Americas#Naming

{{Main|Naming of the Americas}}

File:Amerigo Vespucci (with turban).jpg.{{cite news |url=https://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2007-04-24-america-turns-500_N.htm |title=Cartographer Put 'America' on the Map 500 years Ago |work=USA Today |location =Washington, D.C. |date=April 24, 2007 |agency=Associated Press |access-date=November 30, 2008}}]]

The name "America" was first recorded in 1507. A two-dimensional globe created by Martin Waldseemüller was the earliest recorded use of the term.{{cite news|url=https://apnews.com/8ea8f3f87201426f946b400b5c78ce7f|title=Oldest map to use word 'America' up for sale|last=Lawless|first=Jill|work=News and Record|agency=Associated Press|date=November 7, 2017|access-date=June 5, 2019}} 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.{{Cite web|url=https://www.loc.gov/loc/lcib/0309/maps.html|title=The Map That Named America (September 2003) – Library of Congress Information Bulletin|website=Loc.gov}} It was applied to both North and South America by Gerardus Mercator in 1538. "America" derives from {{lang|la|Americus}}, the Latin version of Italian explorer Amerigo Vespucci's first name.

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,{{cite web| url = https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/books/first/l/lewis-myth.html | title = The Myth of Continents: A Critique of Metageography (Chapter 1) |publisher = University of California Press|accessdate=August 14, 2018}} 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: [http://www.m-w.com/dictionary/america america – Definition from the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary]. Retrieved on January 27, 2008; "[http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/america 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 ({{ISBN|0-19-214183-X}}). 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.

{{Subdivisions of the Americas|100px}}

{{Further|Americas (terminology)}}

{{Main|Naming of the Americas}}

The region was initially termed America or New India on the Mercator maps.{{Cite web |title=Mercator 1587 {{!}} Envisioning the World {{!}} The First Printed Maps |url=https://lib-dbserver.princeton.edu/visual_materials/maps/websites/wendt-world-maps/Mercator_1587.html |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20230716014333/https://lib-dbserver.princeton.edu/visual_materials/maps/websites/wendt-world-maps/Mercator_1587.html |archive-date=2023-07-16 |access-date=2025-02-15 |website=lib-dbserver.princeton.edu}}

{{Main|American (word)|l1=American (word)}}

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. ({{ISBN|0-19-861021-1}}) Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press; p. 48. The adjective American may be used to indicate something pertaining to the Americas,{{OED|American}} but this term is primarily used in English to indicate something pertaining to the United States.{{cite web|url=http://www.ahdictionary.com/word/search.html?q=american|title=American|work=The American Heritage Dictionary|publisher=Houghton Mifflin Harcourt|access-date=September 8, 2014}} Some non-ambiguous alternatives exist, such as the adjective Pan-American,{{Cite web|url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Pan-American|title=Definition of PAN-AMERICAN|website=Merriam-Webster}} or New Worlder as a demonym for a resident of the closely related New World.{{OED|New Worlder}} 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. ({{ISBN|0-276-42101-9}}) 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.[http://multimedia.olympic.org/pdf/en_report_1303.pdf The Olympic symbols]. {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100731072159/http://multimedia.olympic.org/pdf/en_report_1303.pdf |date=July 31, 2010 }} International Olympic Committee. 2002. Lausanne: Olympic Museum and Studies Centre. The five rings of the Olympic flag represent the five inhabited, participating continents: ([http://www.en.acnolympic.org/art.php?id=20008 Africa, America, Asia, Europe, and Oceania] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100731072159/http://www.en.acnolympic.org/art.php?id=20008 |date=July 31, 2010 }}).{{cite web|url=http://multimedia.olympic.org/pdf/en_report_1303.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=February 4, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110822175428/http://multimedia.olympic.org/pdf/en_report_1303.pdf |archive-date=August 22, 2011 |df=mdy }}

American essayist H. L. Mencken said, "The Latin-Americans use Norteamericano in formal writing, but, save in Panama, prefer nicknames in colloquial speech."{{cite journal|last=Mencken|first=H. L.|date=December 1947|title=Names for Americans|journal=American Speech|volume=22|issue=4|pages=241–256|doi=10.2307/486658|jstor=486658}} 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. ({{ISBN|0-19-541619-8}}) Fee, Margery and McAlpine, J., ed., 1997. Toronto: Oxford University Press; p. 36."American." The Oxford Companion to the English Language ({{ISBN|0-19-214183-X}}); McArthur, Tom, ed., 1992. New York: Oxford University Press, p. 35.{{cite web | title = Estados Unidos | work = Diccionario panhispánico de dudas | publisher = Real Academia Española |language= es | date = October 2005 | url = http://buscon.rae.es/dpdI/SrvltGUIBusDPD?lema=Estados%20Unidos |access-date=November 30, 2010}} 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".

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 term estadounidense (rough literal translation: "United Statesian") instead of americano or americana which is discouraged,{{cite book | url=http://buscon.rae.es/dpdI/SrvltGUIBusDPD?lema=Norteam%E9rica | title=Diccionario panhispánico de dudas:Norteamérica | publisher=Real Academia Española | year=2005}} and the country's name itself is officially translated as Estados Unidos de América (United States of America), commonly abbreviated as Estados Unidos (EEUU).{{cite book | url=http://buscon.rae.es/dpd/srv/search?id=4EWtRO1VZD6v7sHSpo | title=Diccionario panhispánico de dudas: Estados Unidos | publisher=Real Academia Española | year=2005}} "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.{{Cite web |last=ASALE |first=RAE- |last2=RAE |title=norteamericano, norteamericana {{!}} Diccionario de la lengua española |url=https://dle.rae.es/norteamericano?m=form |access-date=2025-03-28 |website=«Diccionario de la lengua española» - Edición del Tricentenario |language=es}}

In Portuguese, América{{cite web |url=http://www.brasilescola.com/historia-da-america/paises-america.htm |title=Países da América |publisher=Brasil Escola |access-date=March 29, 2014}} is a single continent composed of América do Sul (South America), América Central (Central America) and América do Norte (North America).{{cite web |url=http://www.mundoeducacao.com/geografia/o-continente-americano.htm |title=América |publisher=Mundo Educação |access-date=March 29, 2014}} 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.{{cite web|url=http://www.itamaraty.gov.br/servicos-do-itamaraty/enderecos-de-consulados-estrangeiros-no-brasil/e/estados-unidos |title=Estados Unidos |publisher=Itamaraty |access-date=March 29, 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140222194657/http://www.itamaraty.gov.br/servicos-do-itamaraty/enderecos-de-consulados-estrangeiros-no-brasil/e/estados-unidos |archive-date=February 22, 2014 |df=mdy }}{{cite web|url=http://espn.uol.com.br/time/estadosunidos|title=Estados Unidos|publisher=ESPN|access-date=March 29, 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140330054909/http://espn.uol.com.br/time/estadosunidos|archive-date=March 30, 2014|df=mdy-all}} The demonym 'American' (americano) is commonly used in Portuguese to refer to people from the United States, although the term 'estadounidense' also formaly exists and is preferred by those who wish to distinguish it from the continental demonym.

In French, the word américain may be used for things relating to the Americas; however, similar to English, it is most often used for things relating to the United States, with the term états-unien sometimes used for clarity. Panaméricain may be used as an adjective to refer to the Americas without ambiguity.{{cite web | url = http://gdt.oqlf.gouv.qc.ca/ficheOqlf.aspx?Id_Fiche=17571942 | title = panaméricain | publisher = Office québéqois de la langue français | year = 1978 | access-date=November 22, 2013}} French speakers may use the noun Amérique to refer to the whole landmass as one continent, or two continents, Amérique du Nord and Amérique du Sud. In French, Amérique is seldom used to refer to the United States, leading to some ambiguity when it is. Similar to English usage, les Amériques or des Amériques is used to refer unambiguously to the Americas.

In Dutch, the word Amerika mostly refers to the United States.{{Cite web |url=http://www.aadas.nl/sites/default/files/proceedings/2001_03_vanMarle.pdf |title=aadas.nl/ |access-date=May 4, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180504225404/http://www.aadas.nl/sites/default/files/proceedings/2001_03_vanMarle.pdf |archive-date=May 4, 2018 |url-status=dead |df=mdy-all }}{{Cite web|url=https://geheugen.delpher.nl/en/en/geheugen/pages/collectie/atlantic+world/nederlandse+emigratie+naar+noord-amerika+in+de+19e+eeuw|title=The Memory|website=geheugen.delpher.nl}} Although the United States is equally often referred to as de Verenigde Staten ("the United States") or de VS ("the US"), Amerika relatively rarely refers to the Americas, but it is the only commonly used Dutch word for the Americas. This often leads to ambiguity; and to stress that something concerns the Americas as a whole, Dutch uses a combination, namely Noord- en Zuid-Amerika (North and South America).

Latin America and Central America are generally referred to as Latijns Amerika and Midden-Amerika respectively.

The adjective Amerikaans is most often used for things or people relating to the United States. There are no alternative words to distinguish between things relating to the United States or to the Americas. Dutch uses the local alternative for things relating to elsewhere in the Americas, such as Argentijns for Argentine, etc.

{{Main|History of the Americas}}

{{Main|Pre-Columbian era}}

File:CPN WEST COURT 01.jpg, Honduras]]

The pre-Columbian era incorporates all period subdivisions in the history and prehistory of the Americas before the appearance of significant European influences on the American continents, spanning the time of the original settlement in the Upper Paleolithic to European colonization during the Early Modern period. The term Pre-Columbian is used especially often in the context of the great indigenous civilizations of the Americas, such as those of Mesoamerica (Olmec, Toltec, Teotihuacano, Zapotec, Mixtec, Aztec, Maya) and the Andean civilizations (Inca, Moche, Chavín, Muisca, Cañari).

