Central America

And The
Caribbean

Central America
Isthmus A narrow
strip of land, with water
on both sides, that
connects two larger
bodies of land

Central Americas Geography

Three major landforms in Central America
1. Mountainous Core

Mountains run down the center of the area

Two climate zones in the core
1.
2.

Spring like year round temperatures (3,000 to 6,000 feet of

elevation)
Cold climates above that

2. Caribbean lowlands

Eastern side of Central America

Tropical Wet climate

3. Pacific Coastal Plains

West side of Central America

Savanna Climate with grassland vegetation

Caribbean Islands
Three groups of Islands in the Caribbean
1. Lesser Antilles

Volcanic Islands
Smaller islands in the southeastern part of the
Caribbean
(Map)

2. Greater Antilles

Also Volcanic Islands

Larger Islands such as Cuba, Jamaica, Haiti and
Dominican Republic (Map)

3. Bahamas

Coral Islands
Made from the remains of dead sea animals

(Map)

People of Central America

Indians
Mayan empire spread throughout this area
Largest number live in Guatemala

Europeans and Mestizos

Largest European settlement today is in Costa
Rica
Mestizos mostly live in El Salvador and
Nicaragua

African Descent
Came over to work on the banana plantations
and build the Panama Canal

People of the Caribbean

Colonialism
Europeans came to profit from the sugar trade
They brought Africans to be slaves

Mixture of races

Natives
Africans
Europeans (French, British, Danish and Dutch)
Mestizos

Culture of Central America and

the Caribbean
Central American Culture
Mostly Spanish speaking
Roman Catholic
Most cultural traits are a result of Spanish
Colonialism

Caribbean Culture
Culture is based on the Colonizing country
Large African influence as a result of the slave
trade

Where do they live?

Caribbean
Caribbean islands are crowded
Most live in cities

Central America
Most are Farmers
Live in rural areas

Economy
Tourism
Agriculture
Sugar
Fruit

Informal economy
Street vendors, shoe shiners and many more
Drug trafficking

Levels of Society
Small group of wealthy (mostly descendents of
Europeans)
Small middle class
Large lower class

Political Unrest In Central

America
Causes
Shortage of available farmland
Unequal distribution of wealth
Government mainly serves the interest of the
wealthy

Nicaragua
Contras Fighting against the Sandinista
government that favored the wealthy
In 1990 a new president was elected for the first
time.

Political Unrest In Central

America
El Salvador
Wealthy land owners hired death squads to
eliminate their political opponents
1992 a peace agreement lead by the UN ended
the war

Guatemala
In 1960 a civil war erupted against the
militarily backed dictator
After the war the military was still a powerful
force in the government
In 1993 Ramiro de Leon Carpio was elected by
their congress and is a respected leader

Political Unrest In The Caribbean

Cuba
1959 Fidel Castro lead a successful military
revolution
He has Ruled ever since (I think he is a
hundred)

Haiti
1994 the people overthrew the military dictator
with the help of the U.S.
Haiti now has a democracy

The End