North and South America

I. General outline.

1. Geographical Position. Discovery.

Map Questions.

1. Examine the maps of North and South America.

2. What oceans is America washed by?

America is the only part of the world to lie wholly within the Western Hemisphere, far from the other parts of the world. Only in the north-west does it approach Asia, where it is separated from Chukotsk by the shallow Bering Strait.

America stretches a great distance from north to south and lies within both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. It extends beyond the Arctic Circle, almost reaching the Antarctic Circle. The distance from west to east is much shorter.

America has an area of 42,100.000 square kilometres and is the second largest part of the world after Asia.

Unlike Europe and Asia, which form one continent (adjacent islands not considered), America consists of two continents — North America and South America. Once separate, these continents are today connected by the Isthmus о f Panama, which is cut by the Panama Canal connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.

The southern, narrower part of North America bordering on the Isthmus of Panama is called Central America.

America faces both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans and is favourably placed for trade with Europe. Asia and the other parts of the world.

Discovery of America. European Settlers. Though European navigators reached the coasts of Greenland and the north-eastern coasts of North America as far back as the 10th century. America remained unknown to Europe till the end of the 15th century.

Of great importance at that time was trade with India, a land of spices, which were much in demand in Europe. In those days India could be reached only by a long journey from the Mediterranean Sea through Asia Minor, the Persian Gulf and the Arabian Sea. Turkish raiders often robbed the merchant caravans crossing Asia Minor and made it difficult to keep up trade with India.

At this time the belief was expressed that the earth was a sphere. It occurred to people that India could be reached by travelling west across the Atlantic Ocean.

Christopher Columbus, an experienced sailor, asked the king of Spain to fit him out with a fleet of ships, so that he could seek for a new route to India.

In 1492 he sailed with three small ships into the Atlantic Ocean. They soon met a north-eastern trade wind that drove them further and further south-west. They had been sailing for more than two months.1 The sailors began to mutiny, afraid that they would not be able to return home. At last they saw land, first one small island, then other larger ones, which later proved to be part of the Greater Antilles group. Columbus, however, was certain that the lands he had discovered were part of India, and he called these islands the West Indies.

The people living there have been since called Indians, though they have nothing in common with the real Indians—inhabitants of India. Those Columbus found had no domestic animals. They were engaged in agriculture, growing cotton, corn and tobacco.

Columbus made three more voyages. He discovered several more islands and set foot on South American soil. Till his last day, however, he believed that these lands were somewhere near India.

Not until later was it understood that Columbus had discovered a new part of the world. It was called America after Amerigo Vespucci, a traveller who left a description of some of the places he had seen there.

There began a migration of people from Europe to the new lands. First came Spanish and Portuguese settlers to Central and South America. Then immigrants from Great Britain, France and other countries began arriving to North America.

Some of the Indian peoples had a highly developed culture before the arrival of the Europeans. There were great states, large towns. The Spanish conquerors robbed and killed the natives without mercy. They were enslaved, their states destroyed, their towns razed to the ground.

The countries of America were European colonies for many years.

Russian Explorers of North-Western America. Columbus discovered the tropical regions of America. Independent of this, Russian explorers were the first to reach the north-western coast of North America. In the 18th century the Russian navigators Fedorov and Gvozdev explored this coast and made a map of it. It was later visited by a Russian expedition headed by Bering and Chirikov. After leaving Kamchatka their ships crossed the Bering Sea and sailed along the coasts of Alaska. Vast areas of North-Western America were later discovered and explored by Russians.

Russians were the first Europeans to settle in North-Western America. There appeared Russian possessions called Russian America, where large fisheries were established. Russians explored Alaska and built schools there, at which Indian children studied side by side with Russian children. Little by little the Russian settlers spread south along the coast, almost reaching latitude 38°N.

In the second half of the 19th century all the American possessions of Russia were sold by the tsar to the United States of America.