Many pre-Columbian civilizations established characteristics and hallmarks which included permanent or urban settlements, agriculture, civic and monumental architecture, and complex societal hierarchies. Some of these civilizations had long faded by the time of the first permanent European arrivals ({{Circa|late 15th}}–early 16th centuries), and are known only through archeological investigations. Others were contemporary with this period, and are also known from historical accounts of the time. A few, such as the Maya, had their own written records. However, most Europeans of the time viewed such texts as pagan, and much was destroyed in Christian pyres. Only a few hidden documents remain today, leaving modern historians with glimpses of ancient culture and knowledge.{{Cite book|last=Mann|first=Charles C.|title=1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus|title-link=1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus|publisher=Knopf|year=2005|isbn=978-1-4000-4006-3|location=New York|oclc=56632601|author-link=Charles C. Mann}}

{{Further|topic=theories of Paleo-Indian migration|Peopling of the Americas}}

File:Spreading homo sapiens la.svg based on the Out of Africa theory{{cite book|first=Göran |last=Burenhult|title= Die ersten Menschen|publisher= Weltbild Verlag|year= 2000|isbn= 3-8289-0741-5}}]]

The first inhabitants migrated into the Americas from Asia. Habitation sites are known in Alaska and Yukon from at least 20,000 years ago, with suggested ages of up to 40,000 years.{{cite web|title=Introduction |work=Government of Canada |publisher=Parks Canada |url=http://www.pc.gc.ca/eng/docs/r/pfa-fap/sec1.aspx |year=2009 |access-date=January 9, 2010 |quote=Canada's oldest known home is a cave in Yukon occupied not 12,000 years ago like the U.S. sites, but at least 20,000 years ago |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110424103401/http://www.pc.gc.ca/eng/docs/r/pfa-fap/sec1.aspx |archive-date=April 24, 2011 }}{{cite web|title=Pleistocene Archaeology of the Old Crow Flats |publisher=Vuntut National Park of Canada |url=http://yukon.taiga.net/vuntutrda/archaeol/info.htm |year=2008 |access-date=January 10, 2010 |quote=However, despite the lack of this conclusive and widespread evidence, there are suggestions of human occupation in the northern Yukon about 24,000 years ago, and hints of the presence of humans in the Old Crow Basin as far back as about 40,000 years ago. |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081022085345/http://yukon.taiga.net/vuntutrda/archaeol/info.htm |archive-date=October 22, 2008 }}{{cite web|url=http://www.bradshawfoundation.com/journey/|title=Journey of mankind|work=Brad Shaw Foundation|access-date=November 17, 2009}} Beyond that, the specifics of the Paleo-Indian migration to and throughout the Americas, including the dates and routes traveled, are subject to ongoing research and discussion.{{cite web|url=https://genographic.nationalgeographic.com/genographic/atlas.html?era=e003|title=Atlas of the Human Journey-The Genographic Project|date=1996–2008|publisher=National Geographic Society.|access-date=October 6, 2009|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110501094643/https://genographic.nationalgeographic.com/genographic/atlas.html?era=e003|archive-date=May 1, 2011}} Widespread habitation of the Americas occurred after the Late Glacial Maximum, from 16,000 to 13,000 years ago.{{cite journal|last2=Salzano|first2=FM|year=1997|title=A single and early migration for the peopling of the Americas supported by mitochondrial DNA sequence data|journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America|publisher=National Academy of Sciences|volume=94|issue=5|pages=1866–71|doi=10.1073/pnas.94.5.1866|pmc=20009|pmid=9050871|last1=Bonatto|first1=SL|bibcode=1997PNAS...94.1866B|doi-access=free| issn = 0027-8424}}

File:Palazzo Ferreria statue 4 America.jpeg, in Valletta, Malta]]

The traditional theory has been that these early migrants moved into the Beringia land bridge between eastern Siberia and present-day Alaska around 40,000–17,000 years ago,{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WAsKm-_zu5sC&q=The%20Journey%20of%20Man&pg=PA138|title=The Journey of Man – A Genetic Odyssey|last2=Read|first2=Mark|publisher=Random House|year=2002|isbn=0-8129-7146-9|pages=138–140|format=Digitised online by Google books|first1=Spencer|last1=Wells|access-date=November 21, 2009}} when sea levels were significantly lowered during the Quaternary glaciation.{{cite web|first1=Drs. William |last1=Fitzhugh |first2=Ives |last2=Goddard |first3=Steve |last3=Ousley |first4=Doug |last4=Owsley |first5=Dennis |last5=Stanford |url=http://www.si.edu/Encyclopedia_SI/nmnh/origin.htm |title=Paleoamerican |publisher=Smithsonian Institution Anthropology Outreach Office |access-date=January 15, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090105215737/http://www.si.edu/Encyclopedia_SI//nmnh/origin.htm |archive-date=January 5, 2009 |url-status=dead }} These people are believed to have followed herds of now-extinct pleistocene megafauna along ice-free corridors that stretched between the Laurentide and Cordilleran ice sheets.{{cite web|url=http://www.physorg.com/news169474130.html |title=The peopling of the Americas: Genetic ancestry influences health|work=Scientific American|access-date=November 17, 2009}} Another route proposed is that, either on foot or using primitive boats, they migrated down the Pacific coast to South America.{{cite journal|date=January 1979|title=Alternate Migration Corridors for Early Man in North America|volume=44|issue=1|pages=55–69|doi=10.2307/279189|jstor=279189|journal=American Antiquity|last1=Fladmark|first1=K. R.|s2cid=162243347 }} Evidence of the latter would since have been covered by a sea level rise of hundreds of meters following the last ice age.{{cite web|url=http://www.realclimate.org/index.php/archives/2009/01/sea-will-rise-to-levels-of-last-ice-age/|title=68 Responses to "Sea will rise 'to levels of last Ice Age'"|work=Center for Climate Systems Research, Columbia University |date=January 26, 2009 |access-date=November 17, 2009| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20091027133849/http://www.realclimate.org/index.php/archives/2009/01/sea-will-rise-to-levels-of-last-ice-age/| archive-date= October 27, 2009 | url-status= live}} Both routes may have been taken, although the genetic evidences suggests a single founding population.{{cite journal | url = http://www.nature.com/news/2009/090108/full/news.2009.7.html | title = Earliest Americans took two paths | journal = Nature | last = Ledford | first = Heidi | date = January 8, 2009 | doi=10.1038/news.2009.7}} The micro-satellite diversity and distributions specific to South American Indigenous peoples indicates that certain populations have been isolated since the initial colonization of the region.{{cite web|title=Summary of knowledge on the subclades of Haplogroup Q |url=http://64.40.115.138/file/lu/6/52235/NTIyMzV9K3szNTc2Nzc=.jpg?download=1 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110510204204/http://64.40.115.138/file/lu/6/52235/NTIyMzV9K3szNTc2Nzc%3D.jpg?download=1 |url-status=dead |archive-date=May 10, 2011 |publisher=Genebase Systems |year=2009 |access-date=November 22, 2009 }}

A second migration occurred after the initial peopling of the Americas;{{cite book |last=Meltzer |first=David J. |title=First Peoples in a New World: Colonizing Ice Age America|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Rnc-bg2voI8C&pg=PA146|date=May 27, 2009|publisher=University of California Press|isbn=978-0-520-25052-9|page=146}} Na Dene speakers, found predominantly in North American groups at varying genetic rates, with the highest frequency found among the Athabaskans at 42%, derive from this second wave.{{cite journal|last=Reich|first=David |date=August 16, 2012|title=Reconstructing Native American population history|journal=Nature|volume=488|issue=7411|pages=370–374|display-authors=etal|doi=10.1038/nature11258|pmc=3615710|bibcode=2012Natur.488..370R|pmid=22801491}} Linguists and biologists have reached a similar conclusion based on analysis of Amerindian language groups and ABO blood group system distributions.{{cite book|title=An introduction to the languages of the world|first=Anatole |last=Lyovi|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=y6Y-L4ogfhIC&q=Indigenous+languages+of+the+Americas&pg=PA309|year=1997|publisher=Oxford University Press|page=309|isbn=0-19-508115-3 |access-date=March 25, 2010}}{{cite journal|last=Mithun|first=Marianne|s2cid=146205659|year=1990|title=Studies of North American Indian Languages|journal=Annual Review of Anthropology|volume=19|issue=1|pages=309–330|doi=10.1146/annurev.an.19.100190.001521}}{{cite web |last=Vajda |first=Edward |year=2010 |title=A Siberian link with Na-Dene languages |url=https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/A-Siberian-Link-with-Na-Dene-Languages-Vajda/9d75c662044ff828c56c5461be58bbd4b10f46a1 |publisher=Anthropological Papers of the University of Alaska |volume=5|s2cid=132888468 }} Then the people of the Arctic small tool tradition, a broad cultural entity that developed along the Alaska Peninsula, around Bristol Bay, and on the eastern shores of the Bering Strait {{circa|2500 BCE|lk=no}}, moved into North America.{{cite book|last=Fagan|first=Brian M.|title=Ancient North America: The Archaeology of a Continent|edition=4|year=2005|publisher=Thames & Hudson Inc.|location=New York|pages=390, p396|isbn=0-500-28148-3}} The Arctic small tool tradition, a Paleo-Eskimo culture, branched off into two cultural variants, including the Pre-Dorset and the Independence traditions of Greenland. The descendants of the Pre-Dorset cultural group, the Dorset culture, were displaced by the final migrants from the Bering sea coast line, the Thule people (the ancestors of modern Inuit), by 1000 CE.{{cite book|author1=T. Kue Young|author2=Peter Bjerregaard|title=Health Transitions in Arctic Populations|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uTim7CZnKGEC&pg=PA121|date=June 28, 2008|publisher=University of Toronto Press|isbn=978-0-8020-9401-8|page=121}}

