The Americas, sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North America and South America.Webster's New World College Dictionary, 2010 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio."continent n. 5. a." (1989) Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd edition. Oxford University Press; "continent1 n." (2006) The Concise Oxford English Dictionary, 11th edition revised. (Ed.) Catherine Soanes and Angus Stevenson. Oxford University Press; "continent1 n." (2005) The New Oxford American Dictionary, 2nd edition. (Ed.) Erin McKean. Oxford University Press; "continent [2, n] 4 a" (1996) Webster's Third New International Dictionary, Unabridged. ProQuest Information and Learning; "continent" (2007) Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved January 14, 2007, from Encyclopædia Britannica Online. When viewed as a single continent, the Americas are the second largest continent by area after Asia and the third largest continent by population. The Americas make up most of the land in Earth's Western Hemisphere and constitute the "New World", in contrast to the "Old World" of Afro-Eurasia.
Along with their associated islands, the Americas cover 8% of Earth's total surface area and 28.4% of its land area. The topography is dominated by the American Cordillera, a long chain of mountains that runs the length of the west coast. The flatter eastern side of the Americas is dominated by large river basins, such as the Amazon, St. Lawrence River–Great Lakes, Mississippi, and La Plata basins. Since the Americas extend from north to south, the climate and ecology vary widely, from the arctic tundra of Northern Canada, Greenland, and Alaska, to the tropical rainforests in Central America and South America.
Humans first settled the Americas from Asia between 20,000 and 16,000 years ago. A second migration of Na-Dene speakers followed later from Asia. The subsequent migration of the Inuit into the neoarctic completed what is generally regarded as the settlement by the Indigenous peoples of the Americas. The Norse colonization of North America saw several settlements established in Greenland, and perhaps on the mainland, however, these were later abandoned. The Spanish voyages of Christopher Columbus from 1492 to 1504 resulted in permanent contact with European (and subsequently, other Old World) powers, which eventually led to the Columbian exchange and inaugurated a period of exploration, conquest, and colonization whose effects and consequences persist to the present.
The Spanish presence involved the enslavement of large numbers of the indigenous population of the Americas. Diseases introduced from Europe and West Africa devastated the indigenous peoples, and the European powers colonized the Americas. Mass emigration from Europe, including large numbers of indentured servants, and importation of African slaves largely replaced the indigenous peoples in much of the Americas. Decolonization of the Americas began with the American Revolution in the 1770s and largely ended with the Spanish–American War in the late 1890s. Currently, almost all of the population of the Americas resides in independent countries; however, the legacy of the colonization and settlement by Europeans is that the Americas share many common cultural traits, most notably Christianity and the use of West European languages: primarily Spanish, English, Portuguese, French, and, to a lesser extent, Dutch.
The Americas are home to more than a billion inhabitants, two-thirds of whom reside in the United States, Brazil, and Mexico. It is home to eight megacities (metropolitan areas with 10 million inhabitants or more): Greater Mexico City (21.2 million), São Paulo (21.2 million), New York City (19.7 million), Los Angeles (18.8 million), Buenos Aires (15.6 million), Rio de Janeiro (13.0 million), Bogotá (10.4 million), and Lima (10.1 million).
Etymology and naming
The name "America" was first recorded in 1507. A world map created by Martin Waldseemüller was the earliest recorded use of the term. The name was also used (together with the related term Amerigen) in the Cosmographiae Introductio, apparently written by Matthias Ringmann, in reference to South America. It was applied to both North and South America by Gerardus Mercator in 1538.
It is generally accepted that he derived the "America" nomenclature from the name of Amerigo Vespucci, an Italian explorer, who explored the two continents. However, Bristol antiquarian Alfred Hudd suggested in 1908 that the name was derived from the surname "Amerike" or "ap Meryk" and was used on early British maps that have since been lost. Richard ap Meryk, anglicised to Richard Amerike, was a wealthy Anglo-Welsh merchant, royal customs officer and sheriff of Bristol. According to some writers, he was the principal owner of the Matthew, the ship sailed by John Cabot during his voyage of exploration to North America in 1497. The idea that Richard Amerike was a 'principal supporter' of Cabot has gained popular currency in the 21st century. There is no evidence to support this. Similarly, and contrary to a recent tradition that names Amerike as principal owner and main funder of the Matthew, Cabot's ship of 1497, academic enquiry does not connect Amerike with the ship. Her ownership at that date remains uncertain. Macdonald asserts that the caravel was specifically built for the Atlantic crossing.
