European colonization of the Americas

European colonization of the Americas began as early as the 10th - 11th century, when West Norse sailors explored and briefly settled limited areas on the shores of present-day Canada. These Vikings were Norwegians who had settled Iceland, discovered Greenland, then sailed up the Arctic region of North America alongside Greenland, and down alongside Canada to explore and settle. According to Icelandic Sagas, violent conflicts with the indigenous population ultimately made the Norse abandon those settlements.

Extensive European colonization began in 1492, when a Spanish expedition headed by Christopher Columbus sailed west to find a new trade route to the Far East but inadvertently landed in what came to be known to Europeans as the "New World". European conquest, large-scale exploration, colonization and industrial development soon followed. Columbus' first two voyages (1492–93) reached the Bahamas and various Caribbean islands, including Hispaniola, Puerto Rico and Cuba. In 1497, sailing from Bristol on behalf of England, John Cabot landed on the North American coast, and a year later, Columbus's third voyage reached the South American coast. As the sponsor of Christopher Columbus's voyages, Spain was the first European power to settle and colonize the largest areas, from North America and the Caribbean to the southern tip of South America. Spanish cities were founded as early as 1496 with Santo Domingo in today's Dominican Republic.

Americas

The Americas, or America, also known as the Western Hemisphere and the New World, comprise the totality of territories in North America and South America.

Along with their associated islands, they cover 8% of the Earth's total surface area and 28.4% of its land area. The topography is dominated by the American Cordillera, a long chain of mountains that run the length of the west coast. The flatter eastern side of the Americas is dominated by large river basins, such as the Amazon, Mississippi, and La Plata. Since the Americas extend 14,000 km (8,700 mi) from north to south, the climate and ecology vary widely, from the arctic tundra of Northern Canada, Greenland, and Alaska, to the tropical rain forests in Central America and South America.

Humans first settled the Americas from Asia between 42,000 and 17,000 years ago. A second migration of Na-Dene speakers followed later from Asia. The subsequent migration of the Inuit into the neoarctic around 3500 BCE completed what is generally regarded as the settlement by the indigenous peoples of the Americas.

History of colonialism

The historical phenomenon of colonisation is one that stretches around the globe and across time. Modern state global colonialism, or imperialism, began in the 15th century with the "Age of Discovery", led by Portuguese and Spanish exploration of the Americas, the coasts of Africa, the Middle East, India and East Asia. The Spanish and Portuguese empires were the first global empires because they were the first to stretch across different continents, covering vast territories around the globe. The phrase "the empire on which the sun never sets" was first used for the Spanish Empire in the 16th century. During the late 16th and 17th centuries, England, France and the Dutch Republic also established their own overseas empires, in direct competition with each other. The end of the 18th and early 19th century saw the first era of decolonization, when most of the European colonies in the Americas gained their independence from their respective metropoles. Spain was irreversibly weakened after the loss of their New World colonies, but the Kingdom of Great Britain (uniting Scotland with England and Wales), France, Portugal, and the Dutch turned their attention to the Old World, particularly South Africa, India, Pakistan and South East Asia, where coastal enclaves had already been established. The second industrial revolution, in the 19th century, led to what has been termed the era of New Imperialism, when the pace of colonization rapidly accelerated, the height of which was the Scramble for Africa, in which Belgium, Germany and Italy were participants.

Americas (terminology)

The Americas, also known as America, are lands of the western hemisphere, composed of numerous entities and regions variably defined by geography, politics, and culture.

The Americas are recognised in the English-speaking world to comprise two separate continents: North America and South America. The Americas are also considered to comprise a single continent (named América), in Latin America and some other areas.

Physical geography

America (disambiguation)

America is a short form name for the United States of America.

America or América may also refer to:

Geography

Film and television

Literature

3 Américas

3 Américas is a 2007 Argentine/U.S. dramatic film written and directed by Cristina Kotz Cornejo. The film was produced by Cristina Kotz Cornejo and Angela Counts. The story takes place in Boston, Massachusetts and Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Plot

With summer approaching, 16-year-old América has two issues, or so she thinks. She hates school and her aunt Carolina’s alcoholic husband, Joey. She passes the days shoplifting, hanging out with her friends and trying to avoid Joey.

After a life-changing event, América, whose Spanish is limited, is sent to Buenos Aires, Argentina to live with her reclusive and anti-American grandmother, Lucía América Campos. In Argentina, América struggles to find her place with a grandmother she has never known and to hold onto a friendship with Sergio, a neighbor twice her age.

Festivals/Exhibitions