{{Main|Norse colonization of North America}}

Around the same time as the Inuit migrated into Greenland, Viking settlers began arriving in Greenland in 982 and Vinland shortly thereafter, establishing a settlement at L'Anse aux Meadows, near the northernmost tip of Newfoundland.{{cite web|title=Vinland|url=http://www.civilization.ca/cmc/education/teacher-resources/oracles/archaeology/rmcghee/vinland|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101110020418/http://www.civilization.ca/cmc/education/teacher-resources/oracles/archaeology/rmcghee/vinland|archive-date=November 10, 2010|publisher=Canadian Museum of Civilization}} Contact between the Norse colonies and Europe was maintained, as James Watson Curran states:{{blockquote|From 985 to 1410, Greenland was in touch with the world. Then silence. In 1492 the Vatican noted that no news of that country "at the end of the world" had been received for 80 years, and the bishopric of the colony was offered to a certain ecclesiastic if he would go and "restore Christianity" there. He didn't go.{{Cite book|last=Curran|first=James Watson|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eSxCAAAAIAAJ|title=Here was Vinland: The Great Lakes Region of America|publisher=Sault Daily Star|year=1939|location=Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario|pages=207|language=en}}}}

{{Main|European colonization of the Americas}}

File:Landing of Columbus (2) (cropped).jpg leads expedition to the New World, 1492.]]

Although there had been previous trans-oceanic contact, large-scale European colonization of the Americas began with the first voyage of Christopher Columbus in 1492. The first Spanish settlement in the Americas was La Isabela in northern Hispaniola. This town was abandoned shortly after in favor of Santo Domingo de Guzmán, founded in 1496, the oldest American city of European foundation. This was the base from which the Spanish monarchy administered its new colonies and their expansion. Santo Domingo was subject to frequent raids by English and French pirates.

On the continent, Panama City on the Pacific coast of Central America, founded on August 15, 1519, played an important role, being the base for the Spanish conquest of South America. Conquistador Lucas Vázquez de Ayllón established San Miguel de Guadalupe, the first European settlement in what is now the United States, on the Pee Dee River in South Carolina.{{cite web |title=Lucas Vázquez de Ayllón |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Lucas-Vazquez-de-Ayllon |website=Britannica|date=January 2024 }} During the first half of the 16th century, Spanish colonists conducted raids throughout the Caribbean Basin, bringing captives from Central America, northern South America, and Florida back to Hispaniola and other Spanish settlements.{{Cite web|url=https://ldhi.library.cofc.edu/exhibits/show/african_laborers_for_a_new_emp/the_spanish_and_new_world_slav|title=The Spanish and New World Slavery · African Laborers for a New Empire: Iberia, Slavery, and the Atlantic World · Lowcountry Digital History Initiative|website=ldhi.library.cofc.edu}}

France, led by Jacques Cartier and Giovanni da Verrazzano,{{cite web |title=Giovanni da Verrazzano |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Giovanni-da-Verrazzano |website=Britannica|date=January 2024 }} focused primarily on North America. English explorations of the Americas were led by Giovanni Caboto{{cite web |title=John Cabot |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/John-Cabot |website=Britannica|date=December 14, 2023 }} and Sir Walter Raleigh. The Dutch in New Netherland confined their operations to Manhattan Island, Long Island, the Hudson River Valley, and what later became New Jersey. The spread of new diseases brought by Europeans and African slaves killed many of the inhabitants of North America and South America,{{Cite journal|last=Thornton|first=Russell|year=1997|title=Aboriginal North American Population and Rates of Decline, c.a. A.D. 1500–1900|url=https://scholar.google.co.uk/scholar?q=intitle%3AAboriginal+North+American+Population+and+Rates+of+Decline%2C+c.a.+A.D.+1500+-+1900&as_publication=Current+Anthropology&as_ylo=1997&as_yhi=1997&btnG=Search|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220328174355/https://scholar.google.co.uk/scholar?q=intitle%3AAboriginal+North+American+Population+and+Rates+of+Decline%2C+c.a.+A.D.+1500+-+1900&as_publication=Current+Anthropology&as_ylo=1997&as_yhi=1997&btnG=Search|url-status=dead|archive-date=March 28, 2022|journal=Current Anthropology|volume=38|issue=2|pages=310–315|doi=10.1086/204615|jstor=00113204|s2cid=143901232}}{{Cite journal|last=Crosby|first=Alfred W.|s2cid=44458578|date=April 1976|title=Virgin Soil Epidemics as a Factor in the Aboriginal Depopulation in America|journal=William and Mary Quarterly|volume=33|issue=2|pages=289–299|doi=10.2307/1922166|jstor=1922166|pmid=11633588}} with a general population crash of Native Americans occurring in the mid-16th century, often well ahead of European contact.{{Cite journal|last=Dobyns|first=Henry F.|year=1993|title=Disease Transfer at Contact|journal=Annual Review of Anthropology|volume=22|issue=1|pages=273–291|doi=10.1146/annurev.an.22.100193.001421|jstor=2155849|author-link=Henry F. Dobyns}} One of the most devastating diseases was smallpox.{{cite web |title=Smallpox |url=https://www.britannica.com/science/smallpox |website=Britannica|date=January 2, 2024 }}

European immigrants were often part of state-sponsored attempts to found colonies in the Americas. Migration continued as people moved to the Americas fleeing religious persecution or seeking economic opportunities. Millions of individuals were forcibly transported to the Americas as slaves, prisoners or indentured servants.

File:Americas independence map.PNG or parts of countries with a capital outside the Americas.]]

Decolonization of the Americas began with the American Revolution and the Haitian Revolution in the late 1700s. This was followed by numerous Latin American wars of independence in the early 1800s. Between 1811 and 1825, Paraguay, Argentina, Chile, Gran Colombia, the United Provinces of Central America, Mexico, Brazil, Peru, and Bolivia gained independence from Spain and Portugal in armed revolutions. After the Dominican Republic won independence from Haiti, it was re-annexed by Spain in 1861, but reclaimed its independence in 1865 at the conclusion of the Dominican Restoration War. The last violent episode of decolonization was the Cuban War of Independence which became the Spanish–American War, which resulted in the independence of Cuba in 1898, and the transfer of sovereignty over Puerto Rico from Spain to the United States.

Peaceful decolonization began with the United States's purchase of Louisiana from France in 1803, Florida from Spain in 1819, of Alaska from Russia in 1867, and the Danish West Indies from Denmark in 1916. Canada became independent of the United Kingdom, starting with the Balfour Declaration of 1926, Statute of Westminster 1931, and ending with the patriation of the Canadian Constitution in 1982. The Dominion of Newfoundland similarly achieved independence under the Balfour Declaration and Statute of Westminster, but relinquished self-rule in 1934.{{cite web | url=https://www.heritage.nf.ca/articles/politics/commission-government.php | title=The Commission of Government, 1934-1949 |first1=Jeff A. |last1=Webb |date=March 2008 |website=Newfoundland Heritage |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231209010155/https://www.heritage.nf.ca/articles/politics/commission-government.php |archive-date= Dec 9, 2023 }} It was subsequently confederated with Canada in 1949.

The remaining European colonies in the Caribbean began to achieve peaceful independence well after World War II. Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago became independent in 1962, and Guyana and Barbados both achieved independence in 1966. In the 1970s, the Bahamas, Grenada, Dominica, St. Lucia, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines all became independent of the United Kingdom, and Suriname became independent of the Netherlands. Belize, Antigua and Barbuda, and Saint Kitts and Nevis achieved independence from the United Kingdom in the 1980s.

{{Further|Geography of North America|Geography of South America}}

File:Earth-DSCOVR-20150706-IFV.jpg]]

The Americas make up most of the land in Earth's Western Hemisphere.

