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SOUTH AMERICA

Geography 102

World Regional Geography

Chapter 5

South America
Basics

  • Physiography dominated by Andes Mountains and Amazon Basin (the rest is mainly plateau country)
  • Population:

People concentrated along periphery

Half continent’s area and population concentrated in one country - Brazil

  • Cultural Pluralism – a society in which two or more cultures live adjacent to one another

Exists in most countries

  • Regional Economics:

Economic integration and interconnection major force

Rapid urban growth on par with U.S. and Europe

Strong economic contrasts and disparities within realm and within individual countries

Physical Geography
What are the Main Features?

  • South America has many large physiographic features that have played a major role in how the continent developed and how it continues to develop.
  • Andes Mountains
  • Amazon Basin – tropical rainforest
  • Guiana Highlands
  • Brazilian Highlands
  • Pampas
  • Patagonia – southern Argentina
  • Atacama Desert – northern Chile
  • The Andes Mountains have been created by the subduction zone of what two tectonic plates? Because plate tectonics is a major force on this continent, we could expect a prevalence of earthquakes, mudslides and other related events.

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Physical Geography
What plates are Forming the Andes Mountains?

  • What plates are forming the Andes Mountains?
  • If you look at the map, the Nazca plate is colliding with the South American plate. The collision between these plates is causing material to bubble up and form the mountains we know as the Andes. As with Middle America, this is a realm of volcanoes, frequent earthquakes and slides of material (mudslides, rockfalls, etc.)

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Physical Geography
Subduction Zones

Subduction Zone

  • Another look at what is going on. Take a look at the subduction zone. This is exactly what is going on with the Nazca plate (the plate that is dipping) and the South American plate (the plate where volcanoes are smoking).

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Physical Geography
Precipitation
Patterns

  • Look at a map of physiography for South America near the beginning of this presentation. Now look at the precipitation map. Where could we expect to see tropical rainforests? Deserts? Areas with the most rainfall are our rainforests and areas with the least rainfall are our deserts.

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Physical Geography
Climate

  • This realm is dominated by tropical climates (all the A climates).

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Historical Geography

  • The Inca Empire (~A.D. 1300)

The greatest pre-European empire in the Americas

A Culture Hearth

20 million subjects at its zenith

Integrated millions of people into a stable, efficient, and highly centralized state

Left behind strong cultural and social values that create a divide between the Amerindian and Hispanic populations today

Unusual Settlement Patterns:

Where do most empires (or even people) settle?

Incas settled in the intermontane basin around Cuzco (south-central Peru) in the altiplanos

Altiplanos – elongated basins in Andes and key to settlement patterns

It is amazing that the Incans could control an empire with an environment that was rugged, cold, snowcapped (i.e. mountainous) etc.

  • One of the amazing aspects about the Incan civilization is that they were able form a civilization in an area where most people do not settle: altiplanos. Surrounding these altiplanos were mountainous areas that experienced cold temperatures, were very rugged, and basically presented incredible challenge.

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Historical Geography
Altiplanos

  • Altiplanos were the key to settlement. Notice in the images above that altiplanos are flatland areas that lies between mountain ranges.

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Machu

Picchu

  • Machu Picchu is one of the more famous remnants of the Incan empire. It is located in Peru and was unknown to the outside world until 1911.

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Historical Geography
The Iberian Invaders

  • Spaniards - conquered Incan empire under Francisco Pizarro, 1533

Established haciendas through land alienation, instituted taxes, and created forced-labor system

Headquarters = Lima (present-day Peru)

Created Viceroyalties in Peru, New Grenada, and Rio de la Plata

Viceroyalty – a territory ruled by a viceroy who governs the territory in the name of and as representative of the monarch

  • Portuguese – east/central portion (current-day Brazil)

Treaty of Tordesillas, 1494 – divided Spanish and Portuguese conquests along 50th west meridian

Look at map of South America….does Brazil correspond exactly to the 50th meridian?

Westward thrust due to missionaries and Paulistas (settlers of Sao Paulo dependent on Amerindian slave labor for plantations).

  • There were two major colonists on the South American continent: the Spanish and the Portuguese. Through the Treaty of Tordesillas, the Portuguese obtained a small part of what is now Brazil and the Spanish received the rest.

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Indigenous

Peoples

and

Colonial

Domains

  • Notice the Treaty of Tordesillas line.
  • Notice the viceroyalties.

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Historical Geography
Does the 50th meridian coincide with Brazil?

50th

Meridian

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Historical Geography

  • Africans

Many African slaves brought over for use on Portuguese plantations on Brazilian coast

  • Isolation and Independence:

Isolation

High friction of distance

Friction of Distance - the difficulty or ease of traveling from one place to another

Created isolation among South American countries

Why would there be a high friction of distance in this realm?

Primary motive was to extract wealth and fill Spanish coffers – meaning little integration, interaction and cooperation among areas

Independence - early 1800’s

Independence was secured by a small minority (mainly of European descent) in each republic

Friction of distance again key factor in division of viceroyalties and country formation

Distance

Physiographic barriers – like what?

Orientation towards Europe – why?

