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BRIEF OUTLINE / 4 CLASS THEMES Chapter 5 SOUTH AMERICA DEFINING THE REALM 231  HISTORICAL GEOGRAPHY The Human Sequence 232 The Inca Empire 232 The Iberian Invaders 234 The Africans 235 Long-standing Isolation 235 Independence 236  CULTURAL GEOGRAPHY Cultural Fragmentation 237  ECONOMIC GEOGRAPHY Economic Integration 238 Urbanization 239 The "Latin" American City Model 241   REGIONS OF THE REALM 243 The North: Facing the Caribbean 243 Columbia 243 Venezuela 248 the Guianas 244 The West: The Andean, Amerindian Region 250 Peru 250 Ecuador 253 Bolivia 254 Paraguay 255 The South: Mid-Latitude South America 255 Argentina 257 Chile 259 Uruguay 263 Brazil: Giant of South America 263 The Realm's Giant 263 Population Patterns 263 African Heritage 265 Social Problems 265 Development Prospects 265 Brazil's Subregions 267

MAJOR GEOGRAPHIC QUALITIES OF THE REALM

• South America's physiography is dominated by the Andes Mountains in the west and the Amazon Basin in the central north. Much of the remainder is plateau country.
• Half of the realm's area and half of its population are concentrated in one country-Brazil.
• South America's population remains concentrated along the continent's periphery. Most of the interior is sparsely peopled, but sections of it are now undergoing significant development.
• Interconnections among the states of the realm are improving rapidly. Economic integration has become a major force, particularly in southern South America.
• Regional economic contrasts and disparities, both in the realm as a whole and within individual countries, are strong.
• Cultural pluralism exists in almost all of the realm's countries and is often expressed regionally.
• Rapid urban growth continues to mark much of the South American realm, and the urbanization level overall is today on a par with the levels in the United States and Europe.

 DEFINING THE REALM

PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY

• South America is south and EAST of North America. Much closer to southern Europe and Africa than North America is to Europe

  Question: If you fly straight south from Chicago, over what countries in South America will you pass?

• South America is much further from Asia across the Pacific than North America
• the Andes mountains along the western edge of the realm acts as a barrier to the west

  

• the Amazon River drains to the east
• Amazon Basin
• Brazilian Highlands
• Guiana Highlands
• Orinoco River
• Paraguay and Parana Rivers

HISTORICAL GEOGRAPHY: The Human Sequence

The Inca Empire

• Culture Hearth - Intermontane basin around Cuzco (1200-1535 AD)
• Altiplanos were key to settlement patterns elongated
• 20 Million subjects at its zenith
• Transportation Networks And Integration efforts were most impressive without rivers for transportation
• A highly centralized state with the Incan minority in control
• But easily conquered by the Spaniards by taking over those at the top of power
• Machu Pichu

 

The Iberian Invaders

• Where/what is the Iberian Peninsula?
• Francisco Pizarro in 1531-1533 with 183 men and two dozen horses conquered the Incan Empire
• land alienation, taxes, and forced labor "to maximize profits of exploitation"
•  Treaty of Tordesillas between Spain and Portugal dividing South America and Portugal's movement west

  

 The Africans

• brought to South America as slaves to work on the sugar plantations
• especially in Brazil which has South America's largest black population (45% of Brazil's total population)

Colonial Domains

Long-standing Isolation

• Colonies were separated from one another
• population settlement in clusters along the coasts

Independence

CULTURAL GEOGRAPHY

• plural societies
  • diverse Amerindian cultures
  • Europeans from Iberia
  • Europeans from elsewhere
  • Africans
  • Asians

 

• South America's Culture Spheres

  

   

  Tropical Plantation

  • Resembles Middle America's Rimland Locations, Soils, & Tropical Climates Favor Plantation Crops, Especially Sugar. Initially Relied On African Slave Labor

  European-Commercial

  • The Most "Latin" Part Of South America Includes The Pampas - Temperate Grasslands Economically Most Advanced Transportation Networks And Quality Of Life Are Excellent

  Amerind-Subsistence

  • Correlates With The Former Inca Empire Feudal Socioeconomic Structure Persists Includes Some Of South America's Poorest Areas Subsistence Agriculture Must Contend With Difficult Environmental Challenges.

  Mestizo-Transitional

  • Surrounds The Amerindian-Subsistence Region A Zone Of Mixture- Culturally & Agriculturally Transitional - Economic Connotations

  Undifferentiated

  • Characteristics Are Difficult To Classify. Sparsely Populated Isolation And Lack Of Change- Notable Features Development Of Amazonia May Prompt Significant Changes.

  Question: Why is it inappropriate to call Middle and South America "Latin America"?