• {{citation|title=Merriam-Webster's Geographical Dictionary|year=2001|quote=The part of the Earth comprising North and South America and surrounding waters; longitudes 20°W and 160°E are often considered its boundaries|page=1294|contribution=Western Hemisphere|edition=3rd|place=Springfield, MA|publisher=Merriam-Webster}}
• {{cite book|title=The Chambers Dictionary|date=2011|publisher=Chambers Harrap Publishers, Ltd.|isbn=978-0-550-10237-9|edition=12|location=London|page=1780|editor1-last=O'Neal|editor1-first=Mary}}
• {{cite book|url=http://www.worldbook.com|title=The World Book Dictionary|date=2003|publisher=World Book, Inc|isbn=0-7166-0299-7|location=Chicago|page=2377|quote=Western Hemisphere, the half of the world that includes North and South America.}}
• {{cite book|title=The American Heritage College Dictionary|date=2010|publisher=Houghton Mifflin Harcourt|isbn=978-0-618-83595-9|edition=Fourth|location=Boston|page=1557|quote=Western Hemisphere The half of the earth comprising North America, Central America, and South America}}
• {{cite book|title=New Oxford American Dictionary|date=2010|publisher=Oxford University Press|edition=Third|location=New York|page=1963|quote=The Half of the earth that contains the Americas|editor1-last=Stevenson|editor1-first=Angus|editor2-last=Lindberg|editor2-first=Christine A.}}
• {{cite book|title=Webster's New World College Dictionary|date=2014|publisher=Houghton Mifflin Harcourt|isbn=978-0-544-16606-6|edition=Fifth|location=Boston|quote=Western Hemisphere that half of the earth which includes North & South America}} The northernmost point of the Americas is Kaffeklubben Island, which is the most northerly point of land on Earth.{{Cite news|last = Burress|first = Charles|url = http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2004/06/17/BAG4J779M31.DTL&type=science|title = Romancing the north Berkeley explorer may have stepped on ancient Thule|work = San Francisco Chronicle|date = June 17, 2004|access-date = January 11, 2008|archive-date = May 9, 2012|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120509184952/http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=%2Fchronicle%2Farchive%2F2004%2F06%2F17%2FBAG4J779M31.DTL&type=science|url-status = dead}} The southernmost undisputed point is Águila Islet, although the Antarctic islands of Southern Thule are sometimes taken into account.{{cite book |last1=Quinn |first1=Joyce A. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HuTNEAAAQBAJ&dq=%C3%81guila+Islet&pg=PA127 |title=Earth's Landscape [2 volumes]: An Encyclopedia of the World's Geographic Features [2 volumes] |last2=Woodward |first2=Susan L. |date=3 February 2015 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing USA |isbn=978-1-61069-446-9 |pages=127, 668 |language=en |access-date=9 February 2024}}{{cite web|url=http://www.coolantarctica.com/Travel/south_georgia_south_sandwich_islands.htm|title=South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, Antarctica – Travel|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150219114729/http://www.coolantarctica.com/Travel/south_georgia_south_sandwich_islands.htm |archive-date=February 19, 2015}} The mainland of the Americas is the world's longest north-to-south landmass. The distance between its two polar extremities, Murchison Promontory on the Boothia Peninsula in northern Canada and Cape Froward in Chilean Patagonia, is roughly {{cvt|14000|km|mi}}.{{cite encyclopedia|title = America|encyclopedia = The World Book Encyclopedia|volume = 1|pages = 407|publisher = World Book, Inc|year = 2006|isbn = 0-7166-0106-0}} The mainland's most westerly point is the end of the Seward Peninsula in Alaska; Attu Island, further off the Alaskan coast to the west, is considered the westernmost point of the Americas. Ponta do Seixas in northeastern Brazil forms the easternmost extremity of the mainland, while Nordostrundingen, in Greenland, is the most easterly point of the continental shelf.

South America broke off from the west of the supercontinent Gondwana around 135 million years ago, forming its own continent.{{Cite journal|last=Story|first=Brian C.|date=September 28, 1995|title=The role of mantle plumes in continental breakup: case histories from Gondwanaland|journal=Nature|volume=377|issue=6547|pages=301–309|doi=10.1038/377301a0|bibcode=1995Natur.377..301S|s2cid=4242617}} Around 15 million years ago, the collision of the Caribbean Plate and the Pacific Plate resulted in the emergence of a series of volcanoes along the border that created a number of islands. The gaps in the archipelago of Central America filled in with material eroded off North America and South America, plus new land created by continued volcanism. By three million years ago, the continents of North America and South America were linked by the Isthmus of Panama, thereby forming the single landmass of the Americas.{{cite web|url=https://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/andes/bridge.html |title=Land bridge: How did the formation of a sliver of land result in major changes in biodiversity |publisher=Public Broadcasting Corporation |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071011111949/http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/andes/bridge.html |archive-date=October 11, 2007 }} The Great American Interchange resulted in many species being spread across the Americas, such as the cougar, porcupine, opossums, armadillos, and hummingbirds.{{cite news|url=http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/NewImages/images.php3?img_id=16401 |title=Panama: Isthmus that Changed the World |access-date=July 1, 2008 |publisher=NASA Earth Observatory |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070802015424/http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/NewImages/images.php3?img_id=16401 |archive-date=August 2, 2007 }}

File:Aconcagua (aerial).jpg, in Argentina, is the highest peak in the Americas.]]

The geography of the western Americas is dominated by the American Cordillera, with the Andes running along the west coast of South America{{cite web|url=http://www.blueplanetbiomes.org/andes.htm|title=Andes Mountain Range|access-date=September 8, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170429034553/http://www.blueplanetbiomes.org/andes.htm|archive-date=April 29, 2017|url-status=dead|df=mdy-all}} and the Rocky Mountains and other North American Cordillera ranges running along the western side of North America.{{cite web|url=http://biology.usgs.gov/s+t/SNT/noframe/wm146.htm |title=Rocky Mountains |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070714142008/http://biology.usgs.gov/s%2Bt/SNT/noframe/wm146.htm |archive-date=July 14, 2007 }} The {{convert|2300|km|mi|adj=mid|-long|sp=us}} Appalachian Mountains run along the east coast of North America from Alabama to Newfoundland.{{cite web|url=http://www.ohiohistorycentral.org/entry.php?rec=2067 |title=Appalachian Mountains |publisher=Ohio History Central |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070501041411/http://www.ohiohistorycentral.org/entry.php?rec=2067 |archive-date=May 1, 2007 }} North of the Appalachians, the Arctic Cordillera runs along the eastern coast of Canada.{{cite web|url=http://www.evergreen.ca/nativeplants/learn-more/arctic-cordillera.php|title=Arctic Cordillera|work=evergreen.ca|access-date=May 17, 2007|archive-date=April 18, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090418173914/http://www.evergreen.ca/nativeplants/learn-more/arctic-cordillera.php|url-status=dead}}

The largest mountain ranges are the Andes and Rocky Mountains. The Sierra Nevada and the Cascade Range reach similar altitudes as the Rocky Mountains, but are significantly smaller. In North America, the greatest number of fourteeners are in the United States, and more specifically in the US state of Colorado. The highest peaks of the Americas are located in the Andes, with Aconcagua of Argentina being the highest; in North America Denali (Mount McKinley) in the US state of Alaska is the tallest.

Between its coastal mountain ranges, North America has vast flat areas. The Interior Plains spread over much of the continent, with low relief.{{cite web|url=http://vulcan.wr.usgs.gov/LivingWith/VolcanicPast/Notes/interior_plains_region.html|title=Interior Plains Region|access-date=September 8, 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130809003610/http://vulcan.wr.usgs.gov/LivingWith/VolcanicPast/Notes/interior_plains_region.html|archive-date=August 9, 2013|df=mdy-all}} The Canadian Shield covers almost 5 million km² of North America and is generally quite flat.{{cite web|url=http://redpath-museum.mcgill.ca/Qbp/Natural%20History/nat_hist.html|title=Natural History of Quebec|access-date=September 8, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110706185133/http://redpath-museum.mcgill.ca/Qbp/Natural%20History/nat_hist.html|archive-date=July 6, 2011|url-status=dead|df=mdy-all}} Similarly, the north-east of South America is covered by the flat Amazon basin.{{cite web|url=http://www.amazonconservation.org/home/strategy.html |title=Strategy |publisher=Amazon Conservation Association |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070403082802/http://www.amazonconservation.org/home/strategy.html |archive-date=April 3, 2007 }}

The Brazilian Highlands on the east coast are fairly smooth but show some variations in landform, while farther south the Gran Chaco and Pampas are broad lowlands.{{cite web|url=http://www2.jpl.nasa.gov/srtm/southAmerica.htm|title=South America images|access-date=September 8, 2014}}

File:Americas Köppen Map.png system]]

The climate of the Americas varies significantly from region to region. Tropical rainforest climate occurs in the latitudes of the Amazon, American cloud forests, southeastern Florida and Darién Gap. In the Rocky Mountains and Andes, dry and continental climates are observed. Often the higher altitudes of these mountains are snow-capped.

Southeastern North America is well known for its occurrence of tornadoes and hurricanes, of which the vast majority of tornadoes occur in the United States' Tornado Alley,{{cite magazine|url=http://www.sciencenews.org/articles/20020511/bob9.asp|title=Tornado Alley, USA|last=Perkins|first=Sid|date=May 11, 2002|magazine=Science News|pages=296–298|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060825011156/http://www.sciencenews.org/articles/20020511/bob9.asp|archive-date=August 25, 2006|access-date=May 29, 2011}} as well as in the southerly Dixie Alley in the North American late-winter and early spring seasons. Often parts of the Caribbean are exposed to the violent effects of hurricanes. These weather systems are formed by the collision of dry, cool air from Canada and wet, warm air from the Atlantic.

With coastal mountains and interior plains, the Americas have several large river basins that drain the continents. The largest river basin in North America is that of the Mississippi, covering the second-largest watershed on the planet.{{cite web|url=http://biology.usgs.gov/s+t/SNT/noframe/ms137.htm |title=Mississippi River |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070715014306/http://biology.usgs.gov/s%2Bt/SNT/noframe/ms137.htm |archive-date=July 15, 2007 }} The Mississippi–Missouri river system drains most of 31 states of the United States, most of the Great Plains, and large areas between the Rocky and Appalachian mountains. The Mississippi–Missouri is the fourth-longest river system and has the tenth-greatest discharge in the world.

