From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The World Map by
Diego Ribero (1529) labels the
Americas as
MUNDUS NOVUS. It traces the east coast of North America and most of South America.
The New World is one of the names used for the Western Hemisphere, specifically the Americas. The term originated in the late 15th century, when the Americas had been recently discovered by European explorers, expanding the geographical horizon of the European middle Ages which had thought of the world as consisting of Europe, Asia, and Africa (collectively, the Old World).
[edit] Name origin
The Spanish scholar Peter Martyr d'Anghiera coined the term "New World"[1] (novi orbis) in a letter dated November 1st, 1492 in which he referred to Columbus first voyage to the Americas. [2] In a subsequent letter a year later he again referred to "the New World" (orbis novus).[3] In 1516, Martyr published a work whose title began De orbe novo ("On the New World").
In 1524, the term was also used by Giovanni da Verrazzano in a record of his voyage that year along the Atlantic coast of land that is now part of the United States and Canada.[4]
[edit] Usage and definition
Currently, one might speak of the "New World" in a historical context when discussing the voyages of Christopher Columbus, the Spanish conquest of Yucatán and other events contemporaneous to the term; additionally, the term "New World" is sometimes used in a biological context, when one speaks of Old World (Palearctic, Afrotropic) and New World species (Nearctic, Neotropic).
While the terms "Old World" vs. "New World" are meaningful in historical context and for the purpose of distinguishing the world's major ecozones, a modern world map cannot be divided meaningfully or unambiguously in a "New World" vs. an "Old World" portion.
While the term "New World" always encompasses the Americas, the islands of Oceania may only be described as "New" in certain contexts (e.g. New World wine). In a biological context, these islands are neither New World nor Old, as flora and fauna differ markedly from those of Eurasia, Africa and the Americas.[citation needed]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ de Madariaga, Salvador (1952) (in Castilian). Vida del muy magnífico señor Don Cristóbal Colón (5th ed.). Mexico: Editorial Hermes. p. 363. ""nuevo mundo", [...] designación que Pedro Mártyr será el primero en usar"
- ^ O'Gorman, Edmundo (1961). The Invention of America, p. 84.
- ^ Zerubavel, Eviatar (2003). Terra Cognita: The Mental Discovery of America, p. 72. Citing: Thachohn B. (1903). Christopher Columbus, vol. 1, p. 62.
- ^ Verrazzano, Giovanni da (1524). "The Written Record of the Voyage of 1524 of Giovanni da Verrazzano as recorded in a letter to Francis I, King of France, July 8th, 1524". Citing: Wroth, Lawrence C., ed. (1970). The Voyages of Giovanni da Verrazzano, 1524-1528. Yale, pp. 133-143. Citing: a translation by Susan Tarrow of the Cellere Codex.
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