ECONOMIC GEOGRAPHY

• South America's unequal distribution of income:
  • legacy of colonial times
  • richest 20% of the population control 70% of the wealth
  • poorest 20% of the population control 2% of the wealth
  • even more unequal in some countries
  • the gap between the rich and poor is getting wider

  Economic Integration

  • Mercosur

    Launched In 1994 An attempt at a free trade zone in southern South America Includes Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, And Paraguay

  • Andean Community
    • Initially Formed In 1969 (Andean Pact)
    • Restarted In 1995
    • Members Are Venezuela, Colombia, Peru, Ecuador, And Bolivia

     

  • South American Community of Nations

   

  • NAFTA

    • Launched By The Us, Mexico, And Canada In 1995 Seeking To Expand Into South America To Include Chile

  • FTAA

Urbanization

• The movement to and clustering of people in towns and cities
• The Percentage Of A Country's Population Living In Cities
• 79% - Continent-Wide In South America
  • very high especially for developing countries
  • higher than Europe and the United States
• South America's increase in urbanization caused by both the rate of "natural increase" and internal rural-to-urban migration
• megacities
• push and pull factors

Question: What is a "cartogram" ?

The "Latin American City" Model

• CBD and Commercial Spine
• Elite Residential Sector
• Zone Of Maturity
• Zone Of In Situ Accretion
• Zone Of Peripheral Squatter Settlements
• Disamenity Sectors

REGIONS OF THE REALM

• Caribbean North
• Andean West
• Southern Cone
• Brazil

  The North (Caribbean South America)

  • Venezuela,
  • Colombia,
  • Guyana,
  • Suriname,
  • French Guiana

   

  • Regional Character:
    • Coastal Locations
    • Early European Plantation Development
    • Forced Migration Of Black Laborers

     

  • Venezuela -
    • 25.2 Million People
    • Oil From Lake Maracaibo Is A Chief Resource
    • Caracus & Valencia - Key Cities

   

  • Colombia - 41.6 Million People
    • Coffee, Oil & Coal - Major Exports
    • Cocaine - Leading Economic Activity
    • Torn By Internal Violence
    • Bogota & Medellin - Key Cities

     

  • The Guianas (French Guiana, Guyana, Suriname) - Populations< 1.5 Million
    • Ethnically Diverse
    • Poverty Stricken
    • Face Environmental Crisis

   

  The West (Andean South America)

  • Peru
  • Ecuador
  • Bolivia

   

  • Regional Character:
    • Amerindian Populations
    • Subsistence Agriculture
    • Mountainous Environments
    • Poverty

   

  • Peru - 27.7 Million People
    • "Lima Is Its Primate City
    • "Economic Activities:
      • Fishing,
      • Irrigated Agriculture
      • Sugar
      • Cotton,
      • Rice
      • Fruit
      • Oil,
      • Minerals (An Emerging Economy!)

     

    Ecuador - 13.6 Million People

    • " Main Exports: Oil, Coffee, Cacao, Bananas
    • " Guayaquil - Largest City And Commercial Center
    • " Quito - Capital And Administrative Center

    Bolivia - 9.2 Million People (Dispersed)

    • " Landlocked
    • " Main Exports: Tin And Zinc

   

  The South (Mid-Latitude South America)

  • The Southern Cone:
    • Argentina
    • Chile
    • Paraguay
    • Uruguay

    Heart Of European-Commercial Culture Sphere

    Argentina - 37.3 Million People

    • 87% Urbanized, Peripheral
    • Buenos Aires - A Classic Primate City
    • Exports: Cereals, Meats, Vegetable Oils

    Uruguay - 3.4 Million People

    • Montevideo - Classic Primate City
    • Most European Of South American Countries
    • Exports: Hides, Meats, Textiles

    Paraguay - 6.3 Million People

    • 95% Mestizo
    • Landlocked Location

    Chile

    • An "Elongated State"
    • Exports Copper And Nitrates

      

  Brazil

  • Contains Half The Continent's Land And People
  • A Federal Republic Of 26 States
  • Ethnic Diversity-Mixture Of European, African, And Amerindian Peoples
  • Portuguese-Speaking & Roman Catholic Adherents
  • Substantial Mineral Resources: Iron, Aluminum Ore, Manganese, Oil, And Gas
  • A Two-Class System?
  • Great Cities
    • Rio De Janeiro - Cultural Focus
    • Sao Paulo - Industrial Hub
    • Brasilia - A "Forward Capital"
  • Developing The Amazon
    • "Growth Pole" Concept
    • Environmental Concerns

     

    Forward Capital

    • Definition: capital cty positioned in a contested or potentially contested territory
    • Usually near an international border
    • Confirms The State's Determination To Maintain Its Presence In The Territory Under Contention
    • Examples:
      • St. Petersburg, Russia
      • Islamabad, Pakistan
      • Brasilia, Brazil (Internal Frontier - "Growth Pole Concept")

     

    Growth Pole Theory

    • Aims To Promote Growth In The Hinterlands
    • Augmented By Investment Support In An Attempt To Spread Economic Activities And Benefits
      • Create Jobs In Depressed Areas
      • Reduce Uneven Concentrations Of Wealth
      • Decentralize Industry
    • Sets Of "Ripples" Of Development

     

    Sao Paulo

    • Status Of Separate State Because Of Its Success
    • Leading Industrial Producer
    • Agricultural Production And Expansion
      • Coffee
      • Orange Juice
      • Soybeans
    • Sao Paulo's Success Story