North America

North America is a continent the Western Hemisphere . Bordered on the north by the Arctic Ocean, on the east by the Atlantic Ocean, on the southeast by the Caribbean Sea and to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean. It is connected to South America by the narrow land bridge which represents Central America . It covers an area of approximately 24,315,410 km, representing about 4.8% of the total surface of the planet and 16.5% of its land area.that is part of America, located in the Northern Hemisphere, and almost entirely in

In 2009 the estimated population is over 480 million. North America has an HDI of 0.895 in 2013.

Toponymy
It is widely accepted that the name "America" ​​comes from the navigator and explorer  Amerigo Vespucci, which was the German cartographer  Martin Waldseemüller who gave him 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 and  South America come to be conformed to the mainland by two major land masses, one in the north and one in the south.

The second theory, less acceptance, is that the name comes from an English merchant named Richard Amerike, of Bristol , who is believed financed the trip of John Cabot of England to Newfoundland in 1497. Another theory is that the name comes from anAmerindian language .

Delimitation
No single criterion to define this term. In Spanish-speaking countries, usually defined using North America as the continent consists of Canada , the United States (including Alaska ), Mexico, the Isthmus of Tehuantepec , Greenland and adjacent islands. However in the English-speaking and others are usually considered to America as a larger continent which consists of the above plus Central America and the Caribbean, presenting a natural boundary with South America roughly current border Panama / Colombia. On yet another hand, the UN geoesquema use "North America" ​​as Anglo-American cultural description, indicating a subregion consists of U.S. and Canada (excluding Mexico).

History
The European colonization of the North (in chronological order: Spanish , French and English ) was basically the progression from the east coast to the west. Overall, Anglo colonization led to the marginalization and even the extermination of indigenous peoples, to confine to survivors in reserves located in the most unproductive, sterile land. However, French and Spanish colonization involved the mixing of races and miscegenation.On arrival of Europeans, North America was populated by ethnicindigenous immigration from Asia through the Bering Strait .

Columbian era
Anthropologists have different theories about the origin of the first people who settled in North America. Indigenous peoples have the whole series of myths that try to explain the already established on this land since it was created. Currently it is believed that the first humans arrived from Asia about the last great ice age, when ice covered the Bering Straitland bridge building.

Before contact with Europeans, the indigenous peoples of North America were divided into many political entities, from small groups of a few families to large empires. They lived in various cultural areas that corresponded roughly with the different geographical areas and biological occupied and give a good idea of the different customs of the people there (eg hunters bison of the Great Plains, or farmers of Mesoamerica ). These indigenous groups can also be classified by their language family (eg atapasca or Uto-Aztecan ), although it is important to note that people with the same family of languages ​​did not always share the same material culture, not even were always allies.

The Archaic period in the Americas saw a changing environment featuring a warmer more arid climate and the disappearance of the megafauna . Most of the population groups at this time were still highly mobile hunter-gatherers, but now individual groups started to focus on resources available to them locally, so over time there is a pattern of increasing regional generalization like, the Southwest, Arctic, Poverty, Dalton and Plano traditions.

The more southern cultural groups of North America were responsible for the domestication of many common crops now used around the world, such as tomatoes and pumpkins. Perhaps most important is that one major domesticated world staples, maize (corn).This regional adaptations would become the norm, with less reliance on hunting and gathering, with a more varied economy of small game, fish, seasonally wild vegetables and harvested plant foods. Many groups continued as big game hunters, but hunting traditions became more varied and meat procurement methods more sophisticated. The placement of artifacts and materials within an Archaic burial indicated social differentiation based on the state in some groups.

<p style="margin-top:0.4em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:19.1875px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">As a result of the development of agriculture in the south, many important cultural advances were made there. For example, the Maya civilization developed a writing system, built huge pyramids, had a complex calendar, and developed the concept of zero 500 years before anyone in the Old World. The Mayan culture was still present when the Spanish arrived in Central America, but political dominance in the area had shifted to the Aztec Empire further north.

<p style="margin-top:0.4em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:19.1875px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">On arrival of Europeans to the New World, indigenous peoples find that their culture has changed drastically. As such, membership of political and cultural groups changed as well. Disappeared several linguistic groups and others changed quite quickly. The names and cultures that Europeans recorded for the natives were not necessarily the same as those who had used a few generations before, or those that are currently used.

Colonial Period
<p style="line-height:19.1875px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">In 1663 the French crown had taken control of New France from the fur trading companies, and the English colonies charter gave way to greater metropolitan. This marked the beginning of a new era of more formal colonialism in North America.