In North America, to the east of the Appalachian Mountains, there are no major rivers but rather a series of rivers and streams that flow east with their terminus in the Atlantic Ocean, such as the Hudson, Saint John, and Savannah rivers. A similar instance arises with central Canadian rivers that drain into Hudson Bay; the largest being the Churchill River. On the west coast of North America, the main rivers are the Colorado, Columbia, Yukon, Fraser, and Sacramento rivers.

The Colorado River drains much of the Southern Rockies and parts of the Basin and Range Province. The river flows approximately {{convert|1450|mi|km|sp=us}} into the Gulf of California,{{cite web |last= Kammerer |first= J. C. |title= Largest Rivers in the United States |url= http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/1987/ofr87-242/ |publisher= United States Geological Survey |access-date=July 2, 2010}} during which over time it has carved out natural phenomena such as the Grand Canyon and created phenomena such as the Salton Sea. The Columbia is a large river, {{convert|1243|mi|km}} long, in central western North America and is the most powerful river on the West Coast of the Americas. In the far northwest of North America, the Yukon drains much of the Alaskan peninsula and flows {{convert|1980|mi|km}}{{cite web |url=http://www.yukoninfo.com/yukonriver/ |title=Yukoninfo.com |publisher=Yukoninfo.com |access-date=January 30, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131024100547/http://www.yukoninfo.com/yukonriver/ |archive-date=October 24, 2013 |url-status=dead }} from parts of Yukon and the Northwest Territory to the Pacific. Draining to the Arctic Ocean of Canada, the Mackenzie River drains waters from the Arctic Great Lakes of Arctic Canada, as opposed to the St Lawrence River that drains the Great Lakes of southern Canada into the Atlantic Ocean. The Mackenzie River is the largest in Canada and drains {{convert|1805200|km2|mi2|abbr=unit|sp=us}}.{{cite encyclopedia|url=https://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9110728 |title=Mackenzie River |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica |access-date=September 8, 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081118141110/https://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9110728 |archive-date=November 18, 2008 }}

The largest river basin in South America is that of the Amazon, which has the highest volume flow of any river on Earth.{{cite web|url = http://www.greatestplaces.org/notes/amazon.htm|title = Greatest Places: Notes: Amazonia}} The second largest watershed of South America is that of the Paraná River, which covers about {{convert|2582074|km2|mi2|abbr=unit}}.{{cite web|url=http://www.nature.org/wherewework/greatrivers/samerica/|title=Great Rivers Partnership – Paraguay-Parana|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110105102114/http://www.nature.org/wherewework/greatrivers/samerica/ |archive-date=January 5, 2011}}

North America and South America began to develop a shared population of flora and fauna around 2.5 million years ago, when continental drift brought the two continents into contact via the Isthmus of Panama. Initially, the exchange of biota was roughly equal, with North American genera migrating into South America in about the same proportions as South American genera migrated into North America. This exchange is known as the Great American Interchange. The exchange became lopsided after roughly a million years, with the total spread of South American genera into North America far more limited in scope than the spread of North American genera into South America.{{cite journal | title = Ecogeography and the Great American Interchange | last = Webb | first = S. David | journal = Paleobiology | volume = 17 | pages = 266–280 | number = 3 | year = 1991 | publisher = Paleontological Society | jstor=2400869| doi = 10.1017/S0094837300010605 | bibcode = 1991Pbio...17..266W | s2cid = 88305955 }}

{{See also|List of sovereign states and dependent territories in the Americas}}

There are 35 sovereign states in the Americas, as well as an autonomous country of Denmark, three overseas departments of France, three overseas collectivities of France,{{cite web|url=http://www.outre-mer.gouv.fr/?les-collectivites.html|title=Les Collectivités|publisher=Ministère des Outre-Mer|access-date=August 30, 2012}} and one uninhabited territory of France, eight overseas territories of the United Kingdom, three constituent countries of the Netherlands, three public bodies of the Netherlands, two unincorporated territories of the United States, and one uninhabited territory of the United States.{{cite web | url = http://unstats.un.org/unsd/methods/m49/m49regin.htm | title = Composition of macro geographical (continental) regions, geographical sub-regions, and selected economic and other groupings | date = September 20, 2011 |access-date=August 30, 2012 | publisher = United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs}}

{{Main|Economy of the Americas}}

{{See also|Economy of North America|Economy of South America|Latin American economy}}

{{See also|List of North American countries by GDP (nominal)|List of North American countries by GDP (PPP)}}

{{See also|List of Latin American and Caribbean countries by GDP (PPP)}}

{{clear}}

In exports and imports, in 2020, the United States was the world's second largest exporter (US$1.64 trillion) and the largest importer (US$2.56 trillion). Mexico was the tenth largest exporter and importer. Canada was the twelfth largest exporter and importer. Brazil was the 24th largest exporter and the 28th largest importer. Chile was the 45th largest exporter and the 47th largest importer. Argentina was the 46th largest exporter and the 52nd largest importer. Colombia was the 54th largest exporter and the 51st largest importer; among others.[https://www.trademap.org/(X(1)S(wxymkd45vpinba45qduyc345))/Country_SelProduct.aspx?nvpm=1%7C%7C%7C%7C%7CTOTAL%7C%7C%7C2%7C1%7C1%7C2%7C1%7C1%7C2%7C1%7C1&AspxAutoDetectCookieSupport=1 Trade Map - List of exporters for the selected product in 2018 (All products)], Trademap.org{{Cite web|url=https://en.abrams.wiki/solutions/market-intelligence|title=Opportunities and risks in world trade at a glance | ABRAMS world trade wiki|website=en.abrams.wiki}}{{Cite web|title=International Trade Statistics|url=https://www.trademap.org/tradestat/Country_SelProduct_TS.aspx?nvpm=1%7c%7c%7c%7c%7cTOTAL%7c%7c%7c2%7c1%7c1%7c1%7c2%7c1%7c2%7c1%7c1%7c1|access-date=25 August 2020|website=International Trade Centre}}

The agriculture of the continent is very strong and varied. Countries such as United States, Brazil, Canada, Mexico, and Argentina are among the largest agricultural producers on the planet. In 2019, the continent dominated the world production of soy (almost 90% of the world total, with Brazil, the United States, Argentina, Paraguay, Canada and Bolivia among the 10 largest on the planet), sugarcane (about 55% of the world total, with Brazil, Mexico, the United States, and Guatemala among the 10 largest on the planet), coffee (about 55% of the world total, with Brazil, Colombia, Honduras, Peru, and Guatemala among the 10 largest on the planet) and maize (about 48% of the world total, with the United States, Brazil, Argentina, and Mexico among the 10 largest on the planet). The continent also produces almost 40% of world's orange (with Brazil, the United States, and Mexico among the top 10 producers), about 37% of world's pineapple (with Costa Rica, Brazil, Mexico, and Colombia among the 10 largest producers), about 35% of world's lemon (with Mexico, Argentina, Brazil, and the United States among the 10 largest producers) and about 30% of world's cotton (with the United States, Brazil, Mexico and Argentina among the top 10 producers), among several other products.{{Cite web|url=https://www.fao.org/faostat/en/|title=FAOSTAT|website=Fao.org}}

In livestock, America also has giant productions. In 2018, the continent produced around 45% of the world's beef (with the United States, Brazil, Argentina, Mexico, and Canada among the world's 10 largest producers); about 36% of the world's chicken meat (with the United States, Brazil, and Mexico among the world's 10 largest producers), and about 28% of the world's cow's milk (with the United States and Brazil among the 10 largest producers in the world), among other products.

In industrial terms, the World Bank lists the top producing countries each year, based on the total value of production. According to the 2019 list, the United States has the second most valuable industry in the world (US$2.3 trillion), Mexico has the 12th most valuable industry in the world (US$217.8 billion), Brazil has the 13th most valuable industry in the world (US$173.6 billion), Canada has the 15th most valuable industry in the world (US$151.7 billion), Venezuela the 30th largest (US$58.2 billion, but depends on the oil to obtain this amount), Argentina was the 31st largest (US$57.7 billion), Colombia the 46th largest (US$35.4 billion), Peru the 50th largest ($28.7 billion), and Chile the 51st largest (US$28.3 billion), among others.{{Cite web|url=https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NV.IND.MANF.CD?most_recent_value_desc=true|title=Manufacturing, value added (current US$) | Data|website=data.worldbank.org}}

In the production of oil, the continent had 8 of the 30 largest world producers in 2020: United States (1st), Canada (4th), Brazil (8th), Mexico (14th), Colombia (20th), Venezuela (26th), Ecuador (27th), and Argentina (28th).{{Cite web|url=https://www.eia.gov/international/data/world/petroleum-and-other-liquids/annual-petroleum-and-other-liquids-production|title=International - U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA)|website=Eia.gov}}

In the production of natural gas, the continent had 8 of the 32 largest world producers in 2015: United States (1st), Canada (5th), Argentina (18th), Trinidad and Tobago (20th), Mexico (21st), Venezuela (28th), Bolivia (31st), and Brazil (32nd).[http://www.iea.org/publications/freepublications/publication/KeyWorld2014.pdf IEA. Key World Energy Statistics 2014. Natural Gas.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150405035039/http://www.iea.org/publications/freepublications/publication/keyworld2014.pdf |date=April 5, 2015 }}, Iea.org, Access date - 01/17/2021{{Cite web|url=https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2249rank.|title=html CIA. The World Factbook. Natural gas - production.|website=Cia.gov|access-date=December 14, 2021}}{{dead link|date=July 2022|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}

