North America

North America or North America (in English North America and in French Amérique du Nord) is a subcontinent in the Americas and considered by many, due to cultural difference, a continent of the supercontinent of America. It lies in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely in the Western Hemisphere and is bordered on the north by the Arctic Ocean, on the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the northeast with Northern Europe through Greenland, to the southeast with the Caribbean Sea, to the southwest with the Pacific Ocean and to the northwest with North Asia through the Bering Strait. It is connected to South America by the narrow territorial bridge that represents Central America, which, depending on the region of the world, is sometimes considered equally North American, and other times a separate subcontinent.

Under the consideration of a triad, it would cover an area of approximately 24,323,000 km², which represents around 4.8% of the total surface of the planet and 16.5% of the emerged lands. In 2014 its estimated population was more than 472 million inhabitants. In 2014 the average HDI of all the countries of the North American subcontinent was 0.895. Numerous native and immigrant languages are spoken, but the official (legally or de facto) and widely predominant ones are English, Spanish and French. However, these values change under the conception of North America from Alaska to Panama, including the Caribbean.

Toponymy

The political map of North America in English goes from Alaska to Panama, so the Central American and Caribbean countries are equally North American for the Anglo-Saxon world.

It is widely accepted that the name “America” comes from the navigator and explorer Amerigo Vespucci, and that it was the German cartographer Martin Waldseemüller who gave it that name. Vespucci was the first European to suggest that America was not the East Indies, but a new world unknown to Europeans. The names North America and South America arise from the fact that the continent is made up of two large land masses, one in the north and the other in the south.

The second, less widely accepted theory is that this name comes from an English merchant named Richard Amerike, from Bristol, who is believed to have financed John Cabot's voyage from England to Newfoundland in 1497. Another theory is that the name comes from from an Amerindian language.

Bounding

Map indicating the different conceptions and regions about North America.

There is no single criteria to define this term. In Spanish-speaking countries, usage normally defines North America as the subcontinent made up of Canada, the United States (including Alaska), Mexico, (up to the Isthmus of Tehuantepec), Greenland, and adjacent islands. On the other hand, in English-speaking countries and others, North America is usually considered as a continent that is made up of the aforementioned as well as Central America and the Antilles, presenting a natural limit with South America more or less at the current border of Panama / Colombia. On the other hand, the UN geoscheme uses “Northern America” to indicate the cultural subregion made up of the United States and Canada.

History

Inuit iglos Village on Baffin Island, illustration by Charles Francis Hall, 1865.

When the Europeans arrived, North America was populated by indigenous ethnic groups from Asian immigration through the Bering Strait.

The European colonization of the North (in chronological order: Spanish, French and English) basically consisted of the progressive advance from the eastern coast to the west. In general terms, the Anglo-Saxon colonization meant the marginalization and even the extermination of the indigenous populations, to the point of confining the survivors in reserves located in the most unproductive and sterile areas of the territory. However, the French and Spanish colonizations meant the mixture of races and miscegenation.

Pre-Columbian era

North American cultural areas in the time of contact with Europeans, according to the division proposed by Kroeber.

Anthropologists have various theories about the first populations to settle in North America. Genetic and archaeological evidence indicates the first Americans arrived from Asia around the last great ice age, when ice covered the Bering Strait creating a land bridge called Beringia.

Prior to European contact, the indigenous peoples of North America were divided into multiple political entities, from small groups of a few families to chiefdoms and kingdoms. They lived in several cultural areas that roughly corresponded to the different geobiological zones that they occupied and that give a good idea of their different uses and customs. For example, from the bison hunters of the Great Plains, or the farmers of Mesoamerica. These indigenous groups can also be classified linguistically (for example, the Atapascan, Algic, and Uto-Aztec families are three of the most widespread in North America), although it is important to note that peoples with related languages did not always share the same material culture. They weren't even always allies.

