People and Beliefs of South America. Complete map of people and beliefs of continent of South America

People and Beliefs of South America. Complete map of people and beliefs of continent of South America

People and Beliefs

South America contains between five and six percent of the world's populat' Large parts of the continent are nearly empty of people. They include the Amazon Basin, the Atacama Desert, and Patagonia. One densely populated region includes southeastern Brazil and northeastern Argentina. It contains the continent's largest cities: Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro in Brazil and Buenos Aires in Argentina. Parts of the high plateaus in the Andes Mountains and also central Chile are thickly populated.

Rainforest peoples

traditionally believe in a world of spirits that live in people, animals, and plants. Boys, and sometimes girls, may undergo initiation rites to mark their adulthood.

Population and Area

Brazil, one of the world's largest countries, is larger than the entire continent of Australia. Brazil and Argentina are the two giants of South America. They make up more than three-fifths of the area of the continent and contain about three-fifths of its population. Suriname is the smallest independent country, though French Guiana is even smaller.

South Americans and religions

The first South Americans were descended from people who migrated from the north through Central America. As they moved south, they formed many groups, each with its own language and customs.

European settlers, who began to arrive in the early 16th century, forced the Native Americans to work for them. They also imported black slaves from Africa. Millions died of harsh treatment and illnesses, such as influenza and measles, which the settlers brought with ihem. Only Bolivia. Peru and Ecuador still have large groups of Native Americans. Many other South Americans are mestizos, of mixed Native American and European descent.

As well as diseases, the European settlers brought with them the Christian religion. Missionaries forced the people to abandon their traditional gods and beliefs. Today most South Americans (over 90%) are Roman Catholics but an increasing number belong to Protestant churches.

Languages

Most of the people of South America speak Spanish or-in Brazil-Portuguese. English is spoken in Guyana, Dutch in Suriname. French in French Guiana. Quechua, Aymara and Guarani are Native American languages that have survived in Peru. Bolivia, and Paraguay. Other traditional languages are also spoken by small groups of Native Americans. The survival of some of the peoples shown on the map is threatened.