Chapter 6: Central America and the Caribbean Today Essential Questions: How do trade and globalization affect the cultures of the region today? How is the region trying to improve the standard of living?

6.1 the Impact of Tourism Main Idea: Tourists who visit Central America and the Caribbean have a major effect on income and resources of the region.

Tourism ★ the business of travel. ★ it is an important source of income for Central America and the Caribbean. ★ With tourism the environment can be damaged.

Diversity Attracts People ★ this region is an intersection of cultures-a meeting point for traders and settlers from other countries. ★ Rich resources attracted European groups. ★ the slave trade brought the African culture to the region.

★ 1980s global air travel and advertising made tourism an important industry. ★ Many visitors stay in resorts or on cruise ships. ★ This type of tourism can have long- term negative effects.

Efforts to Improve ★ These “overnight tourists” can consume a lot of electricity, water, and food. ★ this causes shortages for the locals. ★ large resorts and cruise ships release pollution into the air and water, threatening marine life.

Protections ★ The United Nations and other organizations are seeking to increase environmental protections. ★ because the region is very dependent on the industry local governments are resistant to new limitations. ★ travelers and businesses are trying to offset the damage.

1.2 Caribbean Food and Music Main Idea: Caribbean food and music blend influences from indigenous cultures and other world cultures.

❏ worldwide trade and communications have helped influence the culture as well as the food and music of this region.

Caribbean Food ❏ Columbian Exchange has added to the region’s diet ❏ native Taino foods and those from Europe, Africa, and Asia fused or blended into a rich cooking tradition.

❏ Basic foods in the Greater Antilles include rice, beans, yams, peppers, and plantains and avocados. ❏ Poultry and fish are also local foods. ❏ Caribbean spices are blended to create unique flavors. ❏ Jamaican jerk is a distinct blend of strong spices used for grilling meat.

Fast food ❏ In the 1990s open trade allowed many fast food restaurants into the region adding modern foods to the islanders’ diet.

Caribbean Music ❏ Wind instruments and drums at first. ❏ European colonists brought stringed instruments. ❏ Island cultures blended European and African instruments and rhythms to make their own music.

❏ Calypso began on the island of Trinidad as folk music-It tells stories. Calypso ❏ Soca -was developed in the 1970s-it is a mixture of calypso and East Indian music. ❏ Other popular styles are Dominican Republic merengue and Jamaican ska and reggae.Dominican Republic merengueJamaican ska

1.3 The Panama Canal Main Idea: The Panama Canal provides a water route connecting the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. ❏ 1500s Spanish explorers wanted an artificial water route through the Central American isthmus. ❏ It would reduce the travel time from Europe to the Pacific.

Connecting Two Oceans ❏ Trade routes from the Atlantic to the Pacific were long and difficult around the tip of South America.

❏ 1855 the U.S. completed the first railroad across Panama. ❏ Goods and people could now travel across the isthmus by rail. ❏ The idea for the canal still remained.

Building the Canal ❏ Panama declared independence from Colombia in ❏ They signed a treaty that gave the U.S. control of the Panama Canal Zone. ❏ There were many obstacles to building the canal: keeping builders healthy.

Keeping builders healthy ❏ doctors worked to eliminate mosquitoes that caused serious diseases. ❏ the terrain of Panama posed challenges- 40,000 workers made plans, cleared brush, drained swamps, and drilled rocks.

❏ It took 100 steam engines and 10 years to finish, from It took ❏ More than 20,000 workers died in the process.

Canal Connects the World ❏ slogan-”The Land Divided, the World United. ❏ before its completion a ship traveling from New York to San Francisco had to travel 14,000 miles. ❏ The canal’s 51-miles shortened the distance by half to 6,000 miles.

❏ more advanced technology allowed ships to become larger and the Panama canal had to be expanded. ❏ The project was scheduled to be completed in 2014.

Section 2: Government and Economics

2.1 Comparing Costa Rica and Nicaragua Main Idea: Costa Rica and Nicaragua both work to build a more stable economy, despite different political conditions. ❏ Costa Rica and Nicaragua had very different histories and as a result Costa Rica became a very strong, stable democracy. ❏ Nicaragua became one of the poorest countries in Central America.

Different Political Paths ❏ Costa Rica has enjoyed peace for over 60 years and the economy is very stable. ❏ Since 1949 the country has not had an army and its capital is home to several global human rights organizations. ❏ Tourism is the country’s greatest source of income.

❏ Nicaragua has had an unstable government since its independence from Spain in ❏ included dictatorships and civil wars lasting through the 1990s. ❏ in 1998 it suffered a devastating hurricane destroying much of the infrastructure.

❏ roads, bridges, and electricity were gone after the hurricane ❏ many were without homes, jobs, or medical care.

❏ These unstable conditions make poverty more difficult. ❏ in 2005 more than half the population was living in poverty.poverty

Economic Challenges ❏ Costa Rica’s economy has steadily grown but the poverty rate has remained the same around 15-20%. ❏ Changes in government policy may account for the lack of improvement.

❏ 1980s after spending and borrowing for many years the country was out of money. ❏ various policies were enacted to address the economic crisis. ❏ the government restricted its spending and raised taxes. ❏ funding for social programs was reduced. ❏ 2007 Costa Rica joined the free trade agreement with the U.S. It went into effect in 2009.

❏ In 2005 Nicaragua received funds from the U.S. to address rural poverty. ❏ the money was used for factors of production-like farm equipment, marketing for rural businesses, and for building roads. ❏ These efforts can provide long-term solutions for poverty.