  • Isolation is a major feature, and problem, for the South American continent. Nine countries formed out of the three viceroyalties that existed under colonial rule. The countries that evolved out of the independence movements had very little interaction with each another (until very recently). Friction of distance is one of the major factors that has created and exacerbated this isolation. What do we mean by friction of distance?
  • Mountains – the Andes separate Argentina and Chile and provide a major barrier.
  • Deserts – the Atacama desert separates Chile from Peru and provide another effective barrier.
  • Rainforests – the Amazon is one the largest tracts of rainforest in the world. Imagine how easy it would be to traverse through this amalgamation of thick trees, bushes, and other assorted things.
  • High friction of distance – because of these features and others, the distance between countries seems longer than it would if these barriers were not present.
  • For example, you have two friends, both 100 miles away. To visit one of these friends you need to traverse over a mountain that is 3000 ft high. To visit the other friend you merely need to travel through grassy, flat plains. What friend would be easier to visit? Probably the friend across the grassy plain. So even though both friends are the exact same distance from you, the friend that lives over the grassy plain is easier to get to than the one that lives over the mountain. This is friction of distance.
  • South America has a high friction of distance because of all the physiographic features that inhibit movement/travel and create favorable conditions for isolation.
  • Even though there were only three viceroyalties on the South American continent, at the time of independence the continent divided into nine countries. Friction of distance definitely contributed to this division.

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Cultural Geography

  • A realm of plural societies – a society where two or more cultures live adjacent to one another without mixing inside a single state (we’ve seen this definition before – where?)

European descendants gained independence but other groups exist:

Amerindians

Africans

Asians (Japan, India, Indonesia)

Reflected in the cultural landscape as culture spheres

  • Many cultures exist on the South American continent. We can understand the South American continent by dividing it into dominant culture. These are what we call culture spheres.

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South

America’s

Cultural

Spheres

  • South America is very much a continent of plural societies.
  • African culture dominated the coasts. This is where African slaves were brought to work the colonial plantations.
  • Mestizo culture dominates the interior and parts of coastal Chile. This is an area of mixture between African, Amerindian, and European influences.
  • European culture dominates the southern portion of the continent. This is where Europeans took root and stayed. Much of this is due to climate. The southern portion of the continent is where the C climates (or middle/temperate climates) are located. C climates usually encompass fertile soil and just right temperature/precipitation patterns for crop growth. Needless to say, Europeans took much of this fertile land and continue to hold it in countries like Argentina etc.
  • Amerindian culture dominates the Andes mountain region. Amerindians have lived here for thousands of years and have adapted to the unique physical environment that the mountains cause. Other cultures did not find this type of environment appealing. IN addition, the Amerindian culture was able to stay somewhat isolated due to this extreme environment, leading to their cultural dominance in the Andes today.

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Cultural Geography

  • The Amerindian Reawakening

South America’s Amerindians staging a social, political, and economic reawakening

Amerindians dominant culture in many countries:

Peru – 47%

Bolivia – 57%

Even though they are the poorest culture in the realm, they are increasingly asserting themselves

First Amerindian president elected in Bolivia - 2005

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Cultural Geography
Urbanization

  • Rural-to-Urban Migration – the movement to and clustering of people from rural areas to cities and towns

Urbanization - the percentage of a country’s population living in cities and towns

82% South American population urbanized

Revisit push and pull factors

  • Megacities – term referring to the world’s most heavily populated cities (10+ million)

Sao Paulo, Brazil

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Buenos Aires, Argentina

  • Remember push and pull factors.
  • Push – war, religious persecution, lack of opportunities (education, jobs, health care)
  • Pull – freedom, abundance of opportunities )education, jobs, health care)
  • In terms of South American countries and their cities, many people re-locate to the cities for better job opportunities, better healthcare, better medicine, and overall for a better quality of life.
  • Sadly enough, most people that re-locate to cities wind up in the slums.
  • In many countries, the unemployment rate exceeds 25%, indicative of the misery many people find themselves in living in a city.

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  • This is a population cartogram that shows where the highest concentrations of people are located. Notice the trend.

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Cultural Geography
The Latin American City Model

  • Model used to describe Latin American cities:

CBD (Central Business District) – primary business, employment and entertainment area flanked by commercial spine

Elite Residential District – extension of CBD with offices, shopping, and housing for upper-middle class

Zone of Maturity – middle class housing

Zone of in situ Accretion – modest housing interspersed with unkempt areas

Zone of Peripheral Squatter Settlement – impoverished, unskilled multitude living in shantytowns

Informal Sector – sector where unlicensed people sell homemade goods and services

Disamenity Sector – Slums (Barriors, Favelas)

  • The Latin American City Model
  • Another interesting feature about the South America realm is the structure of its cities. Because the Spanish formed cities the way they did (remember the gridiron pattern from the Middle American realm?), the cities in South America have a distinct pattern as well. This pattern is known as the Latin American City Model and characterizes many South American cities.

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Commercial/Industrial

CBD

Commercial

Spine

Cultural Geography
Generalized Latin American City

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  • We start out with the commercial spine. This is where we have businesses etc. etc.

Commercial/Industrial

Elite Residential Sector

CBD

Cultural Geography
Generalized Latin American City

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  • Coming out of the Commercial Spine is the elite residential sector. This is where the wealthy live – think upper, upper-middle class housing, high-end shops, and offices.

Commercial/Industrial

Elite Residential Sector

Zone of Maturity

CBD

Cultural Geography
Generalized Latin American City

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  • This zone is where the middle class resides. They invest sufficiently to keep their aging dwellings from deteriorating.