<p style="margin-top:0.4em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:19.1875px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">The rivalry between the European powers created a series of wars in the mainland of North America that have a great impact on the development of the colonies. Territory often changed hands several times. Peace can not be achieved until the French forces in North America were defeated in the Battle of the Plains of Abraham in Quebec and France ceded most of their demands outside the Caribbean. The end of the French presence in North America was a disaster for the indigenous countries in eastern North America, which lost its main ally against Anglo settlement expansion. During Pontiac's Rebellion (1763-1766), a confederation of Great Lakes and area tribes fought an unsuccessful campaign to defend their rights to lands west of the Appalachian Mountains, which led been "reserved" to them under the Royal Proclamation of 1763.

<p style="margin-top:0.4em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:19.1875px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">Viceroyalty of New Spain (now Mexico) was the name of the territories ruled within the Spanish empire in North America and its periphery from 1535-1821.

Independence
<p style="line-height:19.1875px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">The arrival of the American Revolution had a great impact on the continent. Most important is directly led to the creation of the United States of America. However, the American Revolutionary War was associated with a major war that touched all corners of the region. The flight of the United Empire Loyalist led to the creation of English Canada as a separate community.

<p style="margin-top:0.4em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:19.1875px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">Meanwhile, hopes of Spain in Mexico was weakening. Independence was declared in 1810 by Miguel Hidalgo, the War of Independence of Mexico. In 1813, José María Morelos and the Congress of Anáhuac signed the Solemn Act of the Declaration of Independence in North America, the first legal document where the separation of New Spain about Spain is proclaimed. Spain finally recognized the independence of Mexico in 1821.

Territorial expansion
From the time of the independence of the United States, the country expanded rapidly westward, acquiring the vast territory of Louisiana in 1803. Between 1810 and 1811 an Indian confederation under Tecumseh fought unsuccessfully to keep Americans out of the Great Lakes.Followers Tecumseh then went north into Canada, where they helped the British to block a U.S. attempt to take over Canada during the War of 1812. After the war, the British and Irish settlement in Canada increased dramatically. U.S. expansion was complicated by the division between "free" and "slave" states, which led to the Missouri Compromise of 1820.

<p style="margin-top:0.4em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:19.1875px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">Also, Canada faced a split between French and English communities that led to the outbreak of civil war in 1837.

<p style="margin-top:0.4em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:19.1875px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">Mexico faced constant political tensions between liberals and conservatives, had a territorial dispute with Guatemala where Mexico got the acquisition of Chiapas and Soconusco, and also had conflicts with the United States through Texas, who declared independence (by invading Americans) in 1836 and through the territories of California.

Conflicts
<p style="line-height:19.1875px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">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 the huge loss of life. Since the war, the United States emerged as a powerful industrial nation.

<p style="margin-top:0.4em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:19.1875px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">Partly in response to the threat of American power, four Canadian colonies agreed to federate in 1867, creating the Dominion of Canada. The new nation was not fully sovereign, but enjoyed considerable independence from Britain. With the addition of British Columbia in Canada would expand to the Pacific in 1871 and set a transcontinental railway, the Canadian Pacific, in 1885.

<p style="margin-top:0.4em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:19.1875px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">In Mexico conflicts such as the Reform War left the state is weak, and is open to foreign influence. This led to the Second French Empire to invade Mexico and the establishment of a short-lived Second Mexican Empire.

<p style="margin-top:0.4em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:19.1875px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">In addition to the conflict with Guatemala in which Mexican fishing boats were attacked by the Guatemalan Air Force (FAG) Guatemala territorial waters. The balance was three fishermen dead and fourteen wounded. Ten of the survivors were subjected to military interrogation by Guatemala. The situation caused a temporary termination of diplomatic and trade relations between Mexico and Guatemala, a frontier bridge was destroyed and both countries triggered a military alert.

Geography
<span style="color:rgb(37,37,37);">The vegetation and climate in North America are varied: it has most of the world's climates. In the north are arctic tundra (eg  Greenland<span style="color:rgb(37,37,37);">, Yukon<span style="color:rgb(37,37,37);"> ), through a variety of forest (  Rocky Mountains<span style="color:rgb(37,37,37);"> ,  Appalachian<span style="color:rgb(37,37,37);"> and the three  Sierra Madres (in California and Wyoming)<span style="color:rgb(37,37,37);"> ), tropical forests (  Lacandon Jungle<span style="color:rgb(37,37,37);"> ,  Hawaii<span style="color:rgb(37,37,37);"> and  Chimalpas<span style="color:rgb(37,37,37);"> ), deserts (  Sonoran Desert<span style="color:rgb(37,37,37);"> ,  Zone of Silence<span style="color:rgb(37,37,37);"> ), Plains (  Great Plains<span style="color:rgb(37,37,37);"> ,  Laguna Region<span style="color:rgb(37,37,37);">), mangroves (eg  Louisiana<span style="color:rgb(37,37,37);"> ,  Tabasco<span style="color:rgb(37,37,37);"> ), and so on. Roughly speaking<span style="color:rgb(37,37,37);"> their associated vegetation is typical of  Holoártico empire<span style="color:rgb(37,37,37);"> in the north, and  Neotropical empire<span style="color:rgb(37,37,37);"> in the south. The border between the two empires is located around 40 ° N. Climate and vegetation

