I.

Introduction

Latin America, in the broadest sense, the entire western hemisphere south of the United States. In a more restricted sense Latin America comprises those countries of the Americas that developed from the colonies of Spain, Portugal, and France. Because these European powers used languages derived from Latin, the term Latin America was devised to designate the parts of the New World that they colonized. The areas that are now Belize and Guyana were colonized by the British, and the official language of those countries is English. Suriname was colonized by the Netherlands, and Dutch is the official language. These countries’ histories differ from those of others in the region and are generally treated differently by scholars.

This article is limited to a discussion of the emergence and history of the people inhabiting Latin America from the European discovery of the western hemisphere to the present day. For the physical characteristics of the area, see Central America; North America; South America. See also separate articles on individual countries.