We explain what America is and its physical and cultural characteristics. We also explain its economy, religion and the history of this continent.
The American continent is the second largest on the planet.
What is America?
America is one of the six continents of the Earth and the second largest after Asia. It occupies a large portion of the western hemisphere of planet Earth and extends from northern Greenland to the southern tip of Argentina and Chile. It has a total area of 42.5 million square kilometers, which represents 28.3% of the planet’s total land surface.
Why is it called that? The name “America” comes from the name of Américo Vespucio, a Florentine navigator. who would have been the first to suggest that the entire land mass was an entirely new continent and not an undiscovered portion of Asia, as the Spanish, Portuguese and English who explored it thought.
Vespucci wrote several reports about his voyages, and these writings were widely disseminated and read by other explorers and cartographers of the time. In 1507, a German cartographer named Martin Waldseemüller included a new continent on his world map and named it “America” in honor of Amerigo Vespucci.
Before being named “America”, this continent was called “Castilian Kingdoms” or “West Indies”.
Features of America
- It is the second largest continent, after Asia.
- The first populations date back to the Pre-Columbian period with native peoples and civilizations, such as the Aztecs, Incas and Mayans.
- Due to its extensive latitude and large surface area, it has a wide variety of environments and climates.
- There are cold climates in the extreme north and south, temperate climates in the mid-latitude areas, and warm climates near the equator and the tropics.
- The most spoken languages are English (Anglo-Saxon America) and Spanish (Latin America). Portuguese and French are also spoken.
Area, population and countries of America
With more than 330 million inhabitants, the United States is the most populous country in America.
The American continent has an area of 43,316,000 km2, and extends from the frozen deserts of Alaska and Greenland to southern Patagonia, which represents 8.4% of the total planetary surface and 28.3% of the absolute continental surface. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the west by the Pacific Ocean and to the south by Antarctica.
It is divided, according to its structural and geological characteristics, into two large triangular continental masses joined by a narrow and elongated portion of land. The northern sector is called North America, the southern sector is called South America, and the isthmus that unites them is called Central America.
America is made up of 35 independent countries and for more than 20 dependent territories of other countries. Most of these dependent territories belong politically to France, England, the Netherlands and the United States.
The largest countries in the American continent are Canada, with 9.9 million square kilometers, the United States with 9.4 million and Brazil with 8.5 million. As for dependent territories, the largest is Greenland, administered by Denmark, with 2.1 million square kilometers.
The total population of the continent amounts to just over 1 billion inhabitants, which represents 13% of the total world population. The most populated countries are the United States with 331 million inhabitants, Brazil with 203 million and Mexico with 127 million. As for the dependent territories, the most populated is Puerto Rico, dependent on the United States, with 3,300,000 inhabitants.
History of America
The history of the continent is vast and complex, but can be divided into the following periods:
1. The pre-Columbian period
The pre-Columbian period is the time before the arrival of the Europeans in the 15th century. During this period, indigenous American cultures developed in different regions of the continent: the Aztecs and Mayans in North and Central America, the Incas in the Andes, and a large number of nomadic peoples spread across the continent.
These cultures were characterized by having their own religions, languages, customs, economy, technologies and political organization.
2. The colonial period
The colonial period began with the arrival of Europeans in the 15th century and lasted until the beginning of the 19th century. During this time, European powers colonized America and imposed different political systems, religions, and languages across the continent.
Spain and Portugal were the main colonizers of Latin America, while France, England and Holland colonized North America and the Caribbean. As a consequence of European colonization, massacres, working conditions and the spread of diseases, a true genocide of the native peoples of America occurred during this period.
3. The Republican period
The Republican period began in the 19th century, when American countries began to fight for their independence and formed their own nations. During this period, American countries experienced a series of political, economic and social changes such as the abolition of slavery, the fight for equal rights and economic modernization.
Physical-natural characteristics of America
The Amazon rainforest is the largest in the world with more than 6.7 million square kilometers.
Due to its extensive latitude and large surface area, America has a great variety of environments and climates. There are cold climates in the extreme north and south, temperate in the mid-latitude areas and warm near the equator and the tropics.
The Andes mountain range, which crosses the continent from north to south, also determines the climatic characteristics.since altitude causes temperatures to drop. For this reason, the mountainous areas of the American continent also have cold climates.
In addition to the Andes mountain range, America has relatively high relief in the Appalachian Mountains in the United States and in the Guayana and Brasilia massifs in South America. The rest of the continent’s relief is relatively flat, with extensive plains, such as the Central Plain in North America and the Orinoco, Amazon and Plata plains in South America.
America is also characterized by the presence of extensive and powerful plain rivers. The Mississippi River in the United States and the Orinoco, Amazon, Paraná and Uruguay rivers in South America are some of the most important rivers in America and the world.
Culture and religion of America
Latin America is one of the places with the greatest cultural diversity on the planet.
Culturally, the American continent is divided into two large regions:
- Anglo AmericanIt is made up of those countries that have English as their official language and that were colonized by Great Britain during the European conquest. The United States, Canada and Jamaica are some of the countries that make up Anglo-Saxon America.
- Latin America. It is made up of those countries that have Spanish, French or Portuguese as their official language, all languages derived from Latin. It includes almost all of the countries in America.
The most spoken languages in America are:
- EnglishIt is spoken mainly in the United States and Canada, but also in some Central American countries and in Guyana and Suriname in South America. In total, there are around 370 million people who speak this language on the American continent.
- FrenchIt is spoken in some regions of Canada and in some Caribbean islands in Central America. It is used as an official language by around 16 million people.
- Spanish. It is spoken in most countries in Central and South America, and in Mexico. It is the most spoken language on the American continent, with more than 500 million speakers.
- Portuguese. It is spoken primarily in Brazil, and is the native language of more than 200 million people.
In addition to these main languages, there are hundreds of languages related to the indigenous peoples of America, such as Nahuatl, Quechua, Aymara, Guarani and Mayan, among others.
As for religion, the majority are Catholic Christian and Protestant Christian, due to the Spanish and English colonial heritage. Approximately 80% of the population of America identifies as Christian.
In addition to Christianity, in America there is also the presence of other important religions such as Islam, Judaism, Buddhism, Hinduism and African-American religions. Religions, deities and cults typical of the cultures of the native peoples of America also persist.
Economic activities of America
Economic development among American countries is very unevenWhile primary activities predominate in most Latin American countries, in Anglo-Saxon countries, especially in the United States and Canada, activities linked to secondary and tertiary activities predominate, with great influence on world markets.
Due to these contrasts, it is convenient to analyze the economic activities of America separately:
Economy in Anglo-Saxon America
- The United States and Canada are among the most developed countries in the world. Their human development indices (HDI) place them among the top 15 in the world.
- Their economies are deeply outsourcedwhich means that a large part of their earnings come from the tertiary sector. The provision of services, trade, finance and tourism contribute more than 75% of the income of these two countries.
- Although the primary sector is important worldwide (the United States is the main producer and exporter of several primary products), its contribution to the local economy barely exceeds 3%.
Economy in Latin America
- Agriculture, livestock and mining were the predominant economic activities in Latin American countries since the European conquest and colonization. Currently, The primary sector continues to be fundamental in most Latin American countries.
- These are mostly peripheral countries, with economies supported by the export of raw materials such as wheat, soybeans, coffee, minerals such as copper, gold, silver and hydrocarbons such as oil. In some Latin American countries, such as Brazil or Argentina, the industrial and tertiary sector is also highly developed, but the production and export of raw materials remains the country’s main source of income.
Political characteristics of America
The continent is divided into 35 countries, of which the vast majority are former European colonies, and 23…