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第一节南美洲人文地理特征•一、区域特征•1、名称•南亚美利加洲，简称南美洲(SouthAmerica)。2、位置•位于西半球的南部，东濒大西洋，西临太平洋，北滨加勒比海，南隔德雷克海峡与南极洲相望。一般以巴拿马运河为界同北美洲相分。•3、范围•大陆东至布朗库角（西经34°46′，南纬7°09′），南至弗罗厄德角（西经71°18′，南纬53°54′），西至帕里尼亚斯角（西经81°20′，南纬4°41′），北至加伊纳斯角（西经71°40′，北纬12°28′）。•3、面积约1797万平方千米（包括附近岛屿），约占世界陆地总面积的12％。地理区域：从地理区域上划分为：南美北部诸国，包括圭亚那、苏里南、法属圭亚那、委内瑞拉和哥伦比亚。安第斯山地中段诸国，包括厄瓜多尔、秘鲁、玻利维亚。南美南部诸国，包括智利、阿根廷、乌拉圭、巴拉圭。南美东部国家巴西，面积约占大陆总面积的一半。•4、居民人口32500万，约占世界总人口的5.6％。人口分布不平衡，西北部和东部沿海一带人口稠密，广大的亚马孙平原是世界人口密度最小的地区之一，每平方千米不到一人。人口分布的另一特点是人口高度集中在少数大城市。•Thepopulationaccountsfor375million.By2030,itwouldreach484.Thegrowthrate(1,2%)isdecreasing.Onlyfournationsexceed30million(Brazil:174,Colombia:43,Argentina39).•Peopleconcentrateintowns:In2000,77.2%livedinurbanareas.SaoPaulo(17.9million),BuenosAires(12million),RiodeJaneiro(10.6million)arethemaintowns.•Outsidethecities,thepopulationdensityisverylow,withlargespacesuninhabited.•5、民族南美洲民族成分比较复杂，有印第安人、白人、黑人及各种不同的混血型，以印欧混血型最多。在近3亿人口中，白人最多，其次是印欧混血型和印第安人，黑人最少。•6、语言•印第安人用印第安语，巴西的官方语言为葡萄牙语，法属圭亚那官方语言为法语，圭亚那官方语言为英语，苏里南官方语言为荷兰语，其它国家均以西班牙语为官方语言。•7、宗教•居民绝大多数信天主教，少数信基督教。•二、社会不平等•1-RacialinequalitiesAccordingtothismarxistspeech,manypeopleinEuropebelievethatSouthAmericaisinhabitedbyalargemajorityofpoorindiansandblackdominatedbysomewhitelandlords.Infact,Indiansandblacksonlyformasmallminoritycomparedtothewhiteandmestizo.•Categories--------------Million----------%Europeansdescent(White)--195--------55%Mestizo--------------------125-----------35%Nativeindians-------------21-------------6%Blacks----------------------15--------------4%Total--------------------353--------100%•AllthesouthernconeofSouthAmerica(Argentina,Chile,Uruguay,SouthernBrazil)hasprimarilyEuropeanpopulations(95%).MostofthemestizolivenotablyinBrazilandColombia.Nativeindiansonlyrepresentamajorityintwocountries(BoliviaandPeru).BlacksarescatteredintheNorthofthecontinent(MainlyNorthBrazil:Abouttenmillion).IncountrieswithethnicdiversitysuchasBrazil,itisquitedifficulttodistinguishamestizofromawhite(Samehabitsanddressing,samereligion,samebehaviors).Acommonidentityreliesonreligionandlanguage.Itmeansthatthereisnogroundforraceinequalities.•Ontheotherhand,nativesindianskeepastrongidentity.Itiscurrentlysaidthattheyenduresomediscriminations.Thisfactcallsforabalancedjudgment.InFrenchGuyana(aFrenchdepartmentjustlikeNormandy)thereareyetsometribeslivingintherainforest.•Fortheirpreservation,itisabsolutelyforbiddentotravelinaregionaslargeasonethirdofthedepartment.Why?BecausethroughcontactwithEuropeans,theseindianscouldcatchsomevirusharmlessforusbutlethalforthemsincetheyhavenotdevelopedimmuneprotections.•Asyoucansee,theproblemismorecomplicatedthanthescholarssay.Forindians,toliveapartcanbeavitalissue.It’snotonlyamatterofdiscriminationandinequalities.Forexample,thefastdisappearingofindiansinBrazil(Only700,000onapopulationof174million)mainlyresultsofdiseasesduetotheircontactswiththeseringueros.•2-Socialinequalities•PovertyandinequalitiesareacommonmottoinanydescriptionoftheeconomyofSouthAmerica.Itiscommonlysaidthatathirdofitspopulationislivinginshantytownsandthatinequalitiesarethemostextremeintheworld.Theseassertscallforabalancedjudgment.•Firstly,invisitingfavallas(shantytowns)IobservedthatpeoplehaveoftenTVset,radioappliances,refrigeratorsandsoon.Moreover,peopleliveconstantlyoutsideandtheirhousingisadaptedtotheclimatecondition.•Secondly,alargepartoftheirpoorbudgetsisdevotedtodressing,sportsarticles,disksmusic'sandsoon.•Thirdly,thesepeopleareconstantlysmilingandsinging.TheyenjoyahighdegreeofconvivialitythatdoesnotexistanymoreinEurope.Theylookmorehappythanourmiddleclass.Inshort,Imeanthatyoucannotjudgepovertybycomparisonwithourconditions(climate,habits,tastes)inEurope.•Asfortheinequalities,theyusuallyrisewiththeeconomicdevelopment:Let'sussupposetwopersons:Aearning100andB1000:Theirdifferenceis900.Nowapplyagrowthrateof10%:Aearns110andB1100.Asaresultthedifferenceisnow990!Moreover,inequalitiesallowsavingsandinvestments.Soallthesespeechesaboutpovertyandinequalitiesmustberelativized.•3-LandinequalitiesThousandsscholarshavewrittentonsofsurveysandbooksaboutthistopicinEuropeandAmerica.Itiswellknownthattherearehugeinequalitiesinthedistributionofland.ForexampleinArgentina,2.5%ofthetotalranches(Estancias)covertwothirdsofthecultivableland.Marxistsrepeatatlargethesefiguresopposingthelandlordstothepoorpeasants.•Infact,withtheeconomicprogressthevalueofthelandsharplydiminishesandthedeclineoftheagriculturaleconomyisconstant:Today,only20%ofthepopulationisrural,and10%ofthenationalproductcomesfromagriculture.Itmeansthatmostoftheformerpoorfarmershavealreadymovedtogetjobsintowns.•Ofcourse,itisaprogresssinceit'sbettertogetagoodsalaryinindustryratherthantoexploitasmallagriculturalplotinthepampas!•However,anagrarian(有关土地的)issueonlyexistsintheAndeancountries.InthisregiontheweightoftheruralsectorisabovetheSouthAmericanaverage(Bolivia:44%,Ecuador:29%andPeru:33%).•Thissituationisconnectedtothepresenceofnativeindianswhocannotmovetowardsthetownsforthereasonsexposedabove.Infact,thesecountrieshavealreadyabolishedthelargeestatesanddistributed