Geography GEO 1310 Lecture Notes - Lecture 5: Mercosur, North American Free Trade Agreement, Union Of South American Nations
16 May 2018
School
Department
Course
Professor
Latin America
The latin American City
• 75% of population in urban residents
• rural to urban migration – access to jobs
• cultural and economic factors // crowded, poverty, slums, squatters
• urban primacy – state in which larger cities dominates all economic and political
factors. 3-4 times larger than any other city in region
• Ex. Most capital cities in latin America
• Distinct urban form – layout of city
• Squatter settlements – in some cities, up to a third of city’s total population is in
SS. Ex. Mexico City
Population Growth and Movement
• Rapid growth due to
1. Declining fertility rates
2. Increasing life expectancy
• European migration – colonial periods to claim lands (Spain, France, Germany)
• Asian migration – 1850s and on Asian workers were brought to work contracts
• Latino migration – 60,000 minors escaped from central America to America in
2014 due to drugs and violence
• Remittances – work in another country and send money back to family in home
country. Some make up large portions of country’s GDP
Cultural Coherence and Diversity: Repopulating a Continent
• European settlers brought disease and war. Killed 8/10 natives
• Blended euro and Indian traditions
• Resilience of Indian cultures
• Forced assimilation
Decline of Native Population
• Demographic toll
1. Reduction of indigenous population by 90%
2. Due to disease, warfare, forced labor and starvation
• Indian Survival
1. Close association between identity and territory
2. Attempts to gain limited autonomy
• Types of enthicities
1. Blancos - whites
2. Indios – Indians
3. Mestizo – mixed
4. Negro – slaves
Patterns of Ethnicity and Cultures
• Dominance of Spanish and Portuguese
• Persistence of indigenous languages in some areas
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