Canada. Latin America.

Map   Questions.

1. Locate Canada, Cuba, Mexico, Brazil, Argentina and Chile
   on the map. Which two of these countries are the largest?
2. Which oceans is each of these countries washed by?

Canada. With an area of almost 10,000,000 square kilometres, Canada is larger than the USA, but it has only one-tenth as many in­habitants (about 19,000,000). The greater part of the Canadians live in the south, near the United States border. The large industrial cities are situated in the neighbourhood of the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence River. In the prairie provinces wheat is grown. The rest of Canada, by far the largest part, is either taiga or tundra and very thinly populated.
Canada is a highly developed capitalist country. Its exports include timber, paper, wheat, nickel, aluminium and other metals.
Canada is considered a British dominion, but the influence of the United States is strongly felt in the country. Its capital is Ottawa.
Latin America. Unlike the United States and Canada, Latin Ame­rica's population consists mainly of Indians and half-breeds. There are also many Negroes and mulattoes. Only some 30 per cent of the people are of European descent. These live in the south-east mainly, in the La Plata Lowlands and Brazilian Highlands.
Most of the Latin American countries are United States depend­encies. Oil, metals, ores and agricultural products are pumped

out of them at very low prices, mainly to the United States. Manufactured articles, on the other hand, are sold them at very high prices. The power in the countries of Latin America rests in the hands of the local landowners and capi­talists who, encouraged by the United States, exploit the work­ing people cruelly. A stubborn struggle is being waged by the broad masses for the independence of their countries.
Especially powerful was the national liberation movement in the Republic of Cuba. This country with its 7,000,000 inhabitants has now entered the path of socialist construction. The lands of the big landlords have been turned over to the peasants. Agricultural co-opera­tive societies and state farms are being set up in the countryside. The banks and industrial enter-
1. - Coffee plants in blossom.

2.— A    coffee     picker.

3.— Coffee drying. After
the removal of the pulps
the green beans are dried
in the  sun  on   cement
barbecues. To ensure even
drying they are constantly

shovelled.

prises formerly belonging to foreign and local capitalists have been declared state property. Thus an end has been put to the domination Jb capitalists in the economy of the country. The Soviet Union Jba a helping hand in prospecting and working metals
building plants and electric power-stations. She furnishes Cuba with various goods and food-stuffs in exchange for Cuban sugar. Sugar-cane is Cuba's chief crop, and in its export she ranks first among the countries of the world. The capital of Cuba is Ha va n a which, together with its suburbs, has a population of 1,200,000.
There are over 20 states in Latin America all told.
South of the United States lies Mexico with a population of over 40,000,000. This country is rich in oil, silver and other metals. Itscapital is Mexico City which, together with its suburbs, has a population of 4,600,000.
Of all the countries of Latin America Brazil is the largest, both in size (8,500,000 square kilometres) and in population (over 75,000,000). Enormous areas of the country are very thinly popula­ted, however, including the equatorial forests of the Amazon Low­lands and the campos of the Brazilian Highlands. The majority of the people of Brazil live in the south-east, near the Atlantic ocean, where coffee is grown. Coffee is by far the most important crop of Brazil. The capital was transferred in 1960 from Rio de Janeiro on the At­lantic coast to Brazilia in the heart of the country, which was specially built for this purpose.

In the non-tropical southern part of the continent lies Argen­tina (over 21,000,000 inhabitants). The majority of the people are of European descent and live mainly in the pampas, where much wheat, corn, meat and wool are produced. The capital is Buenos Aires on the banks of the La Plata River, the largest city not only of South America, but of the Southern Hemisphere (5,000,000 inhabitants together with its suburbs).
Next to Argentina lies Chile (8,000,000 inhabitants). This is a long, narrow strip of land on the Pacific coast. Chile is rich in copper and saltpetre. Its capital is Santiago (over 1,500,000 inhabitants).
Questions and Assignments.

• Show the difference between the ethnic structures of Canada
  and the countries of Latin America.
• Mark on the outline maps Canada and those countries of La­
  tin America given in the textbook. Mark their capitals. What are
  the advantages of Buenos Aires's location?
• Show the countries Brazil borders on.
• Use the map of the Atlas  to. name the countries of Latin
  America especially rich in oil. Which are rich in tin, copper and
  bauxites? What important fuel is scarce in Latin America?