The Archean period in the Americas saw a changing environment that featured a hotter, more arid climate and the disappearance of megafauna. Most population groups at that time were still highly mobile hunter-gatherers, but after individual groups began to emerge, they focused on the resources available to them locally, so over time there was no pattern of increasing regional generalization such as, Southwest, Arctic, Poverty, Dalton, and Traditional Plane.

Map of the first human migrations based on theory Outside of Africa.Homo sapiens Neandertales The first hominids

These regional adaptations would become the norm with less reliance on hunting and gathering, with a more varied economy of small game, fish, seasonally harvested wild vegetables, and plant foods. Many groups continued as big game hunters, however their hunting traditions became more varied and their methods of meat acquisition more sophisticated. The placement of artifacts and materials within an archaic necropolis indicated social differentiation according to the status of some groups.

The southernmost cultural groups in North America were responsible for the domestication of many crops now used around the world, such as tomatoes and squash. Perhaps most importantly, one of the most important crops in the world is corn. As a result of the development of agriculture in the South, many important cultural advances were made there. For example, the Mayan civilization developed a writing system, built huge pyramids, had a complex calendar, and developed the concept of zero 500 years before anyone else in the Old World. The Mayan culture was still present when the Europeans arrived in Central America, but political domination in the area had shifted to the Aztec Empire.

Further north in Mesoamerica, the human groups that developed more complex societies and cultures are the peoples of the Mississippian culture and the Iroquois Confederacy in well-documented historical times. In addition, there are some complex cultures known only archaeologically, such as those of the Anasazi or the Hohokam.

The arrival of Europeans in the Americas brought about a drastic, often traumatic or catastrophic change for them and their cultures. Entire peoples, even entire language groups, disappeared, and those that survived generally changed very rapidly.

Viking settlements in America

L'Anse aux Meadows (a corruption of the original French name L'Anse-aux-Méduses, “The Jellyfish Cove”) is a spot located on the northern tip of from the island of Newfoundland, in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador (Canada), where the Norwegian researcher Helge Ingstad and his wife, the archaeologist Anne Stine, found in 1960 some grassy elevations that turned out to be the remains of a Viking village.

In 2015 a possible second settlement was found at another point on the island of Newfoundland called Point Rosee, 500 km further to the southeast than initially known of the Vikings. The find was detected by American archaeologist Sarah Parcak using infrared imaging technology from space.

Colonial period

By 1663 the French crown had taken control of the fur-trading companies of New France. This marked the beginning of a new era of more formal colonialism in North America.

Rivalry between European powers created a series of wars in North America that had a major impact on the development of the colonies. The territory changed hands several times. Peace was not achieved until French forces in North America were defeated at the Battle of the Plains of Abraham (in Quebec) and France ceded most of its claims to it outside the Caribbean. The end of the French presence in North America was a disaster for the indigenous countries of eastern North America, who lost their main ally against the Anglo-American expansion of extermination. During Pontiac's Rebellion (1763-1766), a confederation of Great Lakes and area tribes clashed in an unsuccessful campaign to defend their rights to land west of the Appalachian Mountains, which led to their being locked up. on reservations under the royal proclamation of 1763.

Between 1535 and 1821, the territories colonized by the Spanish Empire in present-day Mexico were called the Viceroyalty of New Spain.

Independences

The coming of the Thirteen Colonies Revolution had a major impact on the entire continent. The most important thing was the creation of the United States of America. However, the American Revolutionary War was a major war that touched every corner of the region. The settlement of United Empire Loyalists led to the creation of Canada as a separate community.

Meanwhile, Spain's grip on Mexico was weakening. Independence was declared in 1810 by Miguel Hidalgo, starting at that time the Mexican War of Independence. In 1813, José María Morelos and the Congress of Anahuac signed the Solemn Act of the Declaration of the Independence of North America, the first legal document establishing the separation of New Spain from Spain. Finally Mexico became independent in 1821 as an Empire and Spain recognized it as an independent nation in 1823.

