Each chapter ends with a Summary, Key Terms, and Suggested Readings.
Lists of Maps
Lists of Tables
Preface
Chapter 1: The Changing Face of Latin America and the Caribbean
Geography and Regional Studies
Delimiting Latin America and the Caribbean
Latin American and Caribbean Subregions
PART I: PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY
Chapter 2: Landform Regions of Latin America and the Caribbean
The Eastern Highlands
The Central Lowlands
The Western Alpine System
Recent Earthquake and Volcanic Activity
Case Study 2.1: The 2010 Haitian and Chilean Earthquakes
Physiographic Regions of the Andes
Physiographic Regions of Central America
Physiographic Regions of Mexico and the Caribbean
Chapter 3: Weather and Climate
Controls of Climate
Temperature
--Altitude
--Ocean Currents
--Latitude
Precipitation
--Continentality
--Atmospheric Pressure Belts
--Prevailing Winds and Orographic Effects
Hurricanes
Case Study 3.1: The 2008 Caribbean Hurricane Season
Chapter 4: Natural Regions
Tropical Rain Forest
Case Study 4.1: Biodiversity and the Tropical Rain Forest
Tropical and Temperate Savanna
Desert
Steppe
Humid Subtropical
Mediterranean
Marine West Coast Rain Forest
Highland
PART II: CULTURAL PATTERNS
Chapter 5: Iberian Heritage, Conquest, and Institutions
Latin America's Roman Heritage
Islam in Iberia
Spanish Responses to Islamic Rule
The Spanish Reconquest
The Conquest and Settlement of Latin America
Mexico and Central America
South America
The Colonial Era
The Mercantile System
The Encomienda System
Decline of Spanish Influence in the Greater Caribbean Basin
Peninsular-Creole Divisions
Independence and the Republican Period
Conservative-Liberal Schisms
Caudillismo
Case Study 5.1: The 2009 Honduran Coup d'État
Political Maturation in the Late Twentieth Century
Chapter 6: Political Change
Mexico
Central America
Guatemala
Belize
Honduras
El Salvador
Nicaragua
Costa Rica
Panama
The Greater Antilles
Cuba
Jamaica
Haiti
Dominican Republic
Puerto Rico
Andean South America
Venezuela
Colombia
Ecuador
Case Study 6.1: Columbia's Violent Drug War
Peru
Bolivia
Southern South America
Chile
Paraguay
Argentina
Uruguay
Brazil
The Guianas
Guyana
Suriname
French Guiana
Chapter 7: Race, Ethnicity, and Social Class
Native Population Levels at the Time of the Conquest
Native American Civilizations on the Eve of the Conquest
Western Highland Peoples
--The Aztecs
--The Maya
--The Chibcha
--The Inca
Case Study 7.1: Native Animals of the Andes
--The Southern Andean Indians
Eastern Lowland Peoples
--The Southern Hunters
--The Tropical Forest Dwellers
Common Indian Traits
Impacts of European Conquest and Settlement
Causes of Indian Depopulation
Aftermath of the Conquest
Blacks in the New World
Antecedents of Latin American Black Slavery
The African Slave Trade
Living Conditions in the New World
Forms of Slave Resistance
Abolition
Case Study 7.2: Maroon Societies in Latin America
East Asians in the Caribbean
Racial Mixing
The Evolution of Social Races
Racial Whitening
Racism and Its Ramifications
Case Study 7.3: Indian Homelands and the Mesoamerican Biological Corridor
Current Racial Patterns
Mexico and Central America
South America
The Caribbean
Chapter 8: Latin America as a Culture Region
Honor and Shame: Individual Identity and Self-Worth
Machismo
Marianismo
Reproduction and Honor
Personalismo
Socioeconomic Classes
The Upper Class
Case Study 8.1: The Hidden Costs of Corruption
The Middle Class
Case Study 8.2: The Perpetuation of Oligarchical Power in a Central American Nation
The Lower Class
Consequences of Social Rigidity
Fatalism and Luck
Dual Educational Systems
Family Life
Street Children
--Possible Responses
Status of Women
Case Study 8.3: Women and the Informal Economic Sector
Other Elements of Culture
Literature and Poetry
Architecture, Painting, and Sculpture
Music
Sports
Mass Media and Tempo of Living
Chapter 9: Religion
Religious Practice in Indigenous America
Medieval Iberian Catholicism on the Eve of the Conquest
The Spiritual Conquest of the New World
Religious Syncretism
Marianism and the Cult of the Virgin Mother
Challenges to Colonial Catholicism
Case Study 9.1: Cuzco's Lord of The Earthquakes
The Economic and Political Power of the Church in the Colonial and Republican Periods
The Current Status of Latin American Catholicism
Subtypes of Latin American Catholicism
--Forms of African Folk Catholicism
