Latin America
Amazon Basin
 South America region of Amazon River and Rainforest
Pampas/Llanos
 Vast savannah or grassland in South America, especially
Argentina, used for farming and cattle ranching
 The Llanos is an extensive system of grasslands, seasonallyflooded plains, and forests shared by Venezuela and Colombia
Andes Mountains
 Long mountain range running the entire length of South
America, close to the west coast, forming a barrier to
cultural diffusion
Deforestation
 The planned destruction of rain forest areas
 These forest are cut down for the hardwood lumber, to clear
space for farming, for building settlements, and for grazing
animals
Mayas
 Central American civilization
 Achievements in engineering, mathematics and science
 Polytheistic
 Writing system
Aztecs
 Build empire in Mexico
 Achievements in engineering
 Warrior society
 Human sacrifice of prisoners
 Defeated by Cortes
Incas
 Built empire in Andes Mountains in
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South America (Peru)
Road system
Terrace farming
Quipu -knotted strings for record
keeping
Defeated by Pizzaro
Mercantilism
 The theory and system of political economy wherein the
economy of the colonies should be controlled by and should
benefit the mother country
Columbian Exchange
 The movement of goods, people and disease as a result of
exploration and colonization of the 1500-1700's
Conquistadors
 16th-century Spanish conquerors of Mexico and South
America
Encomienda System
 A system of forced labor used by settlers in South America
with the approval of the Spanish government
Monroe Doctrine
 American President James Monroe issued this policy
statement in 1824
 warning European nations to stay out of the western
hemisphere
Single-crop
 The production of one good for the purpose of selling.
 Dependant on the market value of the product
Contras
 The name given to rebel forces seeking to overthrow the
communist-led Sandinista government in Nicaragua during
the 1980s
Hernan Cortes
 Explorer who landed on the Mexican coast with a small army
in 1519, defeated the Aztecs two years later, and conquered
Mexico for Spain
Francisco Pizzaro
 A conquistador; defeated the Incas in Peru and claimed this
area for Spain during the 1520s
Simon Bolivar
 Nationalist-independence leader
 "The Liberator." Through his efforts, Venezuela, Colombia,
Ecuador, and Panama gained independence from Spain in 1819
Toussaint L’Ouverture
 Nationalist-independence
leader
 Haitian black patriot and
former slave who strove for
the independence of Haiti
Fidel Castro
 Leader of the 1959 revolution in Cuba against the
dictatorship of Batista
 Created a communist state
 Later he allied Cuba with the Soviet Union