Territorial expansion

Border showing the Guatemalan territory lost and subsequently annexed to Mexico.

Temporary line of political division in North America

From the moment of independence from the United States, the United States expanded rapidly westward, acquiring the vast Louisiana Territory in 1803. Between 1810 and 1811 an Indian confederation fought unsuccessfully to keep Americans out of the Great Lakes. Tecumseh's followers went north into Canada, where they helped the British repel an American attempt to seize Canada during the War of 1812. After the war, British and Irish settlement in Canada increased dramatically. The expansion of the United States was complicated by the division of the states into "free" and "slave," which led to the Missouri Compromise of 1820.

Also, Canada faced a division between French and English communities that led to the outbreak of civil war in 1837.

Mexico faced constant political tensions between liberals and conservatives, had a territorial conflict with Guatemala where Mexico achieved the acquisition of Chiapas and the soconusco, as well as had conflicts with the United States over Texas, which declared itself independent (for American invaders) in 1836 and by the California territories.

Conflicts

The secession of the Confederate States and the resulting civil war shook American society. This led to the abolition of slavery in the United States, the destruction of most of the South, and loss of life. Since the conflict, the United States emerged as a powerful industrialized nation.

Partly in response to the threat of American power, four of the Canadian colonies agreed to federate in 1867, creating the Dominion of Canada. The new nation was not fully sovereign, but they did enjoy considerable independence from Great Britain. With the addition of British Columbia, Canada expanded into the Pacific in 1871 and established a transcontinental railroad, the Canadian Pacific, in 1885.

In Mexico, conflicts such as the War of Reform weakened the Mexican state, opening it up to foreign influence. This led to the Second French Empire invading Mexico and the establishment of a Second Mexican Empire.

There was also the conflict with Guatemala in which Mexican fishing boats were attacked by the Guatemalan Air Force (FAG) in Guatemalan territorial waters, resulting in three Mexican fishermen dead and fourteen injured. Ten of the survivors were subjected to military interrogation by Guatemala. The situation caused a temporary termination of diplomatic and commercial relations between Mexico and Guatemala, a border bridge was destroyed and both countries activated a military alert.

Geography

Satellite image of North America.

Climate and vegetation

The vegetation and climate of North America has a wide range of climates. Although the climatic group that prevails is that of temperate climates. Specifically, the continental climate is the one that covers the largest area. Although the range is greater and varies from the tropical climate of southern Mexico to the polar climate of the northernmost regions of the continent, it has most of the world's climates. In the north there are arctic tundras (eg Greenland, Yukon), passing through a great variety of forests (Rocky Mountains, Appalachians and the forests of the Sierra Madres), tropical forests (Selva Lacandona and the Chimalapas), deserts (Sonoran Desert, Zona del Silencio), plains (Great Plains, Comarca Lagunera), mangroves (eg Louisiana, Tabasco), etc. Roughly speaking, the vegetation associated with them is typical of the Holoarctic empire, in the north, and the Neotropical empire, in the south. The border between both empires is located around 40°N.

Demographics

Languages

Currently, the most widely spoken languages in North America are English, Spanish, and French. The term Anglo-America is sometimes used to refer to the Anglophone countries of the entire American continent. The term Latin America refers to the area of America where the Romance languages (derived from Latin) predominate. Both terms can be used for the North American subcontinent.

• The English language, although not official, is the majority language of the United States. In Canada it is more spoken than French, although both languages are co-official in Canada. It is also the official language in the Bermuda Islands, which is a British unit.

• The Spanish language, although not official, is the national language of Mexico according to the General Law on Linguistic Rights of this country and is the second most spoken language in the United States. Mexico has the largest Hispanic-speaking population in the world and the United States is the second largest Hispanic-speaking country.