Non-Catholic Faiths in Latin America and the Caribbean
Hinduism and Islam
Case Study 9.2: Jamaican Rastafarianism
Judaism
Case Study 9.3: Venta Prieta: A Jewish Community in Mexico
Protestantism
--Characteristics of and Challenges to Latin American Protestantism
The Catholic Counter-Reformation
PART III: ECONOMIC PATTERNS
Chapter 10: Agriculture and Agrarian Development
Case Study 10.1: Waru Waru Agriculture
Impact of the European Conquest
Enclave Economies
Haciendas
Estancias
Plantations
--Sugar Cane in the Caribbean
--Coffee in Colombia, Central America, and Brazil
--Bananas in Central America and Ecuador
--The Plantation Controversy
Smallholder Agriculture
Common Attributes of Smallholder Agriculturists
Slash and Burn Agriculture
Peasant Agriculture
Agrarian Reform
New Land Colonization
Agriculture Modernization
Expansion of Commercial Agriculture
Plant Crop Production
Animal Husbandry
Tree Farming
Fishing
Case Study 10.2: Harvest Strip Forestry
Narcotic Drug Production
Chapter 11: Mining, Manufacturing, and Tourism
Pre-Conquest Mining and Manufacturing
Mining and Manufacturing in Colonial Latin America
Silver Mining
--Impact of Amalgamation
--Labor Supply
Gold and Diamond Mining in Colonial Brazil
Other Colonial Mining Centers
Impacts of Mining
Manufacturing in Colonial Latin America
Case Study 11.1: Mining and Regional Development in Colonial Latin America
Mining and Manufacturing During the Early Republican Period
Beginnings of Modern Manufacturing
Case Study 11.2: "Big Bill" Greene and American Industrialization in Northern Mexico
The Great Depression and Import Substitution Industrialization
Growth Poles and the Spatial Concentration of Industry
Chile and the Arica Automobile Manufacturing Experiment
Brazil: Large-Scale Regional Development and Underdevelopment
Venezuela: Growth Pole Development in a Frontier Setting
State Ownership and Privatization
Export Promotion Manufacturing: An Alternative Development Model
Puerto Rico's Operation Bootstrap
The Mexican Maquiladora Industry
Other Export Promotion Initiatives
Case Study 11.3: Offshore Caribbean Financial Services Industries
Current Industrialization Patterns
Current Mining Developments
Energy Reserves and Development
Hydroelectric Power Generation
Renewable Organic Fuels
Tourism
Chapter 12: Urbanization, Population Growth, and Migration
Native American Urbanization
Colonial European Settlement
Colonial Urban Primacy
Functional Classification of Cities
Morphology of the Colonial City
Settlement in Portuguese America
Rural Settlements
Late Colonial Population Levels
The Republican Period
The Twentieth Century
Case Study 12.1: Confederate Settlements in Latin America and the Caribbean
The Demographic Transition Model
Urbanization
City Size in the Modern Era
Urban Primacy
Morphology of the Modern City
The Inner City: Zone of Commercial High-Rises and Low-Income Tenements
Case Study 12.2: Social Expressions of the Latin American Plaza
Peripheral Squatter Settlements
Urban Population Densities
Case Study 12.3: Planned Squatter Settlement Invasions
New Cities
Migration
Interregional Flows
Migration between Latin American and Caribbean Countries
Migration to Europe, Asia, and Anglo America
Political Refugees
The Brain Drain
Remittances
Conclusions: Are Latin America and the Caribbean Overpopulated?
Chapter 13: Development and Health
Economic Development and Underdevelopment During the Colonial and Republican Periods
The International Financial Cycle
Recurring Economic Crises
The Lost Decade
Foreign Indebtedness
Inflation
Currency Devaluation
Economic Stagnation and Human Suffering
Fiscal Restructuring and Austerity
Case Study 13.1: IMF Austerity Measures and Civil Unrest in Latin America and the Caribbean
The Found Decade
Regional and Subregional Economic Unions
Case Study 13.2: Structural Reform and Argentine Economic and Political Turmoil
Central American Common Market
Andean Community
Caribbean Community
Southern Cone Common Market
North American Free Trade Association
Free Trade Area of the Americas
Health and Nutritional Development in Latin America and the Caribbean
Provision of Clean Water and Sewage Treatment
Food and Nutrition
Case Study 13.3: The Latin American Cholera Epidemic
Child Mortality Rate
Health and the Physical-Cultural Environment
Tropical Lowlands
Highlands
Case Study 13.4: Environment and Health in Mexico City
Urban Centers
Rural Regions
Glossary
Credits
Index