Ethnic groups
White Europeans make 85% of the population, forming the majority in United States, Canada, Mexico, & St. Pierre & Miquelon, and form a large minority in Greenland & Bermuda.

Black Africans make up 10% of the population forming a large minority in the United States, and forming the majority in Bermuda.

Asians make up 5% of the population, are a small minority in the United States, they are descendants of people from East & Southeast Asia.

Eskimos/Native Americans form the majority in Greenland, and a large minority in Canada & Mexico, they make less than 5% of the population

East Indians form the smallest minority in the continent, they are mostly found in the large cities in the United States, they descend from Indian immigrants.

Languages
<p style="line-height:19.1875px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">The languages ​​most widely used in North America are English, the Spanish and the French . The term Anglo-America is sometimes used to refer to the anglophone countries of the Americas. 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 continent.

<p style="line-height:19.1875px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">

<p style="line-height:19.1875px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">Although they have lost a large number of indigenous languages ​​from the European conquest, still spoken over 250 indigenous languages, mainly in Mexico and the United States.In Mexico, are recognized over 60 indigenous languages ​​are recognized as national co-official languages. In the U.S. and Canada, indigenous languages ​​have no official recognition, and most of them are endangered languages ​​.
 * The English language, though not official, is the common language of the United States . It is the majority language of the two co-official languages ​​in Canada . It is also the official language of the islands Bermuda , which are a British dependency.
 * The Spanish language, though not official, is the national language <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-autogenerated1_8-0" style="line-height:1em;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">in August  of Mexico according to the General Law of Linguistic Rights of the country and is the second most spoken language in the United States. Mexico has the largest Spanish-speaking population in the world and the United States the second. <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-9" style="line-height:1em;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">9  <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-10" style="line-height:1em;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">10  <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-11" style="line-height:1em;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">11  <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-12" style="line-height:1em;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">12  <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-13" style="line-height:1em;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">13  <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-14" style="line-height:1em;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">14
 * The French language has historically played an important role in North America and is still present in several regions. In Canada is the official and most widely spoken language in the province of Quebec, and is one of the two officers in the province of New Brunswick . Off the coast of Newfoundland , the islands of St. Pierre and Miquelon are French dependencies, and in the state of Louisiana (southern United States ) small communities are bilingual (English and French).
 * The Greenlandic language since June of 2009 is the only official language of Greenland, an autonomous country of the Kingdom of Denmark , besides being the most spoken language in the territory. The Danish language without being officially used in administrative matters and for a European minority.
 * The Danish language is the national language of Greenland, and is spoken by nearly 7,000 of the Greenlandic population mainly of Danish descent.

<p style="margin-top:0.4em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:19.1875px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">For non-native languages ​​of North America, the English, the French and Spanish , have official recognition. Also in the U.S. there is a large number of immigrant communities who continue to use their original languages.

Population <span style="color:rgb(37,37,37);font-size:13px;">
Amerindians<span style="color:rgb(37,37,37);"> and people from  Asia<span style="color:rgb(37,37,37);"> . The most populous country in North America is  the United States<span style="color:rgb(37,37,37);">, with over 315 million people. The second most populous country is  Mexico<span style="color:rgb(37,37,37);">, with a population of over 115 million people. Canada<span style="color:rgb(37,37,37);"> ranked third, with over 33 million inhabitants. <p style="line-height:19.1875px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">Human Development Index 2013 North American countries: <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-IDH_19-0" style="line-height:1em;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">19


 * 1)  United States 0.937 ( <span style="color:rgb(0,136,0);">Very High  )
 * 2)  Canada 0.911 ( <span style="color:rgb(0,136,0);">Very High  )
 * 3)  Mexico 0.775 ( <span style="color:rgb(0,153,0);">High  )

Countries and territories
<p style="line-height:19.1875px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">North America is politically divided into three independent sovereign countries: Canada , United States and Mexico . In addition to the subcontinent are linked 3 territories or dependencies island: Greenland , Bermuda, and St. Pierre and Miquelon . <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-20" style="line-height:1em;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">20