Commercial/Industrial

Elite Residential Sector

Zone of Maturity

Zone in Situ Accretion

CBD

Cultural Geography
Generalized Latin American City

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  • Surrounding the zone of Maturity is the Zone of in Situ Accretion. This area contains modest housing and is interspersed with unkempt areas.

Commercial/Industrial

Elite Residential Sector

Zone of Maturity

Zone in Situ Accretion

Zone of peripheral

squatter settlements

CBD

Cultural Geography
Generalized Latin American City

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  • The Zone of Peripheral Squatter Settlements houses the majority of the city’s population and the city’s poor.
  • Many people work in the informal sector – an economic sector that consist of undocumented workers and where the transactions of money are beyond government control. I always think of this economic sector as the black market.
  • Barrios (shantytowns) and Favelas are common features.

Commercial/Industrial

Elite Residential Sector

Zone of Maturity

Zone in Situ Accretion

Zone of peripheral

squatter settlements

CBD

Disamenity

Disamenity

Cultural Geography
Generalized Latin American City

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  • The Disamenity sector consists of land that is totally unviable and includes land: along highways, railroad corridors, riverbanks, and other low-lying areas. This area is where the poorest of the poor live; often these people live out in the open.

The Two Faces of Rio de Janeiro

  • Notice the juxtaposition of Rio de Janeiro: upscale downtown vs. slums. The slums surrounding these cities are not just small sections, but huge sections that comprise a large portion of the city.

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The Two Faces of Rio de Janeiro

Economic Geography
Barriers to Economic Integration

  • Regional integration is rapidly improving, but South American interaction has been limited in the past because the continent :

Is a hollow continent – why?

Has numerous physiographic barriers that prohibit interaction and trade

Has non-complementary economies

Where would economies be focused towards (think about Africa)?

Lacks developed infrastructure

Why (again think about Africa)?

  • In the past and even now, however, there have been barriers to economic integration.
  • Hollow continent – if you look at the map of population you will see what we mean by a hollow continent. Most people cluster around the coasts of the continent while the interior of the South American continent is fairly hollow.
  • Physiographic barriers – we already mentioned these but they include mountains, deserts, rainforests etc
  • Non-complementary economies
  • Do you remember this from the Subsaharan African realm?
  • Remember if your primary motive is to extract wealth and fill Spanish coffers, you are not going to be concerned with integrating areas on the continent. There will be no trade between viceroyalties and other areas on the continent.
  • There will only be the one-sided movement of goods out of South America and to Spain/Portugal.
  • Even though these countries are independent, their economies still revolve around selling things to the west, rather than amongst themselves.
  • Lack of developed infrastructure
  • Again, remember that if your goal is to fill Spanish coffers, you are going to be concerned with getting whatever goods you have ‘acquired’ as quickly out and to the mother country as possible.
  • This means that trade routes and other infrastructure are going to be focused on the coasts where goods will be transported (as quickly as possible) and then shipped out.
  • For example, Colombia only has about 500 miles worth of roadways. How many miles worth of roadways does the U.S. have? I-70 alone traverses more than 3,000 miles!
  • Understand that while these countries are independent, these four factors continue to affect and subvert economic integration today.

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A Hollow Continent?

  • Is this a hollow continent?
  • YES! Compare South America to the U.S.
  • Notice that the outer rim of the continent is the most populated. Imagine trying to communicate and trade in the interior of this continent. It would be almost impossible.

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Physiographic Barriers?

Tropical Rainforest

Mountains

Deserts

  • Mountains, dense forests, deserts anyone?

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Infrastructure Brazil

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Infrastructure
U.S.

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Infrastructure
Bolivia

  • Compare the map of Bolivia and Brazil to the map of the U.S. What do you think? Is there a difference.

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Economic Geography

  • Inequality

Disparity between rich and poor is larger in this realm than any other realm

Richest 20% control 70% of all wealth

Poorest 20% control 2% of all wealth

  • GINI Coefficient – measures the extent to which the distribution of income/consumption deviates from perfectly equal distribution.
  • In other words, the GINI coefficient shows us how wealthy the wealthy are and how poor the poor are.
  • Brazil has one of the higher GINI Coefficients. This means that there is a large disparity between the wealthy and the poor. So, the wealthy control most of the country’s wealth, and the poor control almost none. Very rich vs. very poor.
  • Notice in general that South American countries have higher GINI coefficients.

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Economic Geography
Economic Integration

  • Multinational Trade Agreements and Projects:

Hidrovia

Water-route system of water locks in the Parana-Paraguay Basin

Mercosur, 1994

Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, Brazil

Reduce trade barriers, create common external tariff, negotiate jointly with other trade blocs

The Andean Community, 1995

Venezuela, Peru, Colombia, Ecuador, Bolivia

Union of South American Nations (UNASUR), 2008

Idea was to have an European Union like alliance.

Disagreements have hampered goal

Free Trade Area of the Americas

Free-trade idea promoted by U.S. and NAFTA proponents.

Peasants and workers have resisted.

  • There are actually many countries in this realm that have gained a prominent status in the world: Chile, Argentina, and Brazil. Your book mentions that Brazil actually has the potential to be the world’s next superpower. One of the major forces going on in this realm is the forging of economic interconnections through economic integration (see above).

