Early History  AD 250–900: Maya built large cities with pyramids and temples.  Maya descendents live in Guatemala and Belize.  Early 1500s: Europeans controlled most of Central America.  Britain: Belize and Nicaragua’s coast  Spain: Large plantations of tobacco and sugarcane  Forced Indians and enslaved Africans to work in mines and plantations Independence  1821: Independence from Spain  Remained joined as the United Provinces of Central America  : Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, El Salvador, and Guatamala separated.  1903: Panama and Columbia separated.  1981: Belize independence

 1492: Christopher Columbus discovered the Caribbean islands, believing them to be the Indies.  The islands are now 13 independent countries.  These countries show the influence of the first European colonizers.

Isthmus – A narrow strip of land, with water on both sides, that connects two larger bodies of land

Three major landforms in Central America 1. Mountainous Core Mountains run down the center of the area Two climate zones in the core 1. Spring like year round temperatures (3,000 to 6,000 feet of elevation) 2. Cold climates above that 2. Caribbean lowlands Eastern side of Central America Tropical Wet climate 3. Pacific Coastal Plains West side of Central America Savanna Climate with grassland vegetation

Three groups of Islands in the Caribbean 1. Lesser Antilles Volcanic Islands Smaller islands in the southeastern part of the Caribbean 2. Greater Antilles Also Volcanic Islands Larger Islands such as Cuba, Jamaica, Haiti and Dominican Republic 3. Bahamas Coral Islands Made from the remains of dead sea animals

Lesser Antilles Greater Antilles Bahamas

 Indians  Mayan empire spread throughout this area  Largest number live in Guatemala  Europeans and Mestizos  Largest European settlement today is in Costa Rica  Mestizos mostly live in El Salvador and Nicaragua  African Descent  Came over to work on the banana plantations and build the Panama Canal

 Colonialism  Europeans came to profit from the sugar trade  They brought Africans to be slaves  Mixture of races  Natives  Africans  Europeans (French, British, Danish and Dutch)  Mestizos

 Central American Culture  Mostly Spanish speaking  Roman Catholic  Most cultural traits are a result of Spanish Colonialism  Caribbean Culture  Culture is based on the Colonizing country  Large African influence as a result of the slave trade

 Caribbean  Caribbean islands are crowded  Most live in cities  Central America  Most are Farmers  Live in rural areas

 Tourism  Agriculture  Sugar  Fruit  Informal economy  Street vendors, shoe shiners and many more  Drug trafficking  Levels of Society  Small group of wealthy (mostly descendents of Europeans)  Small middle class  Large lower class

 Causes  Shortage of available farmland  Unequal distribution of wealth  Government mainly serves the interest of the wealthy  Nicaragua  Contras Fighting against the Sandinista government that favored the wealthy  In 1990 a new president was elected for the first time.

 El Salvador  Wealthy land owners hired death squads to eliminate their political opponents  1992 a peace agreement lead by the UN ended the war  Guatemala  In 1960 a civil war erupted against the militarily backed dictator  After the war the military was still a powerful force in the government  In 1993 Ramiro de Leon Carpio was elected by their congress and is a respected leader

 Cuba  1959 Fidel Castro lead a successful military revolution  He has Ruled ever since (Communist Government)  Haiti  1994 the people overthrew the military dictator with the help of the U.S.  Haiti now has a democracy

The 48 mile-long (77 km) international waterway known as the Panama Canal allows ships to pass between the Atlantic Ocean and Pacific Ocean, saving about 8000 miles (12,875 km) from a journey around the southern tip of South America, Cape Horn. ships South America A class of ships known as "Panamax,“ where built to the maximum capacity of the Panama canal and its locks.

It takes approximately fifteen hours to traverse the canal through its three sets of locks (about half the time is spent waiting due to traffic). Ships passing through the canal from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean actually move from the northwest to the southeast, due to the east-west orientation of the Isthmus of Panama.