• The French language has historically played an important role in North America and remains present in several regions. In Canada it is the official and most spoken language of the province of Quebec, in addition to being one of the two officers in the province of Nuevo Brunswick. In front of the coast of Newfoundland, the islands of San Pedro and Miquelón are French units, and in the state of Louisiana (South America) there are small bilingual communities (French and English).

• The Greenland language since June 2009 is the only official language in Greenland, an autonomous country in the Kingdom of Denmark, in addition to being the most spoken language in that territory. The Danish language, without being official, is used in administrative matters and by a European minority.

Although a large number of indigenous languages have been lost since the European conquest, more than 250 indigenous languages (belonging to more than 40 different language families) are still spoken, mainly in Mexico and the United States. In Mexico, some 60 indigenous languages are recognized as co-official national languages. In the United States and Canada, indigenous languages have no official recognition, and the vast majority of them are endangered languages. In Mexico, indigenous languages have official recognition, and the education department publishes school materials in some of these languages.

As for the foreign languages of North America, English, French and Spanish are officially recognized. In addition, in the United States there is a large number of immigrant communities that continue to use their native languages.

Population

Mexico City is the most populous city in Mexico and North America and the second metropolitan area in the world.

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the second in North America.

Los Angeles.

Chicago.

Toronto is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America.

Demographically, the subcontinent is racially and ethnically diverse. The three main ethnic groups are mestizos, blacks, and whites. There are important minorities of Amerindians and people from Asia. The most populous country in North America is the United States, with more than 325 million people. The second most populous country is Mexico, with a population of more than 130 million people. Canada ranks third, with more than 35 million people.^[update]

The list shows the cities in North America that exceed one million inhabitants, in 2020 according to the official censuses of Mexico and the United States and 2021 for Canada

Most populated cities in North America

N.o	City	Country	Population (2020-2021)	Ref.
1	Mexico City	Mexico Mexico	9 209 944
2	New York	United States	8,804,190
3	Los Angeles	United States	3,898,747
4	Toronto	CanadaCanada	2,794,356
5	Chicago	United States	2,746,388
6	Houston	United States	2,304,580
7	Tijuana	Mexico Mexico	1 810 645
8	Montreal	CanadaCanada	1,762,949
9	Ecatepec	Mexico Mexico	1 643 623
10	Phoenix	United States	1,608,139
11	Philadelphia	United States	1,603,797
12	León	Mexico Mexico	1 579 803
13	Puebla	Mexico Mexico	1 542 232
14	Juárez	Mexico Mexico	1 501 551
15	San Antonio	United States	1,434,625
16	San Diego	United States	1,386,932
17	Guadalajara	Mexico Mexico	1 385 621
18	Calgary	CanadaCanada	1,306,784
19	Dallas	United States	1,304,379
20	Zapopan	Mexico Mexico	1 257 547
21	Monterrey	Mexico Mexico	1 142 952
22	Nezahualcóyotl	Mexico Mexico	1 072 676
23	Ottawa	CanadaCanada	1,017,449
24	San José	United States	1,013,240
25	Edmonton	CanadaCanada	1.010.899

Religion

Christianity

Approximately 75-80% of the population consider themselves Christian. Within it, the majority are identified as historical or traditional Christians since the colony (Protestantism and Catholicism). Within studies in recent decades there are other types of recent Christians (Mormons, Jehovah's Witnesses, Moravian Church and marginal Christians).

• Mexico: 92 %
• United States: 80%
• Canada: 73%

Catholicism

• Mexico: 82 %
• Canada: 41 %
• United States: 29 %

Protestantism

• United States: 7%
• Canada: 30%
• Mexico: 8 %

Other Christians

• United States: 2 %
• Mexico: 2 %
• Canada: 1 %

Other religions

Due to Asian and Mediterranean immigration in the 20th century, other religions were incorporated into North America, including, Judaism, Baha'i, Islam and Buddhism as the largest, comprising between 1 and 3%. There are also religions that encompass spirituality, such as New Age, Gnosticism, and the occult.

