拉丁美洲(Latin America)

南美洲和北美洲（包括中美洲和加勒比海诸岛）美国以南的国家，拉丁美洲一词常限指居民操西班牙语或葡萄牙语的国家。拉丁美洲的殖民时代开始於发现新大陆之旅的15～16世纪，当时的探险家有哥伦布和韦斯普奇。包括科尔特斯和皮萨罗在内以及後来的征服者们，将西班牙的统治带到拉丁美洲的大部分地区。1532年第一个葡萄牙聚落建於巴西。天主教堂广建於拉丁美洲，至今天主教仍是拉丁美洲大多数国家的主要宗教信仰。西班牙和葡萄牙移民的人数日增，并奴役原居於此的印第安人，在印第安人因虐待或疾病而造成人口剧减後，又输入非洲奴隶以取代印第安人。由圣马丁、玻利瓦尔和其他人领导的一连串独立运动，在19世纪初传遍拉丁美洲。本区各地宣告成立联邦共和国，但许多新国家因陷入政治混乱中而被独裁者取代，这类情况一直持续至20世纪。1990年代民主统治的倾向再次出现，在社会主义统治的国家中有许多国营企业民营化，而地区经济的整合也加速了。

English version：

Latin America

Countries of South America and North America (including Central America and the islands of the Caribbean Sea) south of the U.S.; the term is often restricted to countries where either Spanish or Portuguese is spoken. The colonial era in Latin America began in the 15th-16th century with voyages of discovery to the New World by explorers, including Christopher Columbus and Americo Vespucci. The conquistadors, including Hernan Cortes and Francisco Pizarro, who followed, brought Spanish rule to much of the region. In 1532 the first Portuguese settlement was made in Brazil. The Roman Catholic Church soon established many missions in Latin America; Roman Catholicism is still the chief religion in most Latin American countries. Spanish and Portuguese colonists arrived in increasing numbers; they enslaved the native Indian population, which was soon decimated by ill treatment and disease, and then imported African slaves to replace them. A series of movements for independence, led by Jose de San Martin, Simon Bolivar, and others, swept Latin America in the early 19th century. Federal republics were promulgated across the region, but many of the new countries collapsed into political chaos and were taken over by dictators, a situation that persisted into the 20th century. In the 1990s a trend toward democratic rule reemerged; in socialist-run countries many state-owned industries were privatized, and efforts toward regional economic integration were accelerated.

参考文章

• 拉丁美洲名称的由来中国地理
• 南北美洲和拉丁美洲是怎样划分的？地理知识
• 拉丁美洲有哪些著名的金字塔？地理知识