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Hidrovia

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Economic Geography

  • The Geography of Cocaine

All cocaine entering U.S. comes from South America: Colombia, Bolivia, Peru

Stages of Production

1st Stage

Extraction of coca paste from coca leaves

Growing areas concentrated along eastern side of Andes and tropical lowlands

Paste leaves areas along rivers and trails

2nd Stage

Refining of coca paste

Most refining occurs in Colombia

3rd Stage

Transportation to market

Most eventually goes through Mexico to U.S. (U.S. gets 90% of cocaine from Mexico)

  • There is a lot of geography behind cocaine. Notice on the map the main coca growing locations.
  • South America is the main cultivator of coca plants.
  • Mexico is the main distributor of that cocaine.
  • We will talk about Colombia a little more, but suffice it to say that there is a reason it is Colombia, and it is all about geography…...yay!

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Political Geography

  • Dependencia Theory

A theory that originated in South America in the 1960’s

Explains persistent poverty in South America based on South American countries relationship with wealthier countries

Idea is that resources flow from poor, underdeveloped states to wealthy states, enriching the wealthy states at the expense of the poorer states.

  • Because of this idea many South Americans have towards wealthier countries, South American countries tend to mistrust countries like the U.S. and others.
  • Interestingly enough, China has actually supplanted the U.S. in terms of dominance on this continent.
  • Brazil and Chile’s leading trading partner is CHINA.
  • Colombia and Peru’s second trading partner is CHINA.
  • China is looking for raw materials and to fuel their economic growth.

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POLITICAL

MAP

Regions of the Realm

Brazil

Caribbean North

  • Colombia
  • Venezuela
  • Guyana
  • Suriname
  • French Guiana

Southern Cone

  • Argentina
  • Chile
  • Uruguay
  • Paraguay

Andean West

  • Peru
  • Ecuador
  • Bolivia

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Regions of the Realm

Brazil

  • South America’s GIANT

Contains half continent’s land and people

  • Regional superpower and international economic superpower
  • One of four biggest emerging markets in world (BRIC’s)
  • World Rankings:

Size of Territory – 5th

Population Size – 5th

Industrial Base – 7th

Economy – 8th

Agriculture – projected to be 1st

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  • A world superpower? What do you think?
  • Why did Brazil gain such prominence on the world scene.
  • It embraced democracy.
  • It is favored with an immense amount of natural resources.
  • Cultural Geography

Ethnically diverse but with a true national culture

Catholicism, modified Portuguese common language, and lifestyles that include “vivid colors, distinctive music, and national pride”

Cultures:

Mainly European, African, and Amerindian with Lebanese/Syrians and Japanese minority

Afro-Brazilians least advantaged group

Slowing population growth

Natural increase rate from 3%  1%

Fertility rate from 4.4 children per woman  1.9 children (2011)

Regions of the Realm
Brazil

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Regions of the Realm
Brazil

  • Economic Geography

Inequality and Poverty Rampant

Shows world’s sharpest division –widest gap- between affluent and poverty-stricken

1% of Brazilians own 50% of most productive land

10% of population controls 50% of wealth

Malnutrition prevalent

Poverty Relief Policies, 2002

Brazil started poverty relief policies in 2002

Major accomplishments: land reform and access to education

Bolsa Familia (Family Fund)

Plan that gives money to families to keep children n school

VERY successful program

Poverty dropped from 30% (2000) to 20% (2012)

Regions of the Realm
Brazil

  • Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
  • The Favelas (shantytowns) vs. the City
  • Poor vs. Rich

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Regions of the Realm
Brazil

  • Despite the success of the Bolsa Familia, there is still a very wide gap between the rich and poor in this country. Again, it is considered to be one of the widest gaps between rich and poor in the world.
  • The map above shows the Human Development Index
  • Human Development Index – measure of development that uses life expectancy, literacy rates, and GDP per capita.
  • The closer the 1 you are, the better the development.
  • SO, which states have low HDI values, and which states have the highest HDI values. What does this mean?

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Regions of the Realm
Brazil

  • Economic Geography

Richly endowed with mineral resources

Energy Development

Hydroelectric facilities

Gasohol (sugarcane based gasoline)

Brazil exporting ever-increasing number of finished products (rather than raw materials like developing countries export)

Fastest growing sector is agriculture

More arable land than any other country in world

40% of exports from agricultural sector

Reasons for growth:

Expansion of agricultural land into rainforest

Implementation of agricultural technology – genetically modified foods

Commercial agriculture

Goal: become number 1 food exporter in world by 2015 (and surpass U.S.)

  • Brazil has expanded at the expense of the tropical rainforests. Just as we talked about with the Middle American realm, for South America deforestation has the same consequences and most of the same causes.

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Regions of the Realm
Brazil

  • Economic Geography

OIL!!!

Discovery of enormous oil reserve, 2009

Brazil already self-sufficient in oil  oil exported

Revenue will increase due to oil

Technology sector will increase due to oil

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Regions of the Realm
Brazil

  • Subregions of Brazil

The Northeast

Brazil’s Culture Hearth

Plantation economy dominated

Misery

Contributes to 1/6 of GDP, but has ¼ of population

Contains ½ the country’s poor

Literacy rate = 20% below Brazil’s mean

High infant mortality rate  twice as high as national average

The Southeast

Brazil’s Core Area

Centered on Rio de Janeiro

Cultural capital

International center and tourist hub

Major cities and major population clusters

Port functions as an Entrepot

Sao Paulo

Regions of the Realm
Brazil

  • Subregions of Brazil cont.

