Term
The meaning of "Latin" in
"Latin America" |
|
Definition
Spanish, Portuguese & French
Catholicism
Great Diversity, but also physical and cultural unity of the region.
Caribbean islands physiographically linked to South American mainland |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
5,000 Miles from NW Venezuela to Tierra del Fuego
30 Peaks higher than 20,000 feet
Active Volcanoes and earthquakes are common |
|
|
Term
| Mexican and Central American Uplands |
|
Definition
40 Volcanoes, Many still active
Rich Volcanic Soil, Fertile, Farming
Water overused and polluted |
|
|
Term
| Brazilian and Patagonian Shields |
|
Definition
| Large upland areas of exposed crystalline rock |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
Elevated Plain (in Peru and Bolivia);
Lake Titicaca |
|
|
Term
| River Basin and Lowlands: Amazon, Oronoco, Plata |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
|
Definition
The four large Caribbean islands of
CUBA
JAMACIA
HISPANIOLA
PUERTO RICO |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| The arc of small Caribbean islands from St. Maarten to Trinidad |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
The mainland costal zone of the Caribbean, beginning with Belize and extending along the coast of Central America to northern South America.
Belize and Guianas |
|
|
Term
| Tectonic hazards in the region |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
|
Definition
Warm Pacific current that usually arrives along costal Ecuador and Peru in December around Christmas time
Usually occurs at 10-Year intervals
Produces torrential rains, leading to flooding in some areas, drought in others |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
Storms with heavy rains and fierce winds - Over 75 mph
Hurricane zone lies just north of the equator
Can be very damaging to property, while better predition technology helps save human life (through evacuation) |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Tropical ecosystems of the Americas that evolved in relative isolation and support diverse and unique flora and fauna. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| When new plants, animals, ideas and even diseases were exchanged between the peoples of the Americas and those of Europe. |
|
|
Term
| "Neo-Europe" and "Neo-Africa" |
|
Definition
The parts of the world outside Europe that the European settlers transformed into new environments intended to approximate Europe. This includes the plant and animal species brought from Europe to inhabit North America (&Neo-Africa).
Neo-Europes are important in understanding why the diseases brought to the North America were so devastating to the Indians. Creating a “neo-Europe” was the key to European success, because it meant they could thrive while the Indians perished. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| The forced removal of Africans from their native area. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
Runaway slaves who established communities rich in African traditions throughout the Caribbean and Brazil.
Pressure to modernize |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Religions that feature a blending of different belief systems. In Latin America, for example, many animist practices were folded into Christian worship. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
The blending of African, European, and some Amerindian cultural elements into the unique sociocultural systems found in the Caribbean.
Complex mix of cultures, including language and music |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Agriculture based on a single crop. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| A cultural region that extends from midway up the coast of Brazil, through the Guianas and the Caribbean, and into the southeastern United States. In this costal zone, European-owned plantations, worked by African laborers, produced agricultural products for expert. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
Began in the 1950s
Intensified in the 60s and 70s
|
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| A state in which a disproportionately large city dominates the ubran system and is the center of economic, politcal, and cultural life. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
An urban conglomeration of more than 10 million people.
High growth and population densities. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Makeshift housing on land not legally owned or rented by urban migrants, usually in unoccupied open spaces within or on the outskirts of a rapidly growing city. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| A much debated concept that presupposes a dual economic system consisting of formal and informal sectors. The informal sector includes self-employed, low-wage jobs that are usually unregulated and untaxed. Street vending, shoe shining, artisan manfacturing, and self-built housing are considered part of the informal sector. Some scholars include illegal activities such as drug smuggling and prostitution in the informal economy. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Monies sent by immigrants working abroad to family members and communities in countries of origin. For many countries in the developing world, remittances often amount to billions of dollars each year. For small countries, remittances can equal 5 to 10 percent of a country's gross domestic product. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Migration of the best-educated people from developing countries to developed nations where economic opportunities are greater. |
|
|
Term
| Capital leakage in the Caribbean |
|
Definition
| The gap between the gross receipts in an industry (such as tourism) brings into a developing area and the amount of capital retained. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| A duty-free and tax-exempt industrial park created to attract foreign corporations and create industrial jobs. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Financial services offered by islands or microstates that are typically confidential and tax exempt. As a part of a global financial system, offshore banks have developed a unique niche, offering their services to individual and corporate clients for set fees. The Bahamas and the Cayman Islands are leaders in this sector. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| A treaty signed in 1393 between Spain and Portugal that drew a north-south line some 300 leagues west of the Azores and Cape Verde islands. Spain received the land to the west of the line and Portugal the land to the east. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| A proclamation issued by U.S. President James Monroe in 1823 that the United States would not tolerate European military action in the Western Hemisphere. Focused on the Caribbean as a strategic area, the doctrine was repeatedly invoked to justify U.S. political and military intervention in the region. |
|
|
Term
| Colonialism and Neo-Colonialism |
|
Definition
Colonialism: Formal, established rule over local peoples by a larger imperialist government for the expansion of political and economic empire.
