Sunday, January 9, 2011

Latin America

Demographics
     Latin America has a very diverse population with many ethnic groups and different ancestries. Since the 16th century a large number of Iberian colonists left for Latin America: the Portuguese to Brazil and the Spaniards to the rest of the region. An intensive race mixing between the Europeans and the Amerindians occurred and their descendants (known as mestizos) make up the majority of the population in several Latin American countries, such as Mexico, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, El Salvador, & Honduras. Starting in the late 16th century, a large number of African slaves were brought to Latin America, the majority of whom were sent to the Caribbean and Brazil. Nowadays, Blacks make up the majority of the population in most Caribbean countries. Many of the African slaves in Latin America mixed with the Europeans and their descendants (known as Mulattoes) make up the majority of the population in some countries, such as the Dominican Republic, and large percentages in Brazil, Colombia, etc. Mixes between the Blacks and Amerindians also occurred, and their descendants are known as Zambos. Many Latin American countries also have a substantial tri-racial population, which ancestry is a mix of Amerindians, Whites and Blacks.This racial diversity has profoundly influenced religion, music, and politics. This opaque cultural heritage is (arguably improperly) called Latin or Latino in United States' English. ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latin_American_culture#Demographics )
     In my opinion, I could see this racial interaction as a problem. Some races might think they are more superior than others, have different like and wants for the government, different culture, and different religious beliefs. They all come from different countries, and if the countries their ancestors are from are in dispute, then possible the countries in Latin America could eventually be in despite.

3 comments:

  1. TJ, Please put this in your own words. Remember this is an opinionated essay. Don't just give me information, tell me what you think.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latin_American_culture

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  2. I like how informative and descriptive this is about Latin America! I never knew about most of this information.

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  3. Thanks Mr. Peck. I just editted it, so it is different now. Thanks for telling me. If not I might have had a bad grade.

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