From Americo Vespucci, a Florentine, who pretended to have first discovered the western continent.
America is one of the great continents, first discovered by Christopher Colombus in August 1st, 1942. It extends from the eightieth degree of north, to the fifty-fourth degree of south latitude; and from the thirty-fifth to the one hundred and fifty-sixth degree of longtitude west from
Greenwich, being about nine thousand miles in length. Its breadth at
Darien is narrowed to about forty-five miles, but at the northern extremity is nearly four thousand miles.
America is more than a physical unity, it is a whole of societies and spaces that share a common
history. This
history commences in 1492, when by the hands of Europe, America enters the
history of the rest of the
world. Europe "discovered" what, to her, was a "new world" and colonized it.
For diverse reasons America, can be divided into:
* North, Central and South America: Physical Reason. (They are subcontinents, not continents).
* Political and Cultural: Anglo-America and Latin America.
Teacher: Pupils, today I shall teach you about America, the big mass of land in which our
country, the United States is. So, draw out your maps of the
American continent.
Pupil: But... Miss, I have heard that the continent is called The Americas... is that right?
Teacher: No, it isn't. It is a big mistake. The name of the
country is America. Yet, There are too many nationalist United Statesians they want everybody to call our country America. That's why.