In the production of coal, the continent had 5 of the 30 largest world producers in 2018: United States (3rd), Colombia (12th), Canada (13th), Mexico (24th), and Brazil (27th).{{Cite web|url=https://www.bp.com/en/global/corporate/energy-economics/statistical-review-of-world-energy.html|title=Statistical Review of World Energy | Energy economics | Home|website=Bp.com}}

In the production of vehicles, the continent had 5 of the 30 largest world producers in 2019: United States (2nd), Mexico (7th), Brazil (9th), Canada (12th), and Argentina (28th).{{Cite web|url=https://www.oica.net/category/production-statistics/2019-statistics/|title=2019 Statistics | www.oica.net|website=Oica.net}}

In the production of steel, the continent had 5 of the 31 largest world producers in 2019: United States (4th), Brazil (9th), Mexico (15th), Canada (18th), and Argentina (31st).{{Cite web|url=https://www.worldsteel.org/en/dam/jcr:391fbe61-488d-46d1-b611-c9a43224f9b8/2019%2520global%2520crude%2520steel%2520production.pdf|title=World crude steel production|website=Worldsteel.org|access-date=December 14, 2021|archive-date=January 30, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200130161636/https://www.worldsteel.org/en/dam/jcr:391fbe61-488d-46d1-b611-c9a43224f9b8/2019%2520global%2520crude%2520steel%2520production.pdf|url-status=dead}}{{Cite web|url=http://www.worldsteel.org/media-centre/press-releases/2020/Global-crude-steel-output-increases-by-3.4--in-2019.html|title=worldsteel | Global crude steel output increases by 3.4% in 2019|website=Worldsteel.org}}

In mining, the continent has large productions of gold (mainly in the United States, Canada, Peru, Mexico, Brazil, and Argentina);{{Cite web|url=https://pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/mcs2021/mcs2021-gold.pdf|title=USGS Gold Production Statistics|website=Pubs.usgs.gov|access-date=December 14, 2021}} silver (mainly in Mexico, Peru, Chile, Bolivia, Argentina, and the United States);{{Cite web|url=https://pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/mcs2021/mcs2021-silver.pdf|title=Production statistics of USGS Silver|website=Pubs.usgs.gov|access-date=December 14, 2021}} copper (mainly in Chile, Peru, the United States, Mexico, and Brazil);{{Cite web|url=https://pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/mcs2021/mcs2021-copper.pdf|title=Copper production statistics for the USGS|website=Pubs.usgs.gov|access-date=December 14, 2021}} platinum (Canada and the United States);{{Cite web|url=https://pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/mcs2021/mcs2021-platinum.pdf|title=USGS platinum production statistics|website=Pubs.usgs.gov|access-date=December 14, 2021}} iron ore (Brazil, Canada, the United States, Peru, and Chile);{{Cite web|url=https://pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/mcs2021/mcs2021-iron-ore.pdf|title=Production statistics of USGS iron ore|website=Pubs.usgs.gov|access-date=December 14, 2021}} zinc (Peru, the United States, Mexico, Bolivia, Canada, and Brazil);{{Cite web|url=https://pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/mcs2021/mcs2021-zinc.pdf|title=Zinc production statistics from USGS|website=Pubs.usgs.gov|access-date=December 14, 2021}} molybdenum (Chile, Peru, Mexico, Canada, and the United States);{{Cite web|url=https://pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/mcs2021/mcs2021-molybdenum.pdf|title=USGS Molybdenum Production Statistics|website=Pubs.usgs.gov|access-date=December 14, 2021}} lithium (Chile, Argentina, Brazil, and Canada);{{Cite web|url=https://pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/mcs2021/mcs2021-lithium.pdf|title=USGS lithium production statistics|website=Pubs.usgs.gov|access-date=December 14, 2021}} lead (Peru, the United States, Mexico, and Bolivia);{{Cite web|url=https://pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/mcs2021/mcs2021-lead.pdf|title=USGS Lead Production Statistics|website=Pubs.usgs.gov|access-date=December 14, 2021}} bauxite (Brazil, Jamaica, Canada, and the United States);{{Cite web|url=https://pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/mcs2021/mcs2021-bauxite-alumina.pdf|title=USGS Bauxite Production Statistics|website=Pubs.usgs.gov|access-date=December 14, 2021}} tin (Peru, Bolivia, and Brazil);{{Cite web|url=https://pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/mcs2021/mcs2021-tin.pdf|title=USGS tin production statistics|website=Pubs.usgs.gov|access-date=December 14, 2021}} manganese (Brazil and Mexico);{{Cite web|url=https://pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/mcs2021/mcs2021-manganese.pdf|title=Manganese production statistics from the USGS|website=Pubs.usgs.gov|access-date=December 14, 2021}} antimony (Bolivia, Mexico, Guatemala, Canada, and Ecuador);{{Cite web|url=https://pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/mcs2021/mcs2021-antimony.pdf|title=USGS antimony production statistics|website=Pubs.usgs.gov|access-date=December 14, 2021}} nickel (Canada, Brazil, Dominican Republic, Cuba, and the United States);{{Cite web|url=https://pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/mcs2021/mcs2021-nickel.pdf|title=USGS Nickel Production Statistics|website=Pubs.usgs.gov|access-date=December 14, 2021}} niobium (Brazil and Canada);{{Cite web|url=https://pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/mcs2021/mcs2021-niobium.pdf|title=USGS Niobium Production Statistics|website=Pubs.usgs.gov|access-date=December 14, 2021}} rhenium (Chile and the United States);{{Cite web|url=https://pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/mcs2021/mcs2021-rhenium.pdf|title=USGS rhenium production statistics|website=Pubs.usgs.gov|access-date=December 14, 2021}} and iodine (Chile),{{Cite web|url=https://pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/mcs2021/mcs2021-iodine.pdf|title=USGS iodine production statistics|website=Pubs.usgs.gov|access-date=December 14, 2021}} among others.

Dominica, Panama, and the Dominican Republic have the fastest-growing economy in the Americas according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF),{{cite web|url=https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/WEO/weo-database/2021/April/weo-report?c=512,914,612,614,311,213,911,314,193,122,912,313,419,513,316,913,124,339,638,514,218,963,616,223,516,918,748,618,624,522,622,156,626,628,228,924,233,632,636,634,238,662,960,423,935,128,611,321,243,248,469,253,642,643,939,734,644,819,172,132,646,648,915,134,652,174,328,258,656,654,336,263,268,532,944,176,534,536,429,433,178,436,136,343,158,439,916,664,826,542,967,443,917,544,941,446,666,668,672,946,137,546,674,676,548,556,678,181,867,682,684,273,868,921,948,943,686,688,518,728,836,558,138,196,278,692,694,962,142,449,564,565,283,853,288,293,566,964,182,359,453,968,922,714,862,135,716,456,722,942,718,724,576,936,961,813,726,199,733,184,524,361,362,364,732,366,144,146,463,528,923,738,578,537,742,866,369,744,186,925,869,746,926,466,112,111,298,927,846,299,582,487,474,754,698,&s=NGDPD,PPPGDP,NGDPDPC,PPPPC,&sy=1980&ey=2026&ssm=0&scsm=1&scc=0&ssd=1&ssc=0&sic=1&sort=subject&ds=.&br=1|title=World Economic Outlook Database|website=Imf.org}} 16, five to seven countries in the southern part of the Americas had weakening economies in decline, compared to only three countries in the northern part of the Americas.{{Cite web|url=http://statisticstimes.com/economy/north-american-countries-by-gdp-per-capita.php|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171010114728/http://statisticstimes.com/economy/north-american-countries-by-gdp-per-capita.php|url-status=dead|archive-date=2017-10-10|author=International Monetary Fund|publisher=International Monetary Fund|title=List of North American countries by GDP per capita|work=World Economic Outlook|date=October 2016|access-date=February 22, 2017}}{{Cite web|url=http://statisticstimes.com/economy/south-american-countries-by-gdp-per-capita.php|author=International Monetary Fund|publisher=International Monetary Fund|title=List of South American countries by GDP per capita|work=World Economic Outlook|date=October 2016|access-date=September 25, 2017}} Haiti has the lowest GDP per capita in the Americas, although its economy was growing slightly {{as of|2016|lc=y}}.

