Geographical barriers to development, communication, political integration into larger geographical units:

    mountains (esp. the Andes running from N to S through S. America)

    rain forest (dense, moist jungle in present-day Brazil)
 

Pre-Colombian History

    Home to three of the world’s most advanced civilizations
    – Mayan (in present day Mexico and Central America on the Yucatan peninsula)

    – Aztec (present day Mexico)

    – Incan (the Andean Region of South American with capital in present day Peru, Lake     Titicaca)
 

Accomplishments of pre-European civilizations

Incan Empire
    highly centralized administration under the Sapa Inca (monarch)

    Began at least 400 years before Pizarro landed in S America in 1520s

    Conquered and fully assimilated various peoples with Quechua language as a
    primary means of assimilation

    Extensive transportation and communication systems (runners, roads, supply posts)

    Also extensive system of agricultural irrigation, reservoirs and aqueducts

 
Mayan Civilization

    Less accomplished in administration
    but more accomplished in mathematics, astronomy, architecture
    (e.g. pyramids and calendars)

    Also had a written language

    Religion very significant part of life – with priests ruling for a time

    Thus, some form of “theocracy” has deep roots in Latin American culture

    **perhaps this explains the cultural acceptance of the Catholic Church
    fulfilling many state functions later on

 
Aztecs

    More militaristic than the Mayans but also excelled in architecture (pyramids)
    and sculpture

    Pictorial writing system

    Poly-theistic, human sacrifice

    Spaniards built Mexico City on the ruins of Tenochtitlan – their capital city –
    a fortress city, with imposing statuary and more than 60,000 families
 

 
European Invasion and Conquest

    Columbus (sailing for Spain) lands in Caribbean Islands in 1492

    Pizarro conquers the Incans in the northern parts of South America in the early 1520s

    Hernan Cortes lands in Mexico in 1519
   
    Pedro de Alvarado defeats the Mayans in 1524

Spain, Portugal, the Netherlands, France and UK all involved in colonizing Latin America and the Caribbean

Roots of Underdevelopment and Economic Dependence in Spanish Colonialies

Spain plunders the Americas rather than develops it

Extracts precious metals and gems through a system of poorly paid and extremely harsh forced labor called the encomienda system

 
Role of the Catholic Church

Converting indigenous peoples to Christianity was a priority in Spanish colonies

Because of Spain own inability to administer its colonies effectively, it turned many of public/governmental responsibilities over to the Church

Like what???

Other Quasi-state Functions

With both the positive and negative accomplishments of the Church in mind,
was the Church a modernizing or reactionary influence on Latin America’s development?????

 
 “Class” conflict in Latin America

Your book calls it class, more appropriately a race-based caste system – why?  What’s the difference between class and caste???

Highest on social hierarchy:
European colonists

Creoles (people of European descent born in New World)

Then mixed race peoples
Then mulattoes (Spanish and African)
Then Zambos (African and indigenous)
Then Indians, free Africans and African slaves

 
Even today this type of racial discrimination and hierarchy exists in many parts of Latin America, although it is more pronounced in some (e.g. Argentina and Uruguay where the populations are overwhelmingly of Spanish descent) than others (e.g. Chile; many parts of the Caribbean, where ethnic intermarriage is most common; Guatemala, Nicaragua, Honduras, El Salvador)
 

 
Political Development
While we consider most Latin American countries democracies, nearly all also have had several periods of military dictatorship, civil war, leftist insurgency, peasant and other indigenous people’s movements (demanding land reform).

Why??

1)US “interventionism” or what your book calls “big stick diplomacy”

2) Role of capitalist, wealthy countries and, now, TNCs; Dependency Theory; Neo-colonialism (esp. debt to Western banks, IMF)

NAFTA
Free Trade Agreement of the Americas
3) Political culture/traditional institutions
Caudillismo (charismatic military figures)

Presidencialismo (e.g. Mexico)

Localismo (feudal powers of land owners, esp. those with military connections)

Patron-client networks

Party machines (e.g. Mexico’s Institutional Revolutionary Party – controlled Mexican politics for 50 years –election of Vincente Fox in 2000 (PAN) first non-PRI president since 1946)