Abstract
This course explores the evolution of North and South America from a historical, political, cultural and economic point of view. However, given the number of countries which make up the two continents, this course is by no means a definitive guide of the Americas but rather, its goal is to provide you with the information necessary to understand the current situation in which the two continents find themselves today. Each part begins with an overview of the main historical and geographical aspects of North and South America. The following parts focus more on the different socio-economic aspects significant to each continent.
North America is the third largest continent with 24,346,000 sq km, about 16.5% of the planet's land area. It is bordered on the north by the Arctic Ocean, on the east by the North Atlantic Ocean, on the southeast by the Caribbean Sea, and on the south and west by the North Pacific Ocean. So it goes from close to the North Pole down beyond the Tropic of Cancer. With 530 million people, it is fourth in population after Asia, Africa, and Europe. This continent is primarily made up of two huge countries, and a medium-sized one: Canada, the second largest country in the world: 9,984,670 sq km
