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"America" was originally what is now called South America. Mercator then called "America" both North and South. Then common use in English forced "America" to m
by alecco 4y ago
"America" was originally what is now called South America. Mercator then called "America" both North and South. Then common use in English forced "America" to mean United States of America only. Schoolchildren in the rest of the countries are told "America" is a continent united by a continuous mountain range going from Alaska to Tierra del Fuego. I guess this will go away once education is globalized and homogenized into mainstream corporate narratives.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Americas#Etymology_and_naming https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Americas#Etymology_and_naming
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Cordillera https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Cordillera
- philwelch 4y agoYeah, sorry, if North and South America are all one continent, then Europe, Asia, and Africa are all one continent, too. In fact the Darien Gap is completely impassible, very much unlike the Urals or the Sinai.
- virgulino 4y ago>Yeah, sorry, if North and South America are all one continent, then Europe, Asia, and Africa are all one continent, too. In fact the Darien Gap is completely impassible, very much unlike the Urals or the Sinai. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Continent https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Continent North America and South America are treated as separate continents in the seven-continent model. However, they may also be viewed as a single continent known as America. This viewpoint was common in the United States until World War II, and remains prevalent in some Asian six-continent models. The single American continent model remains the more common view in France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Malta, Portugal, Spain, and Latin American countries. The Darien Gap is "impassable" only because it is a protected forest and therefore roads and railways are not allowed.