1. UNIT #3 – LATIN AMERICA Vocabulary 3.2 (Part B) Human Features of Latin America

2. Toltecs Native American civilization which settled in Southeastern Mexico, and whose economy focused on mining and trade between the 8 th and 12 th centuries.

3. Aztecs Native American culture which thrived in the region of Central Mexico; the civilization was conquered in 1521 by Hernán Cortés (a Spanish Conquistador).

4. Montezuma II The last emperor of the Aztec Empire (1466- 1520) who was defeated by the Spanish Conquistador Hernán Cortés in 1520.

5. Spanish Conquest The period of Spanish exploration, settlement, and exploitation of Native American civilizations in the Americas during the 16 th and 17 th centuries.

6. Hernán Cortés Spanish Conquistador who conquered the Aztec civilization in 1521 by capturing the Aztec capital city of Tenochtitlan and settling Mexico.

7. maquiladoras Factories located in Mexico that assemble imported materials into finished products that are then exported (mostly to the United States).

8. mestizo People of mixed Spanish and Native American heritage.

9. North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) Trade agreement between Canada, Mexico, and the United States creating a zone of cooperation on trade and economic issues in an effort to increase the prosperity of member- nations.

10. cultural hearth A place from which important ideas spread from the place of origin to surrounding areas.

11. Panama Canal This made-made canal is located in Central America and was completed in 1914 to increase the efficiency of trade between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.

12. informal economy An economic system located outside the official channels of government interference often without benefits or protection for workers.

13. Inca Native American civilization located in the Andes Mountains of South America; the civilization was established in the 13 th century and was conquered in 1532 by Francisco Pizarro (a Spanish Conquistador).

14. Quechua The primary language of the Incan civilization which is still spoken today in the Andes Mountains of South America.

15. Francisco Pizarro Spanish Conquistador who explored the Americas and conquered the Inca Civilization along the coast of Peru in 1532 and founded the capital of Lima in 1535.

16. Simón Bolívar Venezuelan military leader who led revolutions against the Spanish empire throughout the early 19 th century creating six independent nations in South America; Elected president of New Columbia (1819-1830).

17. Treaty of Tordesillas Agreement between Spain and Portugal aimed at settling conflicts over lands newly discovered or explored by Christopher Columbus and others during late 15 th century.

18. Carnival An annual festival located in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, which is characterized by several days of celebration on the weekend prior to Ash Wednesday.

19. Enrique Peña Nieto Current president of Mexico elected in 2012 as a member of the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI).

20. Fidel Castro Cuban revolutionary who created transformed Cuba into a communist state; As leader of Cuba from 1959- 2008, the United States created an embargo against his regime.

21. oligarchy A form of government in which power is concentrated in the hands of a few persons or in a dominant class; In Latin America, the nations of Nicaragua, Bolivia, Chile, Panama, and Argentina have historically been ruled by elite groups.