Agenda

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Agenda November 27, 2007

• Time Activity
• 330 Announcements
• Mid-terms
• Final Exam
• 340 Lecture
• Central America, Pt. II Costa Rica
• 445 Break
• 520 Lecture Caribbean Part I Haiti
  Dominican Republic

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Costa Rica(Translated as "Rich Coast")

• República de Costa Rica
• Republic of Costa Rica

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Republic of Costa Rica
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Costa Rica
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Costa Rica
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Geography

• Costa Rica is located on the Central American
  isthmus
• 10 North of the equator
• Borders
• Caribbean Sea (to the east)
• North Pacific Ocean (to the west)
• Nicaragua to the north (309 km of border)
• Panama to the south-southeast (639 km of border).
  
• Costa Rica was the first country in the world to
  constitutionally abolish its army.

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GEOGRAPHY

• The highest point in the country is Cerro
  Chirripó, at 3,820 metres
• The fifth highest peak in Central America.

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Geography

• The highest volcano in the country is the Irazú
  Volcano (3,431 m).
• The largest lake in Costa Rica is Lake Arenal.
• Costa Rica also comprises several islands.

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Conservation Areas

• Costa Rica protects 23 of its national territory
  within the Protected Areas system.
• It also possesses the greatest density of species
  in the world

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History

• In Pre-Columbian times the Indigenous people
  were part of the Intermediate Area located
  between the Mesoamerican and Andean cultural
  regions
• Where the Mesoamerican and South American native
  cultures met.
• The indigenous people have influenced modern
  Costa Rican culture to a relatively small degree,
  as most of the Indians died from diseases such as
  smallpox and mistreatment by the Spaniards.

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History

• During Spanish Colonial times, the principal city
  in Central America was Guatemala City.
• Costa Rica's distance from this hub led to
  difficulty in establishing trade routes and was
  one of the reasons that Costa Ricans developed in
  relative isolation and with little oversight from
  the Spanish Monarchy
• This isolation also contributed to its failure to
  share in the prosperity of the Colonies
• Making Costa Rica the poorest Spanish Colony in
  Central America.

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History

• Another contributing factor to this poverty was
  lack of indigenous peoples to use for forced
  labour.
• Many Spaniards in the other colonies had Indians
  to work their land
• Costa Rica was
• unappreciated and overlooked by the Crown
• left to develop on its own.
• Set the stage for Costa Rica's development as a
  more egalitarian society than the rest of its
  neighbours
• Costa Rica became a "rural democracy" with no
  oppressed mestizo or Indian class.
• In the hills of Costa Rica, Spanish settlers
  found rich volcanic soil and a climate that was
  more milder than in the lowlands

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History

• Joined other Central American provinces in 1821
  in a joint declaration of independence from
  Spain.
• Became a state in the Federal Republic of Central
  America from 1823 to 1838.
• In 1824 the capital was moved to San José
• 1838, Costa Rica formally proclaimed itself
  sovereign
• All of the Central American nations celebrate
  Sept.15th as their independence day - the
  independence of Central America from Spain.

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United Fruit Company - construction of railway

• The construction of the railways, 19th century,
  was funded by in exchange for land.
• Built by
• slaves, African descendents from Jamaica
• American convicts
• Chinese immigrants
• Connected the urban populations of the Central
  Plateau to the port of Limón on the Caribbean
  coast
• Led to a major economic shift in the nation
• Fruit would come to rival the coffee trade as a
  major Costa Rican export.

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Politics

• a democratic republic with a strong constitution
• 59 years of uninterrupted democracy
• the longest democracy in Latin America
• one of the most stable countries in the region
• avoided the violence that has plagued Central
  America.