Neo-Colonialism: Economic and political strategies by which powerful states indirectly and sometimes directly extend their influence over other, weaker states. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| A popular theory to explain patterns of economic development in Latin America. Its central premise is that underdevelopement was created by the expansion of European capitalism into the region that served to develop "core" countries in Europe and to impoverish and make dependent peripheral areas such as Latin America. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Economic policies widely adopted in the 1990s that stress privatization, export production, and few restrictions on imports. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| An economic strategy in which a country adopts the U.S. dollar as its official currency. A country can be partially dollarized, using U.S. dollars alongside its national currency, or fully dollarized, in which case the U.S. dollar becomes the only medium of exchange and the country gives up its own national currency. Panama fully dollarized in 1904; more recently, Ecuador fully dollarized in 2000. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| The Southern Common Market, established in 1991, which calls for free trade among member states and common external tariffs for nonmember states. Argentina, Paraguay, Brazil, and Uruguay are members; Chile is an associate member. |
|
|
Term
| What is "Sub-Saharan Africa?" |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| Definitions, main aspects of unity and diversity of the region (Sub-Saharan Africa?) Ch 6. |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
Main Sub-regions of Africa south of the Sahara Desert
(Cf. Map in Lecture Presentation) |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| The semidesert region at the southern fringe of the Sahara, and the countries that fall within this region, which extends from Senegal to Sudan. Droughts in the 1970s and early 1980s caused widespread famine and dislocation of population. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| The northeastern corner of sub-sahararn Africa that includes the states of Somalia, Ethiopia, Eritrea, and Djibouti. Drought, famine and ethnic warfare in the 1980s and 1990s resulted in political turmoil in this area. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| A landform that rims southern Africa from Angola to South Africa. It forms where the narrow costal plains meet the elevated plateaus in an abrupt break in elevation. |
|
|
Term
Main Environmental Issues
(Fig 6.9, pg. 152) |
|
Definition
Sub-Saharan Africa:
Desertification
Deforestation
Expansion of desertlike conditions
Drought
Air and Water Pollution |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
|
|
Term
|
Definition
|
|
Term
|
Definition
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| A region of similar climatic conditions. An example is the marine west coast climate regions found on the west coasts of North America and Europe. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| The natural process of lower atmospheric heating that results from the trapping of incoming and reradiated solar energy by water moisture, clouds, and other atmospheric gases. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| An increase in the temperature of the earth's atmosphere. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| An adjective for human-caused change to a natural system, such as the atmospheric emissions from cars, industry, and agriculture that are causing global warming. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
Biome: Econolically interactive glora and gauna adapted to a specific environment. Examples are deserts and tropical rainforests.
Bioregions: A spatial unit or region of local plants and animals adapted to a specific environment, such as a tropical savanna. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
- Mostly in equatorial regions
• Tropical Forests and
Savannas
• Deforestation in the
Tropics
|
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| The state of being clear of trees. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
• 1/3 of Earth's land is
true desert
• Grasslands
– Prairies
– Steppes
• Human Impact:
Desertification
|
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| The spread of desert conditions into semiarid areas due to improper management of the land. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
• At middle and high
latitudes
• 2 types of trees
dominate
– Softwood coniferous, or
evergreen
– Deciduous trees (drop
their leaves in winter)
• Many of these forests
felled to make farmland
|
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Great water resource problems |
|
|
Term
Agricultural systems of production:
Substinence v. Commercial Agriculture |
|
Definition
Subsistence agriculture- agriculture designed primarily to provide food for direct consumption by the farmer and the farmer’s family
Commercial agriculture- agriculture undertaken primarily to generate products for sale off the farm |
|
|
Term
| Green Revolution in Agriculture |
|
Definition
|
|