The South

Dominated by Europeans

European Culture Sphere and European-style standards of living

Hostile towards non-European, poor, and job-seeking migrants

Possible secession in the future – “The South is my Country”

The Interior

Forward Capital

Cerrado

The Amazonian North

Growth Pole

Environmental Concerns - deforestation

  • The South
  • Look back at the map of HDI. Notice when we talk about the south, we are talking about the states in the deep red color. These are Brazil’s European-dominated states.
  • The Interior
  • Forward Capital – a capital that has been relocated to a sensitive zone (i.e. a zone under dispute with a neighbor) to reaffirm its determination to retain its position and country boundaries.
  • Brasilia is a forward capital.
  • Land was not contested, but land was isolated and needed to be ‘conquered.’
  • Cerrado – fertile savanna that covers central-west Brazil.
  • World’s most promising agricultural frontier.
  • Similar to U.S. Great Plains but receives more rainfall that Great Plains.
  • Facilitates large-scale mechanization and commercial agriculture.

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Regions of the Realm
Brazil: Sao Paulo

Status of separate state because of its success

Accounts for half Brazil’s GDP

Contains 22% of Brazil’s population

Mega-megacity – 26 million!

Leading industrial producer

Agricultural powerhouse leads to Brazil’s ranking in:

Coffee – world leader

Orange juice – world leader

Soybeans – 2nd in world

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Sao Paulo

24%

All Others

76%

Sao Paulo

3%

All Others

97%

Sao Paulo

45%

All Others

55%

Sao Paulo

43%

All Others

57%

TOTAL LAND AREA

POPULATION

GDP

INDUSTRIAL OUTPUT

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  • Sao Paulo is a HUGE city. Understand from the pie charts why it is such an important component of Brazil.

Sao Paulo

  • BUT, we see the same problem.
  • Richest rich vs. poorest poor.
  • Look at the images on the left. Can you imagine going into a city with THAT many skyscrapers?!

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Regions of the Realm
Brazil: The Interior

  • Brasilia, Brazil

Forward Capital – a capital city positioned in a contested or potentially contested area

Usually near an international border

Confirms state’s determination to maintain its presence in the territory under contention

St. Petersburg, Russia

Islamabad, Pakistan

Brasilia – why was the capital moved from Rio de Janeiro to Brasilia

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  • Brazil recently moved its capital from Rio de Janeiro to Brasilia. Brasilia is considered a Forward Capital. Even though it was not situated in a contested area, it is a forward capital because it shows Brazil’s determination to develop the Interior and the North (i.e. the Amazon). Look at the pictures of the two cities Rio de Janeiro and Brasilia and think about where you would rather live.

Rio de Janeiro (former capital) vs. Brasilia

Rio de Janeiro

Brasilia

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Regions of the Realm
Brazil: The North

Growth Pole Concept (the “if you build it they will come” theory) – the idea that a location’s activities, given a start, will expand and generate widening ripples of development in the surrounding area

Polonoroeste Plan

Plan designed to resettle poverty-stricken poor from urban areas to ‘unoccupied’ Amazon

Focused on Highway BR-364

What were/are the environmental consequences?

The vicious cycle of tropical deforestation

Grande Carajas Project

SE Para state

Centers around a vast mining complex but also includes exploitation of other resources, cattle raising, farming, and forestry

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  • These two programs have had severe negative environmental consequences as can be seen by the satellite images of the Polonoroeste Plan. Do you see the road in these pictures (find it first in the 1975 image)? Deforestation is the major consequence of these pictures (this is called the fishbone pattern of deforestation). You need to know the usual pattern of settlement in this area for exam so read about it in your book!
  • Amazonian North
  • Largest & most rapidly developing subregion
  • Scene of great rubber boom early 1900’s (ended 1910)
  • Stagnant hinterland – world’s largest migration into virgin territory
  • Grande Carajas Project
  • SE Para State
  • Construction of vast mining complex for iron ore
  • Other Construction – Dam & Railroad
  • Tide of pioneers – lower income laborers & peasant farmers
  • Problem – Conflict w/ Indigenous Peoples (Yanomami)

Regions of the Realm
Brazil: The North

  • Same area! Machadinho D’oeste, Rondonia (Brazil).
  • Top picture was from 1984.
  • Bottom picture was from 2005.

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Regions of the Realm
Brazil: The North

  • It’s called a fishbone because it looks like a fishbone.
  • Basically, rainforest land is not very fertile. The detritus (leaves etc.) make the land fertile, but without the continual falling of this detritus, the nutrients leach out of the soil and it becomes infertile.
  • Deforestation Stages
  • The trees are cut down.
  • The farmer grows crops.
  • After 2-3 years, the soil loses fertility.
  • The farmer sells his land to a rancher.
  • The farmer goes and cuts down more trees.
  • And the cycle repeats itself over and over again.
  • This is the vicious cycle of deforestation.

