Latin America is not a separate country. But in this case, the name of the territories has a different origin. Why America is clear to everyone.

But why Latin? Latin is the language of the Romans, but they did not at one time assume that there was not only this region, but also both American continents. An inquisitive person will be interested in where this name came from.

Colonization and its features

The American continent was colonized after its discovery by Columbus. People were attracted to new territories, wealth. Gold galleons - ships loaded with American gold, went to Europe for decades, and such an influx of material values ​​caused a crisis in financial circles. But the colonization of the two Americas did not occur the same way. The areas located in the northern part were colonized according to the so-called Aglosaxon type. South - in Latin. And these territories were previously called not Latin America, but Indoamerica or Iberoamerica.

The old name Spanish America also appears. The very concept of Latin America appeared relatively recently, it began to appear not earlier than the 30s of the last century. During this period, under this concept, Mexico, the isthmus between the continents, the West Indies and the states of South America were united. There was a more complete name of this region, which sounded like the countries of Latin America, the Caribbean.

Language and origin of the name

This category includes countries that adhere to the Latin linguistic traditions.In many of them, Spanish or Portuguese are recognized as official, although in general these countries are so diverse and distinctive in all respects that each of them should be considered in a separate order. But in any case, the name of the region is primarily associated with the languages ​​spoken here, with the mentality of immigrants who were here during the colonization of territories.

If we talk about the names of the region and its parts associated with territorial indicators, it is worth indicating that there is the concept of Mesoamerica, under which the islands of the West Indies, Mexico and Central America are united. As for the South American mainland, there is a group of Andean countries that capture the mountainous territories - Ecuador, Peru, Chile, Colombia, Bolivia, Venezuela.

Brazil is isolated separately, they also indicate a group of Laplat countries, which include Uruguay and Argentina, as well as Paraguay. Each of the categories has its own history of the name, associated with territorial features and other aspects. The common name is associated exclusively with the languages ​​that are used in these territories. And these are Latin languages, originating from the ancient Roman language group.

Latin America is a colorful, diverse region, each of which has its own flavor. And their language unites, more precisely - languages ​​belonging to the Latin, Romanesque group. This name came from here - Latin America.