Chapter 9, Section 2

1. In Central America, the majority of the population practices Roman Catholicism.

2. The major ethnic groups that make up this region include those of the indigenous people, Europeans, mestizos, blacks, asians, and mixes between those.

Creative Writing: During his travel to Panama, Vasco de Balboa found that there was but a small peice of land that stood between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. This later became important because in 1914 the United States had completed the Panama Canal. This path became a very important trade route to ships making trips that would otherwise make them go around either side of the Americas, which was both dangerous and expensive.