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The Americas. Greenland Canada and Quebec United States of America Mexico Caribbean Central America South America. General Information. The Americas are considered to be made up of two continents – North America (which includes the Caribbean and Greenland) South America.
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The Americas Greenland Canada and Quebec United States of America Mexico Caribbean Central America South America
General Information • The Americas are considered to be made up of two continents – • North America (which includes the Caribbean and Greenland) • South America
General Information continued... • However, it is usually divided into five geographical regions. • Sometimes, Mexico, the Caribbean and Central America are called Middle America
History • The name ‘America’ is said to be the feminine Latinized version of the name of an explorer, Amerigo Vespucci, • (who it had been claimed had first discovered the land mass in a forgery called the Soderini Letter) • The Americas were actually first brought to Renaissance explorers’ attention by Christopher Columbus, who landed there in 1492 • (who later died thinking he had found and colonised part of India!) • Rumour has it that Bristol fisherman had been visiting the North American coast for at least 100 years before Columbus’ discovery
Geography • Mountains on the west coast (the Andes, the Rockies and other pacific ranges) and east coast (the Appalachians) as well as the Arctic cordillera along the eastern coast of Canada. • Relatively flat land in between – the Canadian Shield, the Interior Plains of North America, the Amazon Basin of northeast South America and Gran Chaco and Pampas lowlands in the south. • This results in large river basins like the Amazon and the Mississippi which ‘drain’ the continents.
Settlement • There is general agreement that humans first populated the Americas in about 40 000 BCE. • 1000 CE saw the Inuit arrive on the north west arctic coast of North America (Alaska) and the Vikings arrive on the north east coast (Newfoundland and Labrador, an island province of Canada, and Greenland). • The Vikings left around 1400 but the Inuit stayed and spread out to the east, finally inhabiting the entire arctic coast of North America
Map showing Inuit dialects in the arctic areas of North America
Native Americans.........................USA • Believed to have migrated from Eurasia (Siberia) via the Bering land bridge about 12 000 years ago • Distinct tribes, states and ethnic groups • Hunter-gatherers, aquaculture, agriculture • Fewer constraints on society, less focus on material goods • Amerindians
Aztec..........................................Mexico • Architecture • Art • Mythology and Religion • Human Sacrifice • The Triple Alliance • Flower Wars • Montezuma • Spaniard Hernan Cortes allied himself with the Aztec’s enemy in 1519 and had defeated the Aztecs by 1521
Mayans • Written language (hieroglyphics) • Art • Architecture • Mathematics • Astronomy • Culture and Trade exchanges • City States • Invaded by the Spanish conquistadores in the early 1500s
Incas..................west coast South America • Began as a tribe around 1100CE and formed a city-state called Cuzco • ‘Peru’ was conquered in 1438, reorganising the empire with a federal government • Later included all the west coast • A ‘patchwork of languages, cultures and peoples’
Amerindians.....east coast South America • Brazil and the Amazon • In 1500, estimated 3 million natives in 2000 tribes or nations • Mostly semi-nomadic • Tribal warfare and cannibalism • Diverse wildlife, natural environments and resources • Mostly tropical • Bio-diverse ecosystems
European Colonisation • European colonisation began around 1500 bringing... • Disease • Conflict • which resulted in an indigenous population crash, otherwise known as genocide. • Europeans came to the New World because... • State sponsored to begin colonies • Avoid religious persecution • Seek economic opportunities • Forcibly transported • servants, slaves, prisoners
Colonisation • Colonised by... • British • French • Dutch • German • Danish • Spanish • Portuguese • Russian • Swedish • Norse • Courland • Today, most are descended from... • British • French • Spanish • Portuguese • Danish
Greenland • Politically and historically associated with Europe. • It is a (self ruling) Danish province! • World’s largest island, but is not a continent. • About 81% of Greenland is covered by ice. • The southern most tip can be very green in summer • The population is about 56 500 people. • 88% of the population is of Inuit heritage, or mixed Inuit/Danish • The other 12% is of Danish descent • Most speak both Greenlandic and Danish. • English is their third language
Map and flag of Greenland • Culture is based on Inuit traditions • They eat A LOT of fish and other seafood!
North America • Consists of… • Canada & Quebec • the US of A • Mexico
The United States of America • Colonised by the English and the French, culminating in war. The English won. • Both sides had the support of different native tribes • The colonials got really shirty at England because they weren’t allowed to use their own currency, so they started the War of Independence. The colonials won. • George Washington was the revolutionary leader at this time and became the first president of the United States of America • Colonials moved west, fighting the natives for Texas, California and Mexico in the south and the mid-west states in the north
Central America • Consists of… • Guatemala • Belize • El Salvador • Honduras • Nicaragua • Costa Rica • Panama • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Political_Evolution_of_Central_America_and_the_Caribbean_1700_and_on.gif
A Scary Place... • Firstly, it exists on it’s own tectonic plate which makes it a volatile area for volcanoes and earthquakes • There are also hurricanes in summer months which can result in mud and landslides, • smarttraveller.gov.au recommends a ‘high degree of caution’ due to the ‘high levels of crime’ in general for Nicaragua and Panama, and a ‘do not travel’ in certain regions of these countries due to ‘high levels of criminal activity and incidents of civil unrest’ • A high level of caution is recommended for Honduras, Belize, Costa Rica and El Salvador due to ‘high levels of serious crime’
The Caribbean • Consists of… • Bahamas • Cuba • Jamaica • Haiti • Dominican Republic • Puerto Rico (USA) • Barbados • Aruba • Cayman islands • …and 7000 other islands. • Also known as the West Indies • 27 territories • Named after an ethnic group, the Caribs • Mainly African ancestry but also many mixed races
The Caribbean continued... • European languages include English, French and Dutch • Also people from Portugal, Spain, China and India • Tropical climate with variations in rainfall • Volcanoes, coral reefs populated by millions of fish and even turtles
South America • Consists of… • Venezuela • Colombia • Ecuador • Peru • Bolivia • Chile • Argentina • Uruguay • Paraguay • Brazil • French Guiana (Fr.) • Surinam • Guyana
Spanish South America • Conquistadores • Francisco Pizarro • Hernan Cortes • Contained by the Andes Mountains • Fish and other seafood, meat is also very common • Salsa, merenge, tango are popular dances that have come from Spain
Portuguese South America • Pedro Alvares Cabral may have stumbled on Brazil • Portugal had little interest in Brazil at first but it became an agricultural trading post mid-1500s • Brazilwood (red dye) • Sugarcane • Bandierantes in the 1700s expanded Brazil by raiding • They discovered... • Gold • Diamonds • Manpower was Amerindian and African slaves • The Portuguese colony’s integrity was threatened by the Dutch and French but remained intact
