9781422283561

Native American Cultures

1 Introduction

The Land

Why America? If Columbus was the first European to reach the Americas, why are the two continents called America? In 1494 another Italian, Amerigo Vespucci, sailed to Venezuela and explored the coasts of South America. He sent letters and maps back to Europe, and, through these, his name became linked with this “New World.”

T he huge landmass of North America is now divided into the United States and Canada, two separate countries. Mexico is also considered part of North America, but its history is covered in the Latin American book in this series.

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