• United States: 2 %
• Mexico: 2 %
• Canada: 2 %

No religious affiliation

These include atheism, agnosticism, secular humanism, religious skepticism, and nonreligious. Irreligiousness is a movement that is gaining more and more popularity in American society. As modernization and infrastructure advance, society becomes more transparent in religion. Religious practice is less than 30% in Canada and the United States. In Mexico the figure appears to be 53%. According to GALLUP statistics in 2010, 65% believe there is a God, 20% believe in some spiritual force, and 15% do not believe there is a God or any spiritual force.

• Canada: 26 %
• United States: 18 %
• Mexico: 6 %

Countries and territories

Without the Central American region, North America is politically divided into three sovereign and independent countries: Canada, the United States, and Mexico. In addition to the subcontinent, 3 insular dependencies are linked: Greenland, Bermuda and Saint Pierre and Miquelon, as well as the uninhabited Clipperton Island.

Flag	Name/Official Name	Established	Surface (km2)	Population	Capital	Official language(s)	Head of State	Head of Government
	Canada	1931	9 984 670	35 362 905	Ottawa	English/French	Carlos III	Justin Trudeau
	United States United States of America	1776	9 371 174	323 995 528	Washington D.C.	English	Joe Biden
	Mexico United Mexican States	1810	1 964 375	123 166 749	Mexico City	Indigenous Spanish/languages	Andrés Manuel López Obrador
		Total	21 320 219	428 525 182

Area and population data consulted The World factbook (breakable link available on the Internet Archive; see history, first version and last). for 2016

Flag	Name/Official Name	Status	Surface (km2)	Population	Capital	Official language(s)	Head of State	Head of Government
	Bermuda British Overseas Territory	2002	54	70 537	Hamilton	in	Carlos III	Ewart Brown Prime Minister
	Clipperton Island French Overseas Territory	1931	6	0	-	-	Emmanuel Macron	René Bidal High Commissioner
	Greenland Autonomous region of Denmark	2009	2 166 086	61 100	Nuuk	kl	Margarita II	Múte Bourup Egede Prime Minister
	San Pedro and Miquelón French overseas collectivity	2003	242	6069	San Pedro	fr	Emmanuel Macron	Stéphane Artano President of the Council
		Total	2 166 388	137 706

Area and population data consulted The World Factbook (breakable link available on the Internet Archive; see history, first version and last). for 2016.

Economy

Economy
Region	GDP 2019
North America	USD 23,532,001 million
European Union	USD 19,669,743 million
ChinaChina	USD 14,092,514 million
India	USD 9,446,789 million
JapanJapan	USD 5,405,072 million

The economy of North America is one of the largest in the world, its three constituent countries (Mexico, the United States and Canada), have a GDP PPP of 18,000,000 million dollars (which exceeds the European Union), They have a high industrial and economic development, which places them among the 15 largest economies in the world. The United States is the economically strongest country on the continent and in the world, it has an economy oriented towards industrial production, whose main partners are Mexico and Canada (with whom the T-MEC forms), as well as China, Japan and Germany.

The second largest economy in the subcontinent is Mexico, it is a newly industrialized country with accelerated industrial development. The Mexican economy is currently diversified, although Mexico continues to be one of the largest oil producers in the world. Its main trading partners are the United States and Canada; however, the integration between Mexico and Canada has been much slower than expected.

Canada was, until a few years ago, the second largest economy in North America (the index in terms of nominal GDP of Canada with respect to Mexico continues to be higher), has a market-oriented financial system, production patterns and high standards of life, has large natural gas deposits on the east coast and in three western provinces, along with a wide variety of natural resources. Its main trading partner is the United States, where it allocates more than 85% of its exports.

Among the international institutions established between the North American countries, the North American Development Bank stands out, governed bilaterally by Mexico and the United States, whose purpose is to finance projects certified by the Border Environment Cooperation Commission.

