Notes, summaries, assignments, exams, and exercises for Geography for Baccalaureate

Factors Affecting Population Distribution

Imperialism

Causes

Economics

• Search for Raw Materials: Industries were depleting their sources. To further increase production, they needed to find new sources of raw materials and cheap, abundant energy. Colonies were assigned the role of supplying metropolitan industries with:

  • Coal, oil, etc.
  • Raw materials for industries
  • Various industrial products such as tea, sugar, cocoa, etc.

• Search for New Markets: Colonies served as markets for industrial products, primarily catering to the population of the metropolis.

• Labor: The use of unskilled, cheap, and docile (often slave) labor reduced the cost of raw material extraction and contributed to the success of plantation agriculture.

Politics

• Prestige: States adopted policies of prestige to win over the masses.

Dry Regions of Spain

The dry regions of Spain cover the largest territory of the Iberian Peninsula. This area occupies the two sub-plateaus and the basins of the Guadalquivir and Ebro rivers, in addition to Extremadura, Valencia, southern Catalonia, and the Balearic Islands. In these areas, rainfall ranges between 400 and 800 mm annually. However, other areas are classified as semi-arid, where rainfall is between 200 and 400 mm.

Rainfall Patterns

Semi-arid areas include Almeria, Murcia, parts of the Ebro and Duero depressions, Granada, and Alicante, as well as part of the Canary Islands.

Causes of Aridity

In the Canary Islands, the shortage of rainfall is due to their latitude and the influence of the Azores High. In the south of the peninsula,...

**Geoeconomic Regions and Domestic Trade in 19th Century Venezuela**

**Geoeconomic Regions**

Areas were located around major ports, which became the core driving forces of these regions. They were linked to the global capitalist market, exercising the role of tropical exporter and importer of goods. These activities were controlled by foreign commercial houses, which financed the crop, granted loans, and paid taxes to the State Customs.

**Division of Areas**

**Western Region**

Formed by the current states of Zulia, Mérida, Táchira, and Trujillo. Coffee was produced in the Andes, and cattle and cocoa in the depression of Lake Maracaibo. The products were transferred to the port of Maracaibo and then to overseas markets.

**Central-Western Region*

Cultural Change 13.3: Shifting Mindsets

Education and the Press

From the late 19th to early 20th centuries, Spain experienced significant economic, social, political, demographic, and cultural advancements. Between 1874 and 1914, Spain's per capita income grew by 60%, with notable industrial and railway expansion.

Politically, the recognition of universal suffrage expanded voting rights, consolidating individual freedoms. Socially, the rise of the middle class and urban growth were evident. Madrid's population surpassed 500,000, and Bilbao's grew from 30,000 to 85,000. Citizens increasingly mobilized through labor unions, employers' associations, feminist groups, farmers' leagues, chambers of retailers, sports clubs, and cultural organizations....

Domestic and Foreign Trade

1.1 Characteristics and Transformations

Internal trade, involving over three million people, has undergone profound changes in supply and demand, often described as a "commercial revolution."

a) Changes in Demand

Increased purchasing power due to higher family incomes, diversification of clientele, dispersion of consumers, and declining purchase frequency, driven by the pace of modern life, have all impacted demand.

b) Changes in Commerce

The increasing diversification of products to reach more consumers, the spread of new distribution methods, and the utilization of new technologies that improve commercial equipment and facilitate payment have transformed commerce.

1.2 Types of Domestic Trade

1.2.1 Wholesale Trade

Wholesalers...

Rural or Agricultural Area: Undeveloped land traditionally used for farming, livestock, and forestry.

EAGGF (European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund): Supports the link between multifunctional agriculture and land, increases agricultural competitiveness in rural areas, encourages diversification of rural activities, helps maintain rural populations, and preserves the environment, landscape, and heritage.

Extensive Husbandry: Relies on the natural environment, with livestock grazing on natural grasslands in wetter regions (northern Spain and mountainous areas) or pastures in drier regions. Associated with native breeds and traditional methods. While still important in certain areas, it is increasingly mixed with intensive farming.

Intensive

The 1920s: International Landscape

The early postwar years were characterized by:

• A lack of international cooperation.
• Protectionist policies.

The Dawes Plan, implemented in 1924, aimed to improve the European economy, specifically by normalizing the German economy through:

• Stabilizing the German currency.
• Regulating the payment of war reparations.
• Having Americans help revive the German economy.

Germany created a new currency.

U.S. Economic Growth: Features

• Increased production and lower prices.
• Promotion of new industrial sectors.

The Situation in Europe

• France: Industrial growth.
• United Kingdom: Economic stagnation.
• Germany: Crisis until 1925, followed by subsequent recovery.

The Crisis of 1929

Causes

• Crisis in the industrial and construction sectors.
• Increased

Growth of Peripheral Neighborhoods

New neighborhoods emerging on the outskirts of cities often lack essential infrastructure like sanitation, electricity, and water. These rapidly developing areas, sometimes illegally established, are known as barrios de autoconstrucción. Neighborhood associations formed to demand improvements, gradually transforming these settlements into towns and, eventually, contributing to the expansion of metropolitan areas.

The Rise of the Automobile

The rapid urban growth necessitated faster transportation, leading to the car's prominence. This unplanned expansion continued until the end of the 1970s.

The Post-Industrial City

Post-industrial Spain is marked by the dominance of Madrid and Barcelona, two extensive metropolitan...

Diverse Settlement and Ethnic-Cultural Landscape

In a very short time, our continent received a lot of migration, which left a special imprint on the native people. In the U.S., the first British colonizers were joined (17th and 18th centuries) by nearly 1 million African slaves. In the 19th century, many European immigrants arrived, adding well over 400 million people, not only from Europe but also from Asia. In Canada, the population growth was slower, reaching only 600 thousand inhabitants, while the U.S. had 4.5 million. This was mainly due to the installation of the railway, which favored the central plains, doubling the population. In general, poor immigrants were arriving in these two countries in search of jobs and economic progress,...