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Economy

• Costa Rica's GDP per capita is US12,500
• However, has the second highest inflation rate in
  Latin America
• Lack of maintenance and new investment in
  infrastructure
• 18 - people below the poverty line
• Over 6.6 unemployed
• The economy grew nearly 5 in 2006 after
  experiencing 4 years of slow economic growth
• The economy has been expanding in part because
  the Government had implemented a seven-year plan
  of expansion in the high tech industry
• The central government offers tax exemptions for
  those who are willing to invest in the country

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Economy

• In recent times electronics, pharmaceuticals,
  financial outsourcing, software development, and
  ecotourism have become the prime industries in
  Costa Rica's economy.
• High levels of education among its residents make
  the country an attractive investing location.
• Several global high tech corporations have
  already started developing in the area exporting
  goods including
• chip manufacturer Intel
• pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline
• consumer products company Procter Gamble
• Trade with South East Asia and Russia has boomed
  during 2004 and 2005

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Economy

• Expected to obtain full Asia-Pacific Economic
  Cooperation Forum (APEC) membership by 2007
• became an observer in 2004)
• Costa Rica's location provides easy access to
• American markets
• direct ocean access to Europe and Asia.
• A country wide referendum has approved a free
  trade agreement with the United States.

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Tourism

• With a 1.7-billion-a-year tourism industry,
  Costa Rica stands as the most visited nation in
  the region.
• Eco-tourism is extremely popular with many
  tourists visiting the many protected areas around
  the country.

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Flora and fauna

• home to a rich variety of plants and animals
• While the country has only about 0.1 of the
  world's landmass, it contains 5 of the world's
  biodiversity.
• Over 25 of Costa Rica is composed of protected
  forests and reserves.

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Sex tourism

• Sex tourism
• travel to engage in sexual intercourse or sexual
  activity with prostitutes
• Typically by tourists from wealthier countries
• Has become a popular form of tourism
• Gaining popularity in Costa Rica where it already
  amounts for 10 of the billion dollar tourism
  industry.

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Sex tourism

• The United Nations opposes sex tourism
• Citing health, social and cultural consequences
  for both tourist home countries and destination
  countries
• Especially in situations exploiting gender, age,
  social and economic inequalities

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Sex tourism

• Costa Rica has been hailed as a national
  destination for sex tourists, this is largely
  because of legal prostitution.
• The government has made efforts to attack mainly
  child prostitution.
• A large child prostitution organization was
  dismantled by authorities in 2005, sending the
  female leader of the groups to 8 years in jail.
• Critics said the sentence was not strong enough
  and that the government efforts have been
  insufficient.

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Demographics

• Costa Rican population is estimated to be 80
  white, primarily of Spanish ancestry.
• In contrast to its neighboring countries'
  populations, less mixing of the Spanish settlers
  and the indigenous populations occurred.
• Therefore, a vast majority of Costa Ricans are
  either of Spanish or to a lesser extent of mixed
  mestizo heritage.
• Together, European descendants and Mestizos make
  up the majority of the population of Costa Rica
  comprising approximately 94 of the population.
• Mestizos - mixed Spanish and Amerindian ancestry.

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Demographics

• There are significant numbers of Costa Ricans of
  Italian, German, Jewish, and Polish descent.
• Just under 3 of the population is of black
  African descent.
• The majority of the afro Costa Ricans are Creole
  English-speaking descendants of nineteenth
  century black Jamaican immigrant workers.
• 1 is composed of ethnic Chinese, 1 of
  Amerindian peoples, and another 1 identified as
  "other."

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Demographics

• There is also an expatriate community of people
  of all ages from the United States, Canada,
  Germany, Netherlands, Britain, and other
  countries.
• Costa Rica hosts many refugees, mainly from
  Colombia and Nicaragua.
• As a result, an estimated 10 to 15 of the Costa
  Rican population is made up of Nicaraguans, most
  of whom migrate for seasonal work opportunities
  and then return to their country.

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Demographics

• There is also a growing number of Peruvian
  refugees.
• Moreover, Costa Rica took in lots of refugees
  from a range of other Latin American countries
  fleeing civil wars and dictatorships during the
  1970s and 80s - notably from Chile and Argentina.