1. Central America
And The
Caribbean

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

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

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

5. People of Central America
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

6. People of the Caribbean
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

7. Culture of Central America and the Caribbean
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

8. Where do they live? Caribbean Central America
Caribbean islands are crowded
Most live in cities
Central America
Most are Farmers
Live in rural areas

9. Economy Tourism Agriculture Informal economy Levels of Society 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

10. Political Unrest In Central America
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.

11. Political Unrest In Central America
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

12. Political Unrest In The Caribbean
Cuba
1959 Fidel Castro lead a successful military revolution
Haiti
1994 the people overthrew the military dictator with the help of the U.S.
Haiti now has a democracy

13. The End