Latin America is "one of the world's most racially mixed regions... multiethnic, with very different rates of social and economic development." (Rowntree, et al., p. 75)
- Chapter 4 introduces Latin America, a region of great cultural diversity that bears the imprint of its history of colonialization. After reading this chapter, you should be familiar with the physical, demographic, political, and economic characteristics of Latin America through the following concepts and models:
- Environmental geography
- Destruction of tropical rainforests; Urban environmental challenges; Western mountains and eastern shields; River basins and lowlands; Climate.
- Population and settlement
- The Latin American city; Patterns of rural settlement; Population growth and movements.
- Cultural coherence and diversity
- Decline of native populations; Patterns of ethnicity and culture.
- Geopolitical framework
- Iberian conquest and territorial division; Persistent border conflicts; Trend toward democracy; Regional organizations; Trade blocks; Insurgencies and drug traffickers.
- Economic and social development
- Development strategies; Industrialization; Maquiladoras and foreign investment; Informal sector; Primary exports; Latin America in the global economy; Social development.
