Is America a Country?
America is not a country, but rather a generally accepted colloquialism that can refer to the United States of America. However, it is technically incorrect to use the term “America” to refer to the country, as the geographic area known as “the Americas” is correctly attributed to the two continents of North America and South America.
The Americas were discovered by European explorers during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries and were named after famed explored Amerigo Vespucci, who landed first in what is known today as the continent of South America. During the period of exploration, and later colonization of these lands by Europeans, the entire region was referred to as “the Americas,” which was a determining factor in the naming of the United States of America, a union of colonies that was planted in the northern area of the Americas.