2.2 Challenges in Haiti Main Idea: Haiti faces many great challenges in its efforts to build a strong economy and decrease poverty. ❏ 1700s the island (Saint Domingue), Haiti today, was the richest in the Caribbean. ❏ Today it is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere with 80% of the people living in poverty.

Poverty’s Historical Roots ❏ They gained independence in ❏ most of Haiti’s citizens had been slaves and did not have money or means of income. ❏ No other nations would help Haiti financially for fear of slave rebellions. ❏ 20th century political conflict and disease kept tourists away making it difficult to grow economically.

21st Century Haiti ❏ The Human Development Index (HDI) is used by geographers to compare quality of life in different countries. ❏ it combines measure of health, education and standard of living. ❏ people in countries with low HDI are less healthy, educated and poorer than people in other countries with higher HDI

Politics ❏ Politics in Haiti have been instable and corrupt. ❏ violence between political groups has forced the U.S. to send troop in 2004 to the capital, Port-au-Prince, to maintain security. ❏ efforts toward peace in Haiti have been unsuccessful.

Earthquake ❏ in 2010 a massive earthquake hit Haiti causing further challenges. ❏ 1.5 million people were displaced. ❏ Damage to the airport and to seaports made it difficult to receive immediate help from other countries.

❏ Organizations from around the world began donating money and supplies such as food and medicine. ❏ Some even sent emergency rescue workers. ❏ Many nations and organizations excused Haiti from paying back billions of dollars in loans, so they could rebuild.

2.3 Feeding Central America Main Idea: Food supply in Central America is affected by natural disasters and human activities. ❏ Food security, or easy access to enough food, is an importantn issue around the world. Food security, ❏ understanding why shortages happen can help local governments and global organizations take steps to improving food security.

Impact on Food Supply ❏ Natural disasters have a major impact on the food supply. ❏ Many countries affected by Hurricane Mitch in 1998 barely had time to recover before major flooding hit Central America in ❏ Disasters destroy crops and make it difficult for people to find safe water.

❏ dry seasons can greatly reduce food production. ❏ Human activity can threaten the food supply (lack of irrigation, declining soil quality, and deforestation). ❏ climate also threatens the food supply-Global warming-causes extreme weather patterns.Global warming

Childhood Hunger ❏ Childhood malnutrition is one of the most serious effect of food shortages in Central America. ❏ Many pregnant women do not get the nutrition they need and their babies are born very small. ❏ Poor nutrtition continues thruogh childhood and slows growth.

Solutions for the Future ❏ increasing the country’s own crop production will improve food security in Central America. ❏ Education is also a way to improve food security-Educating rural people in productive farming methods, keeping soil healthy, and how to grow and sell surplus crops.

Emergencies ❏ In emergency situations, like an earthquake, a country can benefit from foreign aid. ❏ But learning to improve its own food supply can achieve long-term food security without outside aid.

2.4 Migration and the Caribbean Main Idea: Many Caribbean people migrate to other countries to find economic opportunities and help support their families back home. ❏ People migrate from one place to another because of push-pull factors. ❏ push factos make people move away for reasons like drought or war. ❏ pull factors draw people to a place because it has something to offer.

Push-Pull

Migration and the Caribbean ❏ The collapse of major businesses, like the sugar industry, has pushed workers out of rural areas into cities for work. ❏ internal migration-migration within a country or region. ❏ ⅔ of the population now lives in cities.

❏ Cities have become overcrowded. ❏ Urban unemployment is high in the Caribbean. ❏ Migrants seeking better jobs a higher standard of living have been forced to travel to other islands in the Caribbean.

❏ 1990s tourism industry expanded dramatically across the region. ❏ demand for workers pulled many people to islands with large or growing tourist industries.

Migration out of the Caribbean ❏ At the same time, push-pull factors played a part in workers leaving to go to other countries like the U.S., Canada, Europe, and other places. Example: political conflict in Cuba and Haiti pushed people to migrate to the United States.

Remittances ❏ Most migrants who find work somewhere else will send money back to thier families as remittances-money sent to a person in another place. ❏ These have become a very important part of the economy of the Caribbean countries.

2.5 Conserving the Rain Forest Main Idea: Ecotourism provides a new opportunity for this region to protect rain forest habitats and fight poverty. ❏ Rainforests and other natural resources of Central America and the Caribbean are big draw for travelers. ❏ Tourism can damage these resources.

Rain Forest Habitats ❏ a rain forest contains important animal habitats. ❏ plants in the rain forest provide food and produce oxygen. produce oxygen ❏ some species in the rain forest do not exist anywhere else in the world.world

❏ Attractions to the rain forest are the very same that are threatened by excessive tourism. ❏ altering habitats can cause loss of that habitat and the extinction of the species that rely on it. Blue Jeans Frog Quetzal Three-toed sloth

Rain Forest Ecotourism ❏ Ecotourism-a way of visiting natural areas that conserves the resources of the region. ❏ the purpose is to allow a visitor to experience the environment in its most natural form. ❏ it protects plants and animals and improves the lives of the local people.

❏ It helps stop deforestation and soil destruction by providing alternative jobs to poor farmers who live off rain forest land. ❏ it helps to preserve the environment by allowing a country to profit and sustain its resources in their natural form.

❏ Ecotourists can still have a negative effect. ❏ International conservation organizations have become involved in ecotourism. ❏ they are working to point travelers to areas that are working to preserve natural resources.