why are north and south america different continents
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 or the Americas. This viewpoint was common in the United States until World War II, and remains prevalent in some Asian six-continent models.[11] This remains the more common vision in Latin American countries, Spain, Portugal, France, Italy and Greece, where they are taught as a single continent.
Continent In 1501, Amerigo Vespucci and Gonçalo Coelho attempted to sail around what they considered the southern end of the Asian mainland into the Indian Ocean, passing through Fernando de Noronha. After reaching the coast of Brazil, they sailed a long way further south along the coast of South America, confirming that this was a land of continental proportions and that it also extended much further south than Asia was known to.[48] On return to Europe, an account of the voyage, called Mundus Novus ("New World"), was published under Vespucci's name in 1502 or 1503,[49] although it seems that it had additions or alterations by another writer.[50] Regardless of who penned the words, Mundus Novus credited Vespucci with saying, "I have discovered a continent in those southern regions that is inhabited by more numerous people and animals than our Europe, or Asia or Africa",[51] the first known explicit identification of part of the Americas as a continent like the other three.
Economic nationalism While the coining of the term "
Americas The Americas (also collectively called America)[5][6][7] comprise the totality of the continents of North and South America.[8][9][10] Together, they make up most of the land in Earth's western hemisphere[11][12][13][14][15][16] and comprise the New World.