The feminine form America was originally used to refer to the newly discovered continent, which is why it was accorded with the feminine names of the other continents: Asia, Africa, and Europa.Toby Lester, "Putting America on the Map", Smithsonian, 40:9 (December 2009)
Since the 1950s, however, North America and South America have generally been considered by English speakers as separate continents, and taken together are called the Americas, or more rarely America.See for example: america – Definition from the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary . Retrieved on January 27, 2008; "dictionary.reference.com america ". Dictionary.com. The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Houghton Mifflin Company, 2004. Accessed: January 27, 2008.Marjorie Fee and Janice MacAlpine, Oxford Guide to Canadian English Usage (2008) page 36 says "In Canada, American is used almost exclusively in reference to the United States and its citizens." Others, including The New Zealand Oxford Dictionary, The Canadian Oxford Dictionary, The Australian Oxford Dictionary and The Concise Oxford English Dictionary all specify both the Americas and the United States in their definition of "American"."America." The Oxford Companion to the English Language (). McArthur, Tom, ed., 1992. New York: Oxford University Press, p. 33: "[16c: from the feminine of Americus, the Latinized first name of the explorer Amerigo Vespucci (1454–1512). The name America first appeared on a map in 1507 by the German cartographer Martin Waldseemüller, referring to the area now called Brazil]. Since the 16c, a name of the western hemisphere, often in the plural Americas and more or less synonymous with the New World. Since the 18c, a name of the United States of America. The second sense is now primary in English: ... However, the term is open to uncertainties: ..." When conceived as a unitary continent, the form is generally the continent of America in the singular. However, without a clarifying context, singular America in English commonly refers to the United States of America.
Terminology
History
The region was initially termed America or New India on the Mercator maps.
English
Speakers of English generally refer to the landmasses of North America and South America as the Americas, the Western Hemisphere, or the New World.Burchfield, R. W. 2004. Fowler's Modern English Usage. () Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press; p. 48. The adjective American may be used to indicate something pertaining to the Americas, but this term is primarily used in English to indicate something pertaining to the United States. Some non-ambiguous alternatives exist, such as the adjective Pan-American, or New Worlder as a demonym for a resident of the closely related New World. Use of America in the hemispherical sense is sometimes retained, or can occur when translated from other languages.Reader's Digest Oxford Complete Wordfinder. 1993. () New York, US: Reader's Digest Association; p. 45. For example, the Association of National Olympic Committees (ANOC) in Paris maintains a single continental association for "America", represented by one of the five Olympic rings.The Olympic symbols. International Olympic Committee. 2002. Lausanne: Olympic Museum and Studies Centre. The five rings of the Olympic flag represent the five inhabited, participating continents: (Africa, America, Asia, Europe, and Oceania ).
American essayist H. L. Mencken said, "The Latin-Americans use Norteamericano in formal writing, but, save in Panama, prefer nicknames in colloquial speech." quote at p 243. To avoid "American" one can use constructed terms in their languages derived from "United States" or even "North America"."America." Oxford Guide to Canadian English Usage. () Fee, Margery and McAlpine, J., ed., 1997. Toronto: Oxford University Press; p. 36."American." The Oxford Companion to the English Language (); McArthur, Tom, ed., 1992. New York: Oxford University Press, p. 35. In Canada, its southern neighbor is often referred to as "the United States", "the U.S.A.", or (informally) "the States", while U.S. citizens are generally referred to as "Americans". Most Canadians resent being referred to as "Americans".
Spanish In Spanish, América is a single continent composed of the subcontinents of América del Sur and América del Norte, the land bridge of América Central, and the islands of the Antillas. Americano or americana in Spanish refers to a person from América in a similar way that in which europeo or europea refers to a person from Europa. The terms sudamericano/a, centroamericano/a, antillano/a and norteamericano/a can be used to more specifically refer to the location where a person may live.
Citizens of the United States of America are normally referred to by the terms estadounidense and estadunidense(rough literal translation: "United Statesian") instead of americano or americana which is discouraged, and the country's name itself is officially translated as Estados Unidos de América (United States of America), commonly abbreviated as Estados Unidos (EE. UU.). "debe evitarse el empleo de americano para referirse exclusivamente a los habitantes de los Estados Unidos" ("the use of the term americano referring exclusively to the United States inhabitants must be avoided") Also, the term norteamericano (North American) may refer to a citizen of the United States, though in formal writing it is less common since it is used for the inhabitants of North America.
Portuguese In Portuguese, América is a single continent composed of América do Sul (South America), América Central (Central America) and América do Norte (North America). It can be ambiguous, as América can be used to refer to the United States of America, but is avoided in print and formal environments. The demonym 'American' (americano) is commonly used in Portuguese to refer to people from the United States, although the terms 'norte-americano', 'estadounidense' or 'estadunidense' also formally exist and are preferred by those who wish to distinguish it from the continental demonym.
French