{{Further|List of countries in the Americas by population}}

In 2021 the total population of the Americas was about 1.03 billion people, divided as follows:

• North America: 596.6 million (includes Central America and the Caribbean)
• South America: 434.3 million

{{See also|Largest cities in the Americas|List of metropolitan areas in the Americas by population}}

There are three urban centers that each hold titles for being the largest population area based on the three main demographic concepts:{{cite web|url=http://www.wider.unu.edu/stc/repec/pdfs/wp2010/wp2010-12.pdf|title=Urban Settlement|work=Working Paper No. 2010/12|author1=David E. Bloom|author2=David Canning|author3=Günther Fink|author4=Tarun Khanna|author5=Patrick Salyer|location=Helsinki|publisher=World Institute for Development Economics Research|access-date=May 29, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110613200208/http://www.wider.unu.edu/stc/repec/pdfs/wp2010/wp2010-12.pdf|archive-date=June 13, 2011|url-status=dead}}

• City proper

:A city proper is the locality with legally fixed boundaries and an administratively recognized urban status that is usually characterized by some form of local government.{{cite web |last=Kästle |first=Klaus |url=http://www.nationsonline.org/oneworld/most_pop_cities_usa.htm |title=United States most populated cities |publisher=Nationsonline.org |date=August 31, 2009 |access-date=July 26, 2010| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20100722100011/http://www.nationsonline.org/oneworld/most_pop_cities_usa.htm| archive-date= July 22, 2010 | url-status= live}}{{cite web |url=http://esa.un.org/unup/index.asp?panel=6 |title=World Urbanization Prospects: The 2007 Revision Population Database |publisher=United Nations |access-date=July 26, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100822053414/http://esa.un.org/unup/index.asp?panel=6 |archive-date=August 22, 2010 |url-status=dead |df=mdy-all }}{{cite web|url=http://millenniumindicators.un.org/unsd/demographic/sconcerns/densurb/densurbanNotes.htm|title=United Nations Statistics Division – Demographic and Social Statistics|publisher=Millenniumindicators.un.org|access-date=July 26, 2010|archive-date=June 23, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110623192351/http://millenniumindicators.un.org/unsd/demographic/sconcerns/densurb/densurbanNotes.htm|url-status=dead}}{{cite book|title=Demographic Yearbook 2005, Volume 57|year=2008|publisher=United Nations|isbn=978-92-1-051099-8|page=756|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OwfGJtkpCbwC&q=locality%20with%20legally%20fixed%20boundaries%20and%20an%20administratively%20recognized%20urban%20status%20that%20is%20usually%20characterized%20by%20some%20form%20of%20local%20government&pg=PA241|access-date=July 19, 2010}}{{Dead link|date=June 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}{{cite book |author1=United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs|title=Demographic yearbook, 2000 |year=2002 |publisher= United Nations Publications, 2002|isbn=92-1-051091-7 |page=23 }}

• Urban area

:An urban area is characterized by higher population density and vast human features in comparison to areas surrounding it. Urban areas may be cities, towns or conurbations, but the term is not commonly extended to rural settlements such as villages and hamlets. Urban areas are created and further developed by the process of urbanization and do not include large swaths of rural land, as do metropolitan areas.{{citation needed|date=October 2018}}

• Metropolitan area

:Unlike an urban area, a metropolitan area includes not only the urban area, but also satellite cities plus intervening rural land that is socio-economically connected to the urban core city, typically by employment ties through commuting, with the urban core city being the primary labor market.{{citation needed|date=October 2018}}

In accordance with these definitions, the three largest population centers in the Americas are: Mexico City, anchor to the largest metropolitan area in the Americas; New York City, anchor to the largest urban area in the Americas; and São Paulo, the largest city proper in the Americas. All three cities maintain Alpha classification and large scale influence.

File:Mexico City Reforma skyline (cropped).jpg|Mexico City – largest metropolitan area in the Americas, with a population of 22,300,000 in 2017

File:CENU, São Paulo, Brasil (cropped).jpg|São Paulo – largest city in the Americas, with a population of 12,038,175 (city) in 2016

File:Luchtfoto van Lower Manhattan.jpg|New York City – largest urban area in the Americas, with a population of 18,351,295 in 2010

{{unreferenced section|date=June 2014}}

File:America ethnic map (about 1880).JPG]]

The population of the Americas is made up of the descendants of four large ethnic groups and their combinations.

• The Indigenous peoples of the Americas, being Amerindians and Inuit-Yupik-Unangan.
• Those of European ancestry, mainly Spanish, English, Irish, Portuguese, German, Italian, French, and Dutch.
• Those of African ancestry, mainly of West African descent.
• Asians, that is, those of East Asian, Southeast Asian, and South Asian ancestry.
• Mestizos (Métis people in Canada), those of mixed European and Amerindian ancestry.
• Mulattoes, people of mixed African and European ancestry.
• Zambos (Spanish) or Cafuzos (Portuguese), those of mixed African and Indigenous ancestry.

The majority of the population lives in Latin America, named for its predominant cultures, rooted in Latin Europe (including the two dominant languages, Spanish and Portuguese, both Romance languages), more specifically in the Iberian nations of Portugal and Spain (hence the use of the term Ibero-America as a synonym). Latin America is typically contrasted with Anglo-America, where English, a Germanic language, is prevalent, and which comprises Canada (with the exception of Francophone Canada rooted in Latin Europe [France]—see Quebec and Acadia) and the United States. Both countries are located in North America, with cultures deriving predominantly from British and other Germanic roots.

File:Slavery in Brazil, by Jean-Baptiste Debret (1768-1848).jpg (1834–1839)]]

The transatlantic slave trade brought millions of Africans to the territories of the Americas under the colonial rule of European powers. In South America, Portugal played a significant role in the trafficking of enslaved Africans, with estimates suggesting that around 40% of all Africans forcibly brought to the Americas were taken to Brazil alone, to work primarily in sugar cane plantations, mining, and agricultural endeavors.{{cite book |last1=Rawley |first1=James A. |title=The Transatlantic Slave Trade: A History}} In North America, the British Empire was heavily involved in the transatlantic slave trade, with the establishment of colonies such as Virginia, where enslaved Africans were primarily used as labor in tobacco plantations and later in other agricultural and domestic sectors. This system perpetuated for centuries, shaping the socio-economic landscape of all nations of the hemisphere.

After the Haitian Revolution led by Jean-Jacques Dessalines, which started in 1791 and was the only successful slave revolt in history, the world's first black republic was established. It started with the massacre of the white population, between 3,000 and 5,000 white men and women of all ages were killed. Dessalines declared:

{{Text and translation

| Oui, nous avons rendu à ces vrais cannibales guerre pour guerre, crimes pour crimes, outrages pour outrages.
Oui, j’ai sauvé mon pays, j’ai vengé l’Amérique.

| Yes, we have rendered to these true cannibals war for war, crime for crime, outrage for outrage;
Yes, I have saved my country – I have avenged America.

| Dessalines, first president of the Republic of Haiti, 1804{{cite book |last1=Ardouin |first1=Beaubrun |title=Étude sur l'histoire d'Haïti. Vol. 6 |date=1853 |pages=66–67 |url=https://archive.org/details/tudessurlhisto06ardo/page/66/mode/2up}}{{cite web |url=https://haitidoi.com/2013/08/02/i-have-avenged-america/|title=I Have Avenged America|author=Julia Gaffield, PhD|date=August 2, 2013 }}

}}

{{Further|Religion in Latin America|Religion in North America|Christianity in the Americas|Islam in the Americas}}

The most prevalent faiths in the Americas are as follows:

• Christianity (86 percent){{cite web| url=http://www.pewforum.org/2011/12/19/global-christianity-exec/ | work=Pew | title=Global Christianity | date=December 19, 2011 }}
• Roman Catholicism: Practiced by 69 percent{{cite web |url=http://www.pewforum.org/2014/11/13/religion-in-latin-america/|title=2014 Religion in Latin America |date=November 13, 2014 |access-date=November 16, 2014}} of the Latin American population (61 percent in Brazil whose Roman Catholic population of 134 million{{Cite web|url=http://g1.globo.com/mundo/noticia/2013/03/america-latina-abriga-40-dos-catolicos-do-mundo.html|title=América Latina abriga 40% dos católicos do mundo|first=France|last=Presse|date=March 13, 2013|website=Mundo}} is the greatest of any nation's), approximately 24 percent of the United States' population{{cite web | title = United States | work = CIA World Factbook | publisher = Central Intelligence Agency | date = November 16, 2010 | url = https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/united-states/ | access-date=November 30, 2010}} and about 39 percent of Canada's.{{cite web|url=http://www.statcan.gc.ca/daily-quotidien/130508/dq130508b-eng.htm?HPA|title=Religions in Canada—Census 2011|date=May 8, 2013|publisher=Statistics Canada/Statistique Canada}}
• Protestantism: Practiced mostly in the United States, where half of the population are Protestant, Canada, with slightly more than a quarter of the population, and Greenland; there is a growing contingent of Evangelical and Pentecostal movements in predominantly Catholic Latin America.{{cite web|url=http://www.abc.net.au/worldtoday/content/2005/s1348759.htm|title=The World Today – Catholics faced with rise in Protestantism|date=April 19, 2005|publisher=ABC|location=Australia|access-date=October 5, 2010}}
• Eastern Orthodoxy: Found mostly in the United States (1 percent) and Canada; this Christian group is growing faster than many other Christian groups in Canada and now represents roughly 3 percent of the Canadian population.
• Non-denominational Christians and other Christians (some 1,000 different Christian denominations and sects practiced in the Americas).
• Irreligion: About 12 percent, including atheists and agnostics, as well as those who profess some form of spirituality but do not identify themselves as members of any organized religion.
• Islam: Together, Muslims constitute about 1 percent of the North American population and 0.3 percent of all Latin Americans. It is practiced by 3 percent of Canadians and 0.6 percent of the U.S. population. Argentina has the largest Muslim population in Latin America with up to 600,000 persons, or 1.5 percent of the population.{{cite web|url=https://2001-2009.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2006/71446.htm|title=Argentina|work=International Religious Freedom Report|publisher=U.S. Department of State|year=2006|access-date=September 1, 2009}}
• Judaism: Practiced by 2 percent of North Americans—approximately 2.5 percent of the U.S. population and 1.2 percent of Canadians{{cite web|url=http://www.jcpa.org/cjc/cjc-robinson-06.htm|title=Canadian Jewry Today: Portrait of a Community in the Process of Change – Ira Robinson|publisher=Jcpa.org|access-date=October 5, 2010|archive-date=September 17, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090917083053/http://www.jcpa.org/cjc/cjc-robinson-06.htm|url-status=dead}}—as well as 0.23 percent of Latin Americans. Argentina has the largest Jewish population in Latin America with 200,000 members.{{cite web |last=Segal |first=Naomi |url=http://www.ujc.org/page.html?ArticleID=26170 |title=First Planeload of Jews Fleeing Argentina Arrives in Israel |publisher=Ujc.org |access-date=October 5, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080201175808/http://www.ujc.org/page.html?ArticleID=26170 |archive-date=February 1, 2008 }}

Other faiths include Buddhism; Hinduism; Sikhism; Baháʼí Faith; a wide variety of indigenous religions, many of which can be categorized as animistic; new age religions and many African and African-derived religions. Syncretic faiths can also be found throughout the Americas.

