Chapter 5: South America.. 

Defining the Realm

Be prepared to summarize the information-packed first paragraph.
regional disparities, political turmoil, developmental inertia
recent multi-national cooperation, free-trade, declining importance of military, rise of democracy
transportation development, mining

Be prepared to summarize the description of the realm's problems.
infrastructure shortcomings, inefficiency and corruption, boom/bust cycles, widening gulf between rich and poor
20% control 70%; 20% control 2%

Memorize the Major Geographic Qualities of South America

The Human Sequence

Where was the largest pre-Columbian civilization prior to the arrival of the Spanish?  How does that compare to the  present distribution of population?
currently east and north coasts; pre-Colombian = Andes

Inca Empire

Why do scholars consider the Inca civilization an "unusual achievement"?  What's an altiplano?
developed in different physical environment; instead of lowland river connected valleys, Inca developed in elongated highland basins (altiplanos) in Andes

Figure 5-2    Note the territorial extent of the Inca empire.

Describe the social-political structure of the empire.
Inca minority of administrators that ruled every aspect of life in a multi-ethnic, class-structured society

 Note and ponder the rapid disintegration of the Inca Empire.
~90 year rise; ~10 year fall

Iberian Invaders

Note the Pizarro - Cortes parallels.

 Use the term land alienation to explain the Spaniards' activities in the Inca lands.  Why did the Spaniards focus on land?
Spaniards took Indian lands and formed haciendas.  Land was focus because it granted Spaniards power and prestige.

Why Lima?
Coastal site for shipping precious metals to Spain.

 What was the Treaty of Tordesillas?  How was/is it significant in South America?
Pope divides up New World between Spain and Portugal along ~50° W meridian in 1494.  Focussed Portuguese in Brazil and Spaniards west of there.

Compare Brazil's area and population to that of the rest of South America.
Brazil is almost as large as all of the remaining area of South America

The Africans

Note the regional disparities between Spain and Portugal's holdings.
Spain got the Incan Andes; Portugal got sparsely inhabited eastern lowlands

 What economic activity did the Portuguese pursue?  Why Africans?  Significance?
Sugar cane plantations; labor supply; Portuguese South America = African South America

Longstanding Isolation

Explain the separation.  Why "underpopulated"?
Distance and physiographic barriers; low population density, small resource stores

242/4    Explain the political context of vice-royalties and resulting independent states.
Colonial focus was to extract resources for Iberia not to build nation-states.
Vice royalties: Peru, New Granada, La Plata

Independence

When and where did independence occur?  What was the result?
1810s (Argentina-Chile)-1820s (Bolivar in the North); 9 countries emerged

 What factors led to political fragmentation?
Distance and physiographic barriers

Cultural Fragmentation

Who determined the orientation and interaction of post-independence South America?
wealthy, landholding, upper-class elite

 Use the term "plural society" to describe the cultural makeup of South America.
Society composed of different cultures living close together without mixing

 Figure 5-5    Learn the defining characterstics of each of the 5 Culture Spheres.
TP: Rimland characteristics
EC: Latin, Argentina, Uruguay, interior Brazil, Chile, livestock ranching, mixed farming, higher economic development, higher living standards
AS: Andes, subsistence agriculture, poverty, landless peonage
MT: Surrounds AS, mix of Indigenous and European, mix of commercial and subsistence
UN: Amazon, isolated, limited economic development

Economic Integration

 Be able to summarize the first paragraph.
separation giving way to regional interaction, move to world market-oriented economies instead of domestic economies

 How is Hidrovia  a symbol for recent processes in South America?
5 nations cooperate to build navigation system on Rio Paran-Paraguay

Where have we seen the emergence of trading blocs before this semester?  Why?
EU; greater power and efficiency of a large cooperative bloc than in small individual countries

What, where and when is the FTAA?
Free Trade Area of the Americas; completion date 2005, Alaska-Cape Horn

Urbanization

When did urbanization intensify?  To what extent?
After 1950; S. America's urban population is almost as large as that of N. America and Europe's, 76% of population is urban

Where is the rate of population growth fastest?  How does rural-to-urban migration contribute to this?
Towns and cities; Young urban migrants account for faster population growth in cities

 Which countries have the realm's highest urban percentages?
Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, Brazil; higher than US percentage

In which countries are urban percentages lowest?  Why?
Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia, Paraguay; continued reliance on subsistence ag

Compare the size South America's urban centers with the rest of the world.
Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Buenos Aires, Lima, Bogota, Santiago > 5 mill = among world's largest urban areas

 What are the push and pull factors?
lack of land reform, perceived economic opportunities in cities, improved infrastructure

Consider the life that immigrants find when they arrive at an urban center.  What percent of urban population growth does inmigration account for?
50%

Skip the "Latin" American City Model.

Regions of the Realm

 Learn the regional units.
The North, The West, The Southern Cone, Brazil

What's the basis of the author's claim that Figure 5-5 demonstrates the "cultural fragmentation" of every country?
Each region is divided into at least two of the culture spheres

Brazil p. 185-

 How does Brazil's area rank in the world?  Its population?
5th largest area; 183 million

Population Patterns

Note the diversity of the population.  Japanese?

Compare Brazil's racial picture with that of the US.
long-term ethnic mixing has produced a national culture

What is Brazil's "true national culture"?
Catholic, Portuguese, vivid colors, distinctive music, growing national consciousness

 What's been the surprising population trend of the past 3 decades in Brazil?
lowering of high rate of natural increase; reasons: contraceptive usage, economic uncertainty, TV

Development Prospects

What are Brazil's advantages for development.
mineral resources, hydropower potential, soils

What has led to Brazil's recent economic growth?
international competition, foreign investment, growth in industrial manufacturing, trade

What factors suggest that economic growth does not lead to development in Brazil?
sharp division of affluence and poverty

The North: Caribbean South America p. 174-

What characteristics do the countries in this sub-region share?   
coastal locations, plantation export agriculture, black laborers, south Asians;
How are Venezuela and Colombia exceptional? population center moved inland, larger areas and populations, oil reserves

Colombia
What are the 3 stages that lead to the insurgent state?
Contention, equilibrium, counteroffensive

The West: Andean South America p. 178-

What similarities do the countries in this sub-region share?
Amerind Subsistence, low incomes, low productivity, impoverished, landless peasants

Bolivia

How has US influence exacerbated government instability?
US desire for Bolivia's natural gas has undermined democratically elected presidents' authority.

The South: Mid-Latitude South America p. 181

What similarities do the countries in this sub-region share?
Mercosur, commercial economies, higher standards of living

Summarize Argentina's economic potential and problems.
Formerly one of the richest countries in the world, Argentina has diverse natural resources (soil, forests, metal ores) developed infrastructure and well-educated population.  Corrupt politics and mismanagement by the urban east plague production in the interior.