Concept

North America

Overview

North America is a continent in the Northern and Western hemispheres. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Caribbean Sea, and to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean.

North America covers an area of around 24,709,000 square kilometers (9,540,000 square miles), representing approximately 16.5% of Earth's land area and 4.8% of its total surface area. It is the third-largest continent by size after Asia and Africa, and the fourth-largest continent by population after Asia, Africa, and Europe. As of 2021, North America's population is estimated at over 592 million people in 23 independent states and territories, or about 7.5% of the world's population.

The continent includes the subregions of Northern America (comprising Canada, Greenland, and the continental United States as well as the insular territories of Bermuda and Saint Pierre and Miquelon) and Middle America (comprising Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean). In human geography, the terms "North America" and "North American" often refer to just Northern America.

It is unknown exactly how and when the first human populations reached North America. People are known to have lived in the Americas at least 20,000 years ago, but various evidence points to possibly earlier dates. The Paleo-Indian period in North America followed the Last Glacial Period, and lasted until about 10,000 years ago when the Archaic period began. The classic stage followed the Archaic period, and lasted from approximately the 6th to 13th centuries. Norse exploration and colonization began in the late 10th century; the Norse built several settlements in Greenland and at least one settlement in Newfoundland.

Beginning in 1492, the voyages of Christopher Columbus led to a transatlantic exchange, including migrations of European settlers during the Age of Discovery and the early modern period. Present-day cultural and ethnic patterns reflect interactions between early European colonists, indigenous peoples, enslaved Africans, later immigrants from Europe and Asia, and descendants of these respective groups. European colonization has led to most North Americans speaking European languages (such as English, Spanish, and French) and the cultures of the region commonly reflect Western traditions. However, there remain significant indigenous populations that continue to adhere to their respective pre-colonial cultural and linguistic traditions.

Overview adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0; see the article history for authors).

In the original texts

Passages from public-domain books where North America is discussed.

But though North America is not yet so rich as England, it is much more thriving, and advancing with much greater rapidity to the further acquisition of riches. The most decisive mark of the prosperity of any country is the increase of the number of its inhabitants.
Adam Smith, An Inquiry Into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations
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It is known that all mammifers (as well as all other organisms) are united in one great system; but that the different species, genera, or families of the same order inhabit different quarters of the globe. If we divide the land{341} into two divisions, according to the amount of difference, and disregarding the numbers of the terrestrial mammifers inhabiting them, we shall have first Australia including New Guinea…
Charles Darwin, The Foundations of the Origin of Species Two Essays written in 1842 and 1844
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North America, on the other hand, is characterised (putting on one side a few wandering species) by numerous peculiar gnawers, and by four genera (the ox, sheep, goat, and antelope) of hollow-horned ruminants, of which great division South America is not known to possess a single species. Formerly, but within the period when most of the now existing shells were living, North America possessed, besides hollow-horned…
Charles Darwin, Journal of Researches into the Natural History and Geology of the Countries Visited During the Voyage Round the World of H.M.S. Beagle Under
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His reasoning, then, would have been reversed thus: "Since the present Indian of North America is brave, and authors tell us that the ancestors of those of South America were brave also, it must follow that the cowardice of their descendants is the effect of subjugation and ill treatment." For he observes, ib. §. 27, that "los obrages los aniquillan por la inhumanidad con que se les trata."
Thomas Jefferson, The Writings of Thomas Jefferson, Vol. 8
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These prices are all above the London price; and wages are said to be as high in the other colonies as in New York. The price of provisions is everywhere in North America much lower than in England. A dearth has never been known there. In the worst seasons they have always had a sufficiency for themselves, though less for exportation. If the money price of labour, therefore, be higher than it is anywhere in the…
Adam Smith, An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations
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Philosophers who discussed North America

Related ideas

Opposing perspectives

Algonquian languages

Place in the tradition

Part of Deism.

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