{{Clear}}

{{Main|Indigenous languages of the Americas|Languages of North America|Languages of South America}}

File:Languages of the American Continent.png

Various languages are spoken in the Americas. Some are of European origin, others are spoken by indigenous peoples or are the mixture of various languages like the different creoles.

The most widely spoken first language in the Americas is Spanish, followed by English and Portuguese.{{cite web|url=http://www.nationsonline.org/oneworld/american_languages.htm|title=Official Languages of the Americas and the Caribbean – Nations Online Project|website=Nationsonline.org}} The dominant language of Latin America is Spanish, though the most populous nation in Latin America, Brazil, speaks Portuguese. Small enclaves of French-, Dutch- and English-speaking regions also exist in Latin America, notably in French Guiana, Suriname, and Belize and Guyana respectively. Haitian Creole is dominant in the nation of Haiti, where French is also spoken. Native languages are more prominent in Latin America than in Anglo-America, with Nahuatl, Quechua, Aymara, and Guaraní as the most common. Various other native languages are spoken with less frequency across both Anglo-America and Latin America. Creole languages other than Haitian Creole are also spoken in parts of Latin America.

The dominant language of Anglo-America is English. French is also official in Canada, where it is the predominant language in Quebec and an official language in New Brunswick along with English. It is also an important language in Louisiana, and in parts of New Hampshire, Maine, and Vermont. Spanish has kept an ongoing presence in the Southwestern United States, which formed part of the Viceroyalty of New Spain, especially in California and New Mexico, where a distinct variety of Spanish spoken since the 17th century has survived. It has more recently become widely spoken in other parts of the United States because of heavy immigration from Latin America. High levels of immigration in general have brought great linguistic diversity to Anglo-America, with over 300 languages known to be spoken in the United States alone, but most languages are spoken only in small enclaves and by relatively small immigrant groups.

The nations of Guyana, Suriname, and Belize are generally considered{{by whom|date=July 2012}} not to fall into either Anglo-America or Latin America because of their language differences from Latin America, geographic differences from Anglo-America, and cultural and historical differences from both regions; English is the primary language of Guyana and Belize, and Dutch is the primary language of Suriname.

Most of the non-native languages have, to different degrees, evolved differently from the mother country, but are usually still mutually intelligible. Some have combined, however, which has even resulted in completely new languages, such as Papiamento, which is a combination of Portuguese, Spanish, Dutch (representing the respective colonizers), native Arawak, various African languages, and, more recently English. The lingua franca Portuñol, a mixture of Portuguese and Spanish, is spoken in the border regions of Brazil and neighboring Spanish-speaking countries.{{Cite journal|year=2006|title=Too Close for Comfort? The Genesis of "Portuñol/Portunhol"|url=http://www.lingref.com/cpp/hls/8/abstract1251.html|journal=Selected Proceedings of the 8th Hispanic Linguistics Symposium|pages=1–22|isbn=978-1-57473-408-9|last1=Lipski|first1=John M.|editor1=Timothy L. Face|editor2=Carol A. Klee|access-date=November 26, 2010}} More specifically, Riverense Portuñol is spoken by around 100,000 people in the border regions of Brazil and Uruguay. Because of immigration, there are many communities where other languages are spoken from all parts of the world, especially in the United States, Brazil, Argentina, Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, and Uruguay—very important destinations for immigrants.[http://www.oni.escuelas.edu.ar/olimpi98/fronterasculturales/datos/cap-pop.html Juan Bialet Massé en su informe sobre "El estado de las clases obreras en el interior del país"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110927103010/http://www.oni.escuelas.edu.ar/olimpi98/fronterasculturales/datos/cap-pop.html |date=September 27, 2011 }}{{Cite web|url=http://www.umng.edu.co/www/resources/idsocial.doc|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120220125802/http://www.umng.edu.co/www/resources/idsocial.doc|url-status=dead|title=SOCIAL IDENTITY Marta Fierro Social Psychologist.|archive-date=February 20, 2012}}{{cite web| url = https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:xMNl1h24Z5oJ:www.eclac.org/publicaciones/xml/6/20606/lcg2230e_cap8.pdf+conosur+argentina+chile+y+uruguay+recibieron+inmigrantes+europeos&gl=cl&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEESgPKhHPhWvASrcdlpdyAdXFt6Kh7N5j-HbzcmA8nSVHcnjm1oaGPUs1LqWeMWLJngvABPlFZm0Ho4ZnZzcuFldFPqnh_0NzjP8w6yt5n1Z5M1ff9y4bVv9pITvkAKRfF-VQFl0W| title = Etnicidad y ciudadanía en América Latina.}}

{{Main|Culture of North America|Culture of Latin America}}

{{See also|Pan American Championship}}

Baseball is one of the most popular sports in the Americas, having spread through the hemisphere after the growth of US influence in the late 19th century. It overtook cricket, a fellow bat-and-ball sport spread by earlier British influence, in most places outside of the Commonwealth Caribbean. Other American sports, such as basketball, have grown throughout the region over time.{{Cite book |url=https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/9781317980360 |title=Mapping an Empire of American Sport |date=2013-09-13 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-317-98036-0 |editor-last=Dyreson |editor-first=Mark |edition=0 |language=en |doi=10.4324/9781315872971 |editor-last2=Mangan |editor-first2=J.A. |editor-last3=Park |editor-first3=Roberta J.}}

The following is a list of multinational organizations in the Americas.

{{div col|colwidth=20em}}

• Alliance for Progress
• American Capital of Culture
• Andean Community of Nations
• Association of Caribbean States
• Bank of the South
• Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas
• Caribbean Community
• CARICOM Single Market and Economy
• Central American Common Market
• Central American Parliament
• Community of Latin American and Caribbean States
• Contadora Group
• Free Trade Area of the Americas
• Latin American Free Trade Agreement
• Latin American Parliament or Parlatino
• Mercosur or Mercosul
• North Atlantic Treaty Organization
• Organization of American States
• Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States
• Organization of Ibero-American States
• Pacific Alliance
• Pan American Sports Organization
• Regional Security System
• Rio Group
• School of the Americas
• Summit of the Americas
• Union of South American Nations
• United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement
• YOA Orchestra of the Americas

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{{Portal|North America|South America|Geography}}

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• Amerrisque Mountains
• Abya Yala – indigenous name for the North and South American continents
• British North America
• Columbia (name)
• Ethnic groups in Central America
• French America
• Indigenous Peoples' Day
• La Merika
• List of conflicts in the Americas
• List of former sovereign states
• List of oldest buildings in the Americas
• Monarchies in the Americas
• New Sweden
• Pan-Americanism
• Pan-American Highway
• Pan American Games
• Personification of the Americas
• Southern Cone

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{{Reflist|group=note}}

{{Reflist}}

{{refbegin}}

• "Americas". [http://www.columbiagazetteer.org/ The Columbia Gazetteer of the World Online]. New York: Columbia University Press, 2006.
• "Americas". Encyclopædia Britannica, 15th ed. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 1986. {{ISBN|0-85229-434-4}}
• Burchfield, R. W. Fowler's Modern English Usage. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004. {{ISBN|0-19-861021-1}}

• Fee, Margery, and J. McAlpine. Oxford Guide to Canadian English Usage. Toronto: Oxford University Press, 1997. {{ISBN|0-19-541619-8}}
• {{cite journal | last1 = Kane | first1 = Katie | year = 1999| title = Nits Make Lice: Drogheda, Sand Creek, and the Poetics of Colonial Extermination | journal = Cultural Critique | volume = 42 | issue = 42| pages = 81–103 | doi = 10.2307/1354592 | jstor = 1354592 }}
• Pearsall, Judy, and Bill Trumble, ed. Oxford English Reference Dictionary, 2nd ed. (rev.). Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002. {{ISBN|0-19-860652-4}}
• Rosenberg, Matt (9 April 2018). "[https://www.thoughtco.com/define-north-south-latin-anglo-america-4068990 How to Define North, South, Latin, and Anglo America]". ThoughtCo.

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{{Commons}}

{{Wiktionary}}

{{Wikiquote}}

• [http://unstats.un.org/unsd/demographic/products/vitstats/serATab2.pdf United Nations population data by latest available Census: 2008–2009]
• [http://www.oas.org/ Organization of American States]
• [http://www.coha.org/ Council on Hemispheric Affairs]
• {{Cite NIE |last=Gannett |first=Henry |authorlink=Henry Gannett |last2=Ingersoll |first2=Ernest |author2link=Ernest Ingersoll |last3=Winship |first3=George Parker |author3link=George Parker Winship |year=1905 |wstitle=America and others |short=x}}

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|title = Articles related to the Americas

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{{Countries of North America}}

{{Countries of South America}}

{{History of the Americas}}

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{{Regions of the world}}

{{Continents of the world}}

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Category:Continents

Category:Supercontinents