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Chapter 10 Questions and Vocabulary

• Plateau: an area of high, flat land.


• Irrigation: the watering of farmland with water drawn from reservoirs or rivers.
• Hacienda: a large Spanish-owned estate in the Americas, often run as a farm or a cattle
ranch.
• Land redistribution: a policy by which land is taken from those who own large amounts and
redistributed to those who have little or none.
• Ejido: farmland owned collectively by members of a rural community.
• Latifundio: a large commercial farm owned by a private individual or a farming company.
• Cash crop: a farm crop grown for sale and profit.
• NAFTA: North American Free Trade Agreement, which phased out trade barriers among
the United States, Canada, and Mexico.
• Maquiladora: a factory in Mexico, along the United States border, that assembles goods for
export.

1. What 3 physical features dominate Mexico?


• Mountains; Sierra Madre Occidental (west), Sierra Madre Oriental (east), and Plateau of
Mexico (center).
2. What are the physical characteristics of Mexico’s Heartland?
• Rich soil + plenty of rainfall = Mexico’s best farmland
• Located at 4 intersecting tectonic plates- North American, Caribbean, Pacific, and Cocos.
• In northern Mexico, Sierra Madres block rainfall coming from the ocean. Farther south,
moist ocean winds find their way through the mountains to bring rain to the lower end of the
plateau.
• Elevation in the central plateau keeps temperatures mild and pleasant year-round.
3. How is the distribution of Mexico’s population related to the amount of annual rainfall?
• In northern Mexico, Sierra Madres block rainfall coming from the ocean. Farther south,
moist ocean winds find their way through the mountains to bring rain to the lower end of the
plateau.
4. How do the physical characteristics of Mexico’s coastal regions influence economic activities?
• North Pacific Coast: dry, hot, arid climate, and thinly populated; some of the best farmland
in the country due to irrigation and dams enabling farmers to raise wheat, cotton, and other
crops.
• Southern Pacific Coast: Spectacular natural setting + tropical climate = tourism.
• Gulf Coastal Plain: Beneath the Gulf of Mexico are vast deposits of petroleum + natural gas
= 1 of the world’ major oil-producing regions.
• The Yucatán Peninsula: Bedrock that underlies is porous limestone. When rain falls, it goes
the the surface of the land, and the limestone is garudally dissolved, creating underground
caverns. Sometimes a sinkhole (well) is formed because the roof of a cavern collapses.
5. How is Mexico an example of cultural convergence?
• The Plaza del las Tres Culturas= Indian (center= restored ruins of an Aztec temple
pyramid), Spanish (church built by Spanish conquerors in 1609 on one side), modern
(twin office buildings of glass and concrete and a busy 8-lane highway runs past the plaza).

6. How did Mexico become a Spanish colony?


• Hernán Cortés + 600 Spanish soldiers conquered Tenochtitlán in 1519, destroying the
Aztec empire and other Indian groups. This territory won by Cortés became the colony of
New Spain.
7. How did the Spanish conquest impact Mexico’s social structure?
• 4 social classes emerged; peninsulares (top, held high official positions, born in spain),
criollos (people of Spanish ancestry born in the Americas), mestizos (people of mixed
ancestry), Indians (lowest).
8. What events led to independence and democracy in Mexico?
• Independence: Miguel Hidalgo’s cry for rebellion
• Democracy: Strong military leaders ruled as dictators, modernizing Mexico only helped the
wealthy become wealthier; 1910: peasant and middle-class Mexicans rebelled in the
Mexican Revolution against the military dictator and landlords who controlled the country.
9. How did uneven distribution of wealth lead to the Mexican Revolution?
• Modernizing Mexico’s economy only helped the wealthy become wealthier, causing
peasants and middle-class to revolt.
10. Describe the evolution of farming in Mexico from colonial times through present day.
• 1910: nearly all Mexican land that could be used for farming was part of 8,000 haciendas.
• After revolution, the government started the policy of land redistribution (buying out
landowners and breaking up their large haciendas.
• Many ejido farmers practice subsistence farming from government awarded land.
• 1/3 of farms are huge commercial farms (called latifundios) owned by individuals or farming
companies.
• ¾ of population lives in cities and the middle-class is growing.
11. What is the social structure of modern, urban Mexico?
• Small, wealthy, educated upper class in cities; most urban dwellers are very poor and must
struggle to survive; a growing middle class contains skilled workers who maintain strong
ties to culture.
12. What are the main characteristics of Mexico’s economy?
• NAFTA
• Petroleum extraction + tourism = main industries
• Manufacturing is a contributor
• Maquiladoras (factories that assemble products) along the US-Mexico border.
13. What is NAFTA, and why was it created?
• Phased out trade barriers among US, Canada, and Mexico to promote trade and compete
with the European Union.
14. What are 3 results of NAFTA in Mexico?
• Mexico’s trade with the US and Canada had nearly doubled.
• Manufacturing increased and unemployment declined.
• Pursued new trade agreements with other countries.
15. What are the major economic activities in Mexico?
• Petroleum extraction + tourism = main industries
• Manufacturing is a contributor
• Maquiladoras (factories that assemble products) along the US-Mexico border.
16. How have maquiladoras impacted Mexico’s economy, and where are they located?
• Employ large amounts of workers; US-Mexican border.

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