Latin American History
Native Americans
• Mayans and Aztecs
dominated Mexico
• Incas dominated Peru
• Sophisticated
civilizations…365 day
calendar, written language,
etc.
Colonialism
• “America’s” were
discovered by Christopher
Columbus …. Landing in the
Bahamas and Puerto Rico
• Spain and Portugal
dominated colonization
Colonialism
• Line of Demarcation (1493)
Slavery
• Import of slave labor into the
America’s to work on
plantations for cash crops
• Most were sent to Brazil
Revolution / Independence
• Spurred by the American
Revolution
• Most were violent wars to
overthrow colonial rulers
• 1780’s-1914
• Many times wealthy land
owners took power
Revolution / Independence
• Rulers still had ties to
Europe and many were
corrupt
• Democracies with
corruption
Today
• Democracies prevail
• Governments are
corrupt….serve only
the wealthy
• Large wealth
gaps…no middle
class
Today
• Mistrust of power
• Fear of dictatorships taking
over…already in Venezuela
(Chavez)
Regional McDonalds
Uruguay
Brazil