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Regions of the Realm
The North: Facing the Caribbean

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Regions of the Realm
The North: Facing the Caribbean

Includes Venezuela, Colombia, Guyana, Suriname, French Guiana

Basics:

Coastal location

Tropical plantation zone

Early European plantation development, in-migration of black laborers, absorption of African element into the population

Current status:

Venezuela and Colombia – center of population moved inland as economy dominated by other things besides plantation economy

The Guianas – plantation economy still predominates

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Regions of the Realm
The North: Facing the Caribbean cont.

  • Basics cont.:

Venezuela and Colombia

Positives

Large territories

Economic opportunities: oil reserves

Negatives

Clustering of population in highland areas and large, uninhabited interior

Dependence on a small number of commodities = dependency on the world market

Social and economic inequality with subsistence farming dominating

Politically unstable

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Regions of the Realm
The North:
Colombia

Regions of the Realm
The North: Colombia

  • A country endowed with many assets but in political turmoil
  • Historical Geography

Civil wars between Conservatives and Liberals (in terms of Roman Catholic Religious issues)

The War of a Thousand Days, 1899-1903 – 120,000 killed

La Violencia, 1948-1958 – 250,000 killed

Conservatives and Liberals agree to truce, form National Front and ban all other political parties, 1958

Groups opposed to power-sharing monopoly began campaign of violence, 1970’s

U.S. market for narcotics exploded, 1970

Regions of the Realm
The North: Colombia

  • The Geography of Cocaine...

What has happened in Colombia?

Who is fighting whom?

What is the U.S.’s role?

Why is the U.S. involved?

Insurgent state – the establishment by antigovernment insurgents of a territorial base in which they exercise full control (a state within a state)

Geographical issues:

Cocaine travels to U.S., Europe, and throughout the world

Affects Brazil and its many shantytowns (whoever controls the cocaine, controls the area)

Venezuela harbors Colombian rebels (sour relationships)

Panamanian banks sustain cocaine-dependent rebel movements

Colombian refugees cross borders into Peru and Ecuador

Mexico distributes cocaine to U.S.

  • The problem in Colombia is a very fascinating one as it exemplifies how countries are intertwined. Colombia has several insurgent states ‘run’ by different rebel groups. The biggest rebel group, FARC (the Revolutionary Armed forces of Colombia), controls a large portion of land in the south-central part of Colombia. ELN (the National Liberation Army) is another rebel group that controls territory. There are also other groups, but those are the main two. The government has no control in these areas while these rebel groups have full control (they truly are a state within a state). So the question that must be asked then, is how can these groups retain their control and find money to support their cause?
  • Enter COCAINE….
  • These rebel groups are involved in the selling of cocaine.
  • The U.S. is the largest buyer of Colombian cocaine and all cocaine that the U.S. gets comes from South America.
  • While these rebel groups were forming in the past (the 1970’s), the demand for illicit drugs in this country exploded. This was an easy way to make money for these rebel groups and it continues to be the way that these rebel groups fund themselves and continue to fight the Colombian government.
  • So this begs the next question, why is the U.S. involved?
  • Well…since so much of the cocaine in this country comes from Colombia, the U.S. decided to help Colombia in its fight against these rebels.
  • Connect this with the slogan we have all heard “The War on Drugs” and you will understand that the U.S. considers the situation in Colombia a war.
  • We help with military training and operations, we spray pesticides on coca (cocaine) fields, and we aid the Colombian government in other ways as well. We provide millions of dollars of support for this fight every year.
  • Do you remember the anti-drug commercials after 9/11 that said that the drugs that a person buys fund terrorists? Well, this is an example of that. Cocaine funds people who we deem to be terrorists.
  • Now
  • Colombia’s major counteroffensive against the insurgent groups has significantly impacted the country. Many rebels have been killed or captured, and many of the drug cartels have fled (where? MEXICO!).
  • Before the 2008 recession, Colombia was posting an 8% economic growth rate  very high!

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How does Colombia’s physiography contribute to the formation and retention of Insurgent States?

  • Physical Geography
  • For a very long time, Colombia could not control its rebel groups.
  • One of the main reasons was that Bogota, the capital, is located within the intermontane region of the country, while the insurgent states are located in the more isolated and densely vegetated regions of the south.

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Regions of the Realm
The North: Venezuela

  • Physiography

Maracaibo and Lake Maracaibo (actually a gulf) represent world’s leading oil production areas

Llanos – vast area of savanna land in the southeast (near Orinoco Basin)

Member of OPEC – why is this significant?

  • Economic Geography

The power of oil

Economic boom spurred by oil, 1970’s

Government lived off of oil profits (instead of investing them) and created problems:

Foreign debt (from borrowing against future oil revenues that never materialized)

Recession

Devaluing of currency

Political crisis

Social unrest

  • Political Geography

Hugo Chavez

People elected Hugo Chavez to act as a strongman for the urban poor and middle classes

  • Venezuela
  • Venezuelan Highlands – Largest Population Concentration
  • One of World’s Leading Oil Producing Areas
  • Only member of OPEC in the Americas
  • Llanos – Vast Savanna Plainland SE (early development)
  • Wet-Season Flooding Inhibits Commercial Agriculture
  • Tierra Templada – Guiana Highlands
  • Favors Agriculture, recently Iron Ores
  • Longstanding Economic and Social Problems – Radical Political Change
  • 1970’s Oil Revenues  1980’s Oil Recession
  • Living Off Assumed Oil Revenues  Huge Foreign Debt
  • Devalue of Currency 1990’s  Wide-spread Social Unrest
  • Elected Hugo Chavez 1998
  • Former Army Colonel
  • Swept Aside Congress, Supreme Court, Major Political parties, & Rewrote Constitution, Heightened Role of Armed Forces, Stirred Up Racial Divisions
  • Sparked Controversy
  • Revived Territory Dispute w/ Guyana
  • Condemns Capitalism & Befriends Castro
  • Harasses U.S by Pressing for Higher Fuel Prices
  • In 2013, Hugo Chavez succumbed to cancer and the political situation is in limbo as of the writing of this presentation.

