestizos, half are Central American
Indians & speak Maya languages
 Most live in small villages in the highlands
 1960-1996
 Fighting between rebels and gov’t forces (200,000 people were
killed)
 Still recovering from conflict
 Coffee grown in highlands
 Major producer of cardamom (spice used in Asian foods)

18. Belize
 Smallest population
 Not much land for agriculture
 Ecotourism has become popular
 Practice of using an area’s natural environment to attract
tourists
 Come to see coral reefs, Maya ruins, & coastal resorts

19. Honduras
 Mountainous country
 Most people live in mt. valleys & along northern coast
 Rugged land makes transportation difficult
 Little land to grow crops
 Bananas & citrus fruits are important exports

20. El Salvador
 A few rich families own much of the best land while
most people live in poverty
 1980s
 Civil war resulted from land disputes
 Many people were killed & economy suffered
 People are working to rebuild their country since end
of civil war in 1992
 Country has fertile soil
 Grow & export coffee and sugarcane

21. Nicaragua
 Rebuilding after civil war
 1979
 A group called the Sandinistas overthrew a dictator
 Many supported this group, but rebel forces (aided by U.S.)
fought Sandinistas for power
 1990
 Civil war ended w/ elections
 Now a democracy

22. Costa Rica
 Has a history of peace
 Has stable, democratic gov’t
 Does not have an army
 Progress made in reducing poverty
 Coffee & bananas are important to economy
 Tourism also important

23. Panama
 Most people live near Panama Canal
 Canal fees & local industries make area most
prosperous in country
 1914
 Panama Canal was built by U.S. as a link from Pacific
Ocean to Caribbean Sea
 U.S. controlled canal until 1999

24. The Caribbean Islands

25. Early History
 1492
 Columbus sailed for Spain & was 1st to sail into
Caribbean Sea
 Thought he had reached the Indies
 Called islands the West Indies & people Indians
 Spain had little interest in smaller islands
 English, French, Dutch, & Danish did
 Est. colonies & built huge sugarcane plantations
 Most Caribbean Indians had died from disease so African
slaves were brought in to work plantations
 Soon Africans & people of African descent outnumbered
Europeans on many islands

26. Independence
 Toussaint-L’Ouverture
 Led a slave revolt
 Helped Haiti win independence from France in 1804
 Idea of independence spread
 Mid-1800s
 Dominican Republic gained independence
 U.S. won Cuba from Spain
 Cuba gained independence in 1902
 Other countries had to wait about 40 years for
independence
 After WWII; Europeans transferred political power peacefully
 Some are still not independent
 Some are provinces or territories of other countries

27. Culture
 Signs of past colonialism & slavery
 People, Languages, & Religion
 Most people are descended from Europeans or from
African slaves
 Or a mixture
 Spanish, French, English, or European and African
languages
 Creole: spoken by Haitians; a dialect or a regional variety of a
language
 Catholic, blend of Catholicism and traditional African
religions

28. Festivals and Food
 Variety of holidays celebrated
 Carnival: time of feasts & celebration before Lent
 Often include great music
 Food & cooking also reflects past
 Food from Africa like yams & okra
 Curry

29. The Caribbean Islands Today
 Have similar history & culture
 Economies differ as well as gov’t & cultural landscapes

30. Puerto Rico
 Was a Spanish colony
 Today U.S. commonwealth
 self-governing territory associated w/ another country
 Are U.S. citizens, but no voting representation in
Congress
 Debate to remain commonwealth or U.S. state or
independent country
 U.S. aid & investment have helped develop economy
 Wages are lower & unemployment is higher than in U.S.

31. Haiti
 Mountainous western third of island of Hispaniola
 Has limited industry
 Agricultural products like coffee and sugarcane are main
exports
 Most farm small plots of land
 Is the poorest country in the Americas
 Has had corrupt gov’t
 Violence, political unrest, & poverty have created many
political refugees
 Someone who flees to another country, usually for political or
economic resasons

32. Dominican Republic
 Occupies eastern half of Hispaniola
 Capital of Santo Domingo was the 1st permanent
European settlement in the Western Hemisphere
 Not a rich country
 Economy, health care, & housing are more developed
than Haiti
 Agriculture is basis of economy
 Tourism is growing

33. Cuba & most populous in Caribbean
 Largest
 92 miles from Florida
 Run by Communist since 1959 when Fidel Castro came to power
 Took over banks, plantations, & other businesses (many owned by
U.S. companies)
 U.S. banned trade with Cuba & restricted travel there by U.S.
citizens
 Today
 Gov’t still controls economy
 Farms are organizes as cooperatives or gov’t owned plantations
 Cooperative: an organization owned by its members and operated for
their mutual benefit
 Gov’t also controls all newspapers, television, and radio stations
 Some support gov’t policies & other have become refugees in the U.S.

34. Other Islands
 Jamaica
 Largest remaining Caribbean country
 Saint Kitts and Nevis
 Smallest country
 Many are not countries but territories
 U.S. & British Virgin Islands
 Netherlands and France also have territories
 Some islands have enough land to grow
coffee, sugarcane, or spices
 Most economies are based on tourism
 Good for economy, but sometimes harms environment