US military intervention

This map shows the number of times the US military has invaded or occupied nations in Latin America and the Caribbean as well as the dates that correspond. The invasions can be understood from a space, time and category interpretation. There are 4 countries who have been invaded once, 3 countries invaded twice, 2 countries invaded 3 times, and 1 invaded 4.

The Mexican American War lasted from 1846 to 1848 directly after the Texan War for Independence. With America shortly winning the war it increased its territory by adding land from Texas to California. In 1914 and 1917 there were two other incidents involving Mexico and the US military but they did not lead to any more territory being added. The next country with a very important history is Cuba. The Spanish American war (1898-1902) served to remove Spain from their Caribbean colonies. With the US removing Spain from Cuba,  the island was dominated by an American military presence and allowed for american interests to take control. The next conflict occurred as a result of an election that the US thought would harm their interests. The US intervened and put in place a government that was very pro- american. The third incident was in 1961 and was a result of Castro forming a communist state and allying Cuba with the Soviet Union. American intervention failed to overthrow Castro and lost all of its business interests on the Island. Another island affected by the Spanish american war was puerto rico. After removing Spain from the island Puerto Rico stayed under American control until it became a territory of the US.

Haiti has been the nation with the most encounters with the US military. From 1915- 1934 marines occupied the country to increase stability. The 1994-1996 and 2004 interventions were focused on removing corrupt governments. In 2010 the military was sent again to provide aid after the disastrous earthquake. The Dominican Republic was invaded in 1916-1924 and in 1965 to protect american business interests in the country and provide stability to the government. Grenada was invaded from 1983-1985 at the end of the cold war. The purpose was to remove the communist government and replace it with a pro american one. The same is true for El Salvador, in 1981 the US military was called in to shut down a leftist movement in the country because of the growing fear of communism.

Honduras and Nicaragua were both exploited by US corporations to grow bananas in the early 1900s. When revolutions occurred in the countries the US was quick to send troops to protect the valuable economic interests. This is wear the term "banana republic" originates from. Panama was occupied from 1908 to 1918 largely to build the canal across the country for economic shipping reasons. The Panama government was a puppet for the US giving it control of the Canal. In 1989 the US invaded again to overthrow dictator Manuel Noriega who no longer supported the US.

HDI

This map shows the respective HDI for the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean. The HDI measures three things: life expectancy, educational attainment, and adjusted real income. The HDI is used to determine how conditions are improving over time in a given country. As a whole, Latin American and Caribbean countries are in the middle to moderately low social and economic development. The map is broken down into 4 colors representing an HDI range. The red is the lowest category with a range of .498-.702. Next is the yellow with .708-.752. Green follows a range of .759-.784. Blue is the highest with .789- .843.

The red consists of 8 countries: Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Guyana, Bolivia, Paraguay, and the worst of the region, Haiti. The yellow encompasses Belize, Jamaica, Dominican Republic, Dominica, Colombia, Peru, Ecuador, and Suriname. Green is comprised of Mexico, Cuba, Venezuela, Brazil, and French Guiana. The highest hdi's of the region are held by Costa Rica, Panama, The Bahamas, Barbados, Chile, Argentina, and Uruguay.

The Southern Cone has high life expectancy, high standard of living and low fertility rates along with significant participation in the global market and an emerging economy. Because of this it is clear why they have the highest HDI in the region. One can expect to see Venezuela decline in ranking given all of the problems the country is experiencing right now. The HDI is a great way to measure how the people are living, without getting stuck on only the industrial side of things. As a whole, the region has been improving within the last two decades and looks like it will continue to climb. The low point of the region is Haiti. Being a country that has been ravaged by natural disasters and can develop no industry, it has become heavily reliant on foreign aid and most of its population is uneducated and unemployed.

Precolonial Cities

This map shows the comparisons of present day Mexico City and Cusco to what they were like in precolonial times. In Mexico City, it can be seen that the precolonial and present day hearts of the city are in the same spot. In fact you can see the ruins of the temple of Tenochtitlan inside of the Zocalo. Cortes' map also reinforces this and shows that Tenochtitlan already had the same style of city planning that the Spanish brought with them. One major difference however is that Tenochtitlan was built on a lake that is now drained. In Cusco, the city was built to resemble a puma which was a sacred animal to the Inca. Today the puma outline can still be seen. Each region of the city is very symbolic to the design of the puma. The fortress is positioned at the jaws of the puma and they both represent protection from enemies. The Plaza de Armas of Cusco is positioned in the same location as the heart of the puma would be located. The tail of the puma is the is the two rivers emerging from the top and bottom of the puma.  Architecture from precolonial Cusco can also still be viewed today too. It is especially recognizable with the granite blocks put together without the use of mortar on the Sacsayhuaman.

Colonial Cities

This map shows several colonial cities such as Mexico City, Buenos Aires, Rio de Janeiro, Lima, and Santo Domingo. The layout in the core of the cities still reflects how they were set up by the Spanish during colonization. According to the Spanish city planning ordinances of 1573, the cities were set up with the heart of the city as a central rectangle or square called the plaza mayor. This became almost like a park, with benches, kiosks, and pathways through it. Facing the plaza were the most important buildings such as the palacio municipal and Catholic cathedral. The remaining perimeter would be composed of two or three-story buildings housing restaurants, cafes and offices. The elite would live in the upper stories surrounding the plaza mayor. From there, the streets were laid out in a grid pattern extending from the heart of the city. This same layout can still be observed today among all of these cities. In the heart of all the cities the church is highlighted in red, the government building in yellow, and commercial buildings in green. The ordinances also call for the plaza to be in the middle of the city if it is an inland city, but if it is a port city, the plaza is to be built by the water. The plazas of Mexico City and Lima are huge in comparison to the others because of the their colonial wealth. You can still see the horse track design in the plaza in Buenos Aires. 

Landscapes and Hazards

The Haiti earthquake was a catastrophic 7.0 magnitude earthquake that occurred on January 12, 2010. For the next 12 days at least 52 aftershocks measuring 4.5 or greater had been recorded. At least 3 million people were affected by the quake and the death toll ranges up to 160,000 people. Many notable landmarks were damaged during the quake. The Presidential Palace was crumbled, along with the main prison, where over 4000 prisoners escaped. The quake occurred in the northern boundary where the Caribbean tectonic plate moves eastward in relation to the North American plate. With Haiti being the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, the quake devastated the island and massive relief efforts were needed just to provide for the basic needs of the victims. Haiti is still recovering from this detrimental earthquake 9 years later.

Physical Landscapes Transect

This is the route someone would take traveling from Brasilia to Lima. Along the way, the traveler will encounter a variety of different landscapes, climates, elevation, and vegetation. Going west you will first encounter the Mato Grasso Plateau which made up of mostly savannah grasslands. Next, the elevation raises and the climate becomes more arid in the Altiplano, which is scattered with salt mines and lakes. Further west, the climate becomes more subtropical and humid that allow for tropical landscapes and dense foliage. Next you will encounter the Andes, where elevation rises drastically and the air becomes drier. The mountains dominate the region which create ups and downs making traveling the region very hard. On the other side of the Andes, temperatures become more humid which allows for more farming of crops. Lastly, the Peruvian coastline has a dry desert like climate.