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Regions of the Realm
The North: Venezuela

  • The geopolitics of Hugo Chavez:

Coerced OPEC to resist Western pressures to increase oil production

Strongly opposes U.S. intervention in Colombia

Claims territory belonging to Guyana is in fact Venezuelan territory

Welcomed Fidel Castro and praised communism – why would this be an issue?

Vocally opposes what he terms ‘superpower domination’

Actively promoted Matzos against those of European background

What are other issues (in the readings)?

  • It will be interesting to see what the new president does. Chavez picked a successor, but time will tell.

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Regions of the Realm
The North: The Three Guianas

  • Read about the Three Guianas

Pay special attention to French Giuana.

Regions

of the

Realm

The

Andean

West

  • The common denominator in these countries is their Amerindian population. This Amerindian population, however, has no political or economic power. They are a marginalized people. In recent years, this Amerindian population has demanded more political and economic equality. Pay particular attention to Bolivia in this regard, as their Amerindian population has resorted to protests and in some cases violence to gain more equality.

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Regions of the Realm
The Andean West

Countries: Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia, Paraguay

Basics

Mountainous environments – Andean

The Amerindian Issue:

Countries in this region have a large Amerindian population

Amerindians have little political influence or clout

Social inequality is rampant and Amerindians are at the bottom

A strong indigenous movement has developed in an effort to gain power for Amerindians (esp. in Bolivia)

Poverty is rampant

Subsistence agriculture dominates

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  • The West
  • Amerind Subsistence Region – Large Amerindian Components
  • Incomes are Low
  • Comparatively Unproductive
  • Poverty Rampant of Landless Peonage

Regions of the Realm
The Andean West: Peru

  • Physiography and Cultural Geography

Three regions:

The desert coast – European-Mestizo region

The Andean highlands – Amerindian region

The Eastern slopes – Amerindian-Mestizo region

Cultural division prevails as is noted by the location of the capital, Lima, on the coast (and not in the interior)

Amerindians (more than half of population) – little political influence

Regions of the Realm
The Andean West: Peru

  • Political Geography

Besieged by conflict in the 1980’s

Sendero Luminoso (Shining Path) rebel group threatened stability of country and almost succeeded in creating an insurgent state

Fujimori (president at the time) quelled rebel group and created stability and economic growth

  • Problems:

Poverty – 50% of the people live in poverty

Weak democratic institutions

  • PERU
  • Three Physiographic Subregions
  • The Desert Coast – European-Mestizo Region
  • Thriving Fishing Industry (Except in El Nino Years)
  • Irrigated Agriculture – cotton, sugar, rice, veggies, fruit, wheat
  • Andean Highlands – Amerindian Region
  • Political Influence & Economic Contribution Slight
  • Dominated by Isolated Villages & Subsistence Agriculture
  • The Eastern Slopes – Sparsely Populated Amerindian-Mestizo Interior
  • Most Isolated Region
  • Plans to Open Interior – Petroleum & Natural Gas Exploitation Priority
  • Emerging from Two Decades of Instability
  • Communist Sendero Luminoso
  • 1960’s Strong Response of Gov’t – Guerrilla Retreat
  • Abject Poverty of 50% Peruvians – Widening Gap btwn Rich & Poor

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Regions of the Realm
The West: Ecuador

  • Agricultural base with an ‘oil-era’ as a future possibility
  • Indigenous Amerindian social movement underway to gain more equality and access to opportunities for Amerindians

Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador (CONAIE) forerunner

Goals/Demands:

A multiethnic state in which Amerindians:

are guaranteed political involvement

given better access to landownership

given better educational opportunities

provided better infrastructural linkages with the rest of the country

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Regions of the Realm
The West: Bolivia

  • A country ripe for turmoil…

Two main physical and cultural regions:

Andean west

Amerindian culture

Altiplano environment

Want country to stay together

Amazonian lowland

Mestizo-European culture

Want separate, autonomous, east

Social inequality Prevails

Amerindians = ⅔ population but with little land and little political power

European wealthy elites dominate wealth and politics

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Regions of the Realm
The West: Bolivia

  • A country ripe for turmoil cont.…

Territorial losses:

Lost access to sea from Chile in 1880’s – made Bolivia a landlocked country ( a country without access to the sea)

Lost territory to Brazil and Paraguay

Political unrest:

Large natural gas reserves

Government proposal to export natural gas to U.S. met with extreme opposition from Amerindians – road blocks. Strikes etc.

Major player in international cocaine network

  • Bolivia is a failed state

Failed state – a country whose institutions have collapsed and in which anarchy prevails

Regions of the

Realm

The South:

The Southern Cone

Regions of the Realm
The South

The Southern Cone: Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, Paraguay

Basics:

Why the ‘Southern Cone’?