The territories of North America, Greenland, Bermuda, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, have high Human Development Indices, as well as sustainable economies. The economy of the three territories depends on fishing and exporting fish, as well as the production of postage stamps. In Greenland the most exported shellfish is shrimp; while, in Saint Pierre and Miquelon, the largest export is cod; registering economic ups and downs in recent years.

The strongest currencies used in North America are the US dollar (the official currency of the United States and widely used in international trade), the Canadian dollar and the Mexican peso (the most widely used emerging currency in the world). To a lesser extent, the Bermudian dollar, the euro (official in Saint Pierre and Miquelon) and the Danish krone (in Greenland), since each country and territory, with the exception of Saint Pierre and Miquelon and Greenland, has its own national currency..

VAT
Europeans when visiting the United States should keep in mind that in the supermarket the price marked on the products is not the final price – VAT is applied at the checkout. Each of the federal states in the United States can decide for itself how much is added to the products. Currently VAT in that country varies between 4 and 8%. In Mexico, the current VAT rate is 16% (8% in the northern border strip) on all goods and services, with few exceptions such as medicines and unprocessed foods.

PPP GDP 2022	Countries per nominal GDP 2022	Per capita GDP 2020
Pos. Country Millions of $US 1 United States 25 346 805 2 Mexico 2 890 685 3 Canada 236 928	Pos. Country Millions of $US 1 United States 24 796 076 2 Canada 2 189 786 3 Mexico 1 371 635	Pos. Country Millions of $US 1 United States 63 593 2 Canada 46 611 3 Mexico 18 444

Trade agreements between both countries

NAFTA Logo.

NAFTA as background

It is an important trade bloc between Mexico, the United States and Canada (also known as NAFTA, for its acronym in English North American Free Trade Agreement: 'North American free trade agreement'). It is one of the most important trade blocs in the world and is supported by two trilateral supplements: the North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation, whose objective is the conservation and protection of the environment in North America, and the North American Agreement on Labor Cooperation, which encompasses the commercial aspects of the agreement.

As a result of this treaty and its expansion, since 2005, the so-called North American Leaders Summit has been held annually, the last venue was the city of Guadalajara in 2009, this being the most important meeting in the region, where highly relevant issues for the area are discussed and regional integration is promoted.

USMCA

On September 30, 2018, it was announced that the United States, Mexico, and Canada had reached an agreement to replace NAFTA with the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (T -MEC or USMCA for its acronym in English). The new free trade agreement entered into force definitively on July 1, 2020 after the Canadian Parliament approved the agreement and the three presidents—Trump, López Obrador and Trudeau—definitively sealed the new agreement with their signatures.

Use of the term

• Both North America and North America are the correct designations of the American subcontinent that encompasses the group of countries located north of Mexico and Mexico itself. The use of North America as a synonym for the United States of America is quite widespread. Although it is not censurable, given its frequency, it is preferable to maintain the distinction of both denominations, the United States of America for the country and North America for the entire subcontinent, especially in contexts where its reference may be ambiguous.

• Because in the Anglo-speaking countries they use the name "North America" to refer only to the United States and Canada, the subcontinent (Mexico and Central America) is usually divided. Central America includes the following countries: Guatemala, Belize, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama (country related to the Caribbean and historically associated with South America).

• Usually the terms North America and North America they are synonyms, but sometimes a distinction is made between the two terms, referring the first (North America) to a purely geographical concept that includes Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua and Panama, and referring the second (North America) to a political concept (which does not include Mexico and Central America) or to a cultural and historical concept (which does not include Central America).

See also

• Portal:America. Content related to America.
• North-West Coast of North America
• History of North America
• Central America
• South America
• Antilles
• Caribbean (region)
• Annex: North American Cities by GDP
• Annex: North American Cities by Population

Notes

References

External links

• Wikimedia Commons hosts a multimedia category North America.
• Wikinoticias has news related to North America.
• Wikis hosts travel guides or over North America.