 * Notes
 * 1) <span class="cite-accessibility-label" style="top:-99999px;overflow:hidden;position:absolute!important;height:1px!important;width:1px!important;">Jump up ↑ Bermuda is a British Overseas Territory .
 * 2) <span class="cite-accessibility-label" style="top:-99999px;overflow:hidden;position:absolute!important;height:1px!important;width:1px!important;">Jump up ↑ Clipperton is an uninhabited island in possession French administered from French Polynesia by a high commissioner of France .
 * 3) <span class="cite-accessibility-label" style="top:-99999px;overflow:hidden;position:absolute!important;height:1px!important;width:1px!important;">Jump up ↑ Greenland is an autonomous territory integrated into the Kingdom of Denmark .
 * 4) <span class="cite-accessibility-label" style="top:-99999px;overflow:hidden;position:absolute!important;height:1px!important;width:1px!important;">Jump up ↑ Saint Pierre and Miquelon is a territorial collectivityFrench .

Economy
<p style="line-height:19.1875px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">The North American economy is the largest in the world, its three constituent countries (Mexico , United States and Canada ), have a PPP GDP exceeding USD 18,000,000 million to the European Union as an economic bloc, have a high development industrial and economic, that are among the 15 largest economies in the world. United States is the most developed country on the continent and the world, has an economy focused on industry, whose main partners are Mexico and Canada (with whom he forms the NAFTA ) and China , Japan and Germany .

<p style="margin-top:0.4em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:19.1875px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">The second largest economy in the subcontinent is that of Mexico , <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-25" style="line-height:1em;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">21  <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-26" style="line-height:1em;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">22  <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-27" style="line-height:1em;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">23  is a newly industrialized country with rapid industrial development. The Mexican economy is now diversified, though Mexico remains one of the largest producers of oil 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.

<p style="margin-top:0.4em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:19.1875px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">Canada was, until recently, North America's largest economy (the index in terms of nominal GDP in Canada over Mexico continues to be higher), <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-28" style="line-height:1em;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">24  has a market-oriented financial system, pattern of production, and high living standards, has large deposits ofnatural gas on the east coast and in three western provinces, along with a variety of natural resources. Its main trading partner is the United States, where he spent more than 85% of its exports.

<p style="margin-top:0.4em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:19.1875px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">Among the international institutions established between the countries of North America, highlights the North American Development Bank, ruled Mexico bilaterally and the United States, whose purpose is to finance projects certified by the Commission on Border Environment Cooperation.

<p style="margin-top:0.4em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:19.1875px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">The territories of North America, Greenland , Bermuda , Saint Pierre and Miquelon, have high Human Development Index, and sustainable economies. The economy of the three territories dependent on fishing and fish exports and the production of stamps . In Greenland the largest export seafood is shrimp, while in Saint Pierre and Miquelon's biggest export is cod, registering economic ups and downs in recent years.

<p style="margin-top:0.4em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:19.1875px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">The two strongest currencies used in North America are the U.S. dollar (U.S. currency and widely used in international trade), the Canadian dollar and Mexican peso . To a lesser extent, the Bermudian dollar, the euro (official Saint Pierre and Miquelon) and Danish krone (Greenland), as each country and territory, except for Saint Pierre and Miquelon and Greenland has its own national currency.

<p style="margin-top:0.4em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:19.1875px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">VAT Europeans when they visit U.S. should be noted that in the supermarket the price marked on the products is not the final price - VAT is applied at checkout. Each of the states can decide for yourself how much is added to the products. Currently the VAT varies between 4-8%. <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-29" style="line-height:1em;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">25

NAFTA
<p style="line-height:19.1875px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">A consequence of this treaty and its extension, since 2005, is held annually called Leaders Summit North America, the last venue was the city of Guadalajara in 2009, this being the most important meeting in the region, that addresses issues of great relevance to the area and promote regional integration.It is a major trading bloc between Mexico , the United States and Canada (also known as NAFTA, for its acronym in English North American Free Trade Agreement ). It is one of the major trading blocs in the world and is supported by two trilateral supplements: the Agreement on Environmental Cooperation of North America, whose goal is the conservation and protection of the environment in North America and the North American Agreement on Labor Cooperation, that includes the business aspects of the agreement.

<p style="margin-top:0.4em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:19.1875px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">Also regional traditions were maintained, as is the first foreign visit of incoming presidents of the United States, one of the two neighboring countries, whether the United Mexican States or Canada, visit their rulers also the incoming president of the United States in a sign of friendship and regional cooperation.