Heart of European-Commercial culture sphere

Mercosur dominant trade agreement

Responsible for:

Two of world’s largest dams

Enlargement of Hidrovia (along Paraguay-Parana rivers) for barge transport

Roads, bridges, highways, and railroads

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  • SOUTHERN CONE – so named because it resembles an overstuffed ice cream cone!

Regions of the Realm
The South: Argentina

Basics:

Diverse physiography - Pampas (plain – backbone of agriculture), Chaco (scrub-forest), Andes, Patagonia (arid plateaus) etc.

High urbanization rate = 89%

Strong Spanish cultural imprint

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  • ARGENTINA
  • Territorially 2nd after Brazil, Population 3rd after Brazil & Columbia
  • Great physical-environment variability:
  • Pampas (plain) - most heavily populated & dominated by agriculture
  • Large scale grain, meat production feasible & profitable
  • Hacienda land tenure
  • Specialized Agriculture Areas –
  • Fruit/Veggie near Buenos Aires
  • SE Pastoral District – beef & sheep
  • NW & SW – wheat
  • Land Tenure System too Fragmented – Under Potential
  • Global Market Expanding Opportunities
  • Foreign Investors
  • Cattle Raising in U.S. Style Feedlots
  • New Crops – Soybeans
  • Enlarging Scale of Production
  • Highly Urbanized – 90%
  • Severe Recession & Economic Collapse in 2000
  • Gained a loan from the International Monetary Fund
  • Restructured debt
  • Large portion of population still jobless and living in poverty
  • URUGUAY
  • Compact, Small & Densely Populated
  • Evenly Peopled
  • Most Truly European – Lacks Racial Minorities
  • Fairly Prosperous Agricultural Country
  • Montevideo
  • Primate City - Coastal Capital Expressive of Country’s Culture
  • 35% Country’s Population
  • Railroads & Roads Radiate Outwards to Agricultural Interior
  • Grazing cattle & sheep – beef products, wool, & hides dominate
  • PARAGUAY
  • Lies Across Regional Transition Zone
  • GNP Typical of Andean West
  • Ethnicity Typical of West – 95% Mestizo (Amerindian Pervades)
  • Physically – Non-Andean
  • Landlocked Position = Modest Economic Development to Date
  • Ciudad del Este – Frontier City where Paraguay, Argentine, & Brazil Meet
  • Bargain Retailer Goods – Cheap Knockoff Goods
  • Clandestine Local Economy
  • Counterfeit Products & Contraband

Regions of the Realm
The South: Argentina

Economic Geography

Argentina was once one of the richest countries in the world

Economy was characterized by boom and bust economic cycle

Economic collapse, 2001, rooted in:

Army coup, 1946 (Peron elected and bankrupted country)

Military junta (dictatorship) and the “Dirty War”, 1976-1983

War with Britain over Falkland Islands (Malvinas), 1982

Unequal distribution of power among provinces (see previous slide image) along with corruption and mismanagement

Effects:

Poverty struck half the population and coupled with social unrest

Devalued currency and defaulted on international loans

Debt restructuring and economic recovery, 2003

Regions of the Realm
The South: Argentina

  • Political Geography

Corruption and mismanagement widespread

Falkland Islands dispute resurfaced

Falkland Islands lie off southeastern Argentina.

Known as Islas Malvinas to Argentinians

British-held and never returned (dispute between colonial power of Spain and Britain to blame)  Argentina contested British claim but lost

Falkland’s War, 1982

Argentina attacked Falkland Islands

British won

Argentinians still not happy

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Regions of the Realm
The South: Chile

  • An Elongated State (a state whose territory is long and narrow – its length must be at least six times greater than its width)
  • Economic Geography

Atacama desert important part of economy – source of nitrates (largest deposit in the world)

Copper (Chile possesses world’s largest reserve)

An “Economic Model” for the Americas

Free-market economic reform, 1990:

Caused stable growth

Reduced poverty

Lowered inflation and unemployment

Attracted massive foreign investment

Gained a prominent role on the global trading scene

Slight set-back, 1998, when Asian economic crisis hurt copper market

  • CHILE
  • Elongated State – Extreme North/South Orientation
  • Numerous Environmental Zones – Three Subregions
  • Middle Chile – 90% Population (European Commercial)
  • Northern = Hacienda crops (fruits, veggies, wheat)
  • Southern = Livestock
  • Atacama Desert North – wider, drier, & colder (Mestizo)
  • World’s largest exploitable deposits of nitrates
  • South Islands & Fjords – mountainous (Undifferentiated)
  • Cause external political, internal administrative, & general economic problems
  • Development Boom 1990’s – Chilean Success Story
  • Free Market Economic Reform – Prominent Role in Trading Scene
  • Stable Growth
  • Lowered Inflation & Unemployment
  • Reduced Poverty
  • Attracted Massive Foreign Investment
  • Copper (main), fruits, vegetables, seafood & wood products
  • Regional Economic Integration – NAFTA
  • Economic Downturn 2000
  • Copper – Worldwide Collapse 1998 (Asian Economic Downturn)
  • Painful Readjustment – Too Reliant on one Export
  • Economic Diversification now the focus

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