MAP #1 -

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Title: Latin American before 1492
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ANNOTATION:
Latin America is a region that spans across many latitudes from modern-day
Mexico, in the north, Central America and the Caribbean Islands near the
equator and down to Tierra Del Fuego at the southern most tip of South
America.

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Mini-Lesson:
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For over 9,000 years the Americas was isolated

from the rest of the world. The natives
through-out the territory had long since began
their own unique systems of trade, agriculture,
villages and large, powerful civilizations. The
three most predominant civilizations were the
Mayan, Aztec and Inca kingdoms.

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Map Data:
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1st- This map and your key will need to

include the physical features (listed below)
found in Latin America.
-Andes Mountains
-Amazon Rainforest/River Basin
-Amazon River
-Llanos
-Pampas
-Yucatan Peninsula
-Gulf of Mexico
-Caribbean Sea
-Atacama Desert
-Sierra Madre Occidental
-Sierra Madre Oriental

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Found on Page 191 in the Blue Textbook
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2nd- Identify the territories of each of the

aforementioned Pre-Columbian civilizations
on your annotated map and research the
time frame the civilization existed. Overlay
the territories on top of the
physical features.

MAP #2 -

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Title: Latin America AFTER 1492:
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ANNOTATION:
The history of Latin America after 1492 is a
story of conflict between the many native
peoples of Latin America and the European
colonizers, including the Spanish, French,
and Portuguese.

Mini Lesson:
The territory of Latin America was
originally occupied by many different native
peoples. These richly, complex people groups
was torn apart by the Spanish Conquest and
other European explorers. Now the history
and present-day cultures of Latin America is
a blending of Native, Spanish and African
(due to forced labor at the hands of
Europeans) worlds resulting in great,
unique economic and social developments.

The 19th century was a time of revolution

for many of the residents of Latin America
and one by one, new countries, centered
around a common desire for independence
from their European rulers, became
sovereign states (countries) forming the
the Latin American countries we have
today. Great achievements have been made
by many of the countries, such as the
Mexican and Chilean economic
powerhouses, the rich Ranch and Farming
lands of Argentina and Brazil and the
vibrant tourism industry of the Caribbean
and Central America.

Map Data:
1st- You will create a political map by using the map on page 193 FIRST to
sketch out the boundaries of the present-day countries of Latin America.

2nd- You will then use the map on page 192 to overlay, in color (create a
corresponding KEY), the territory European colonizers claimed throughout the
regions.

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