The term "New World" is used to describe the majority of lands of Earth's Western Hemisphere, particularly the Americas.[1] The term gained prominence in the early 16th century during Europe's Age of Discovery, after Italian explorer Amerigo Vespucci published the Latin-language pamphlet Mundus Novus, presenting his conclusion that these lands, soon called America based on Amerigo's name, constitute a new continent.[2]
This realization expanded the geographical horizon of earlier European geographers, who had thought that the world only included Afro-Eurasian lands. Africa, Asia and Europe became collectively called the "Old World" of the Eastern Hemisphere, while the Americas were then referred to as "the fourth part of the world", or the "New World".[3]
Australia and Antarctica are considered neither Old World nor New World lands, since they were only colonized by Europeans much later. They were associated instead with the Terra Australis that had been posited as a hypothetical southern continent.
^"America." The Oxford Companion to the English Language (ISBN 0-19-214183-X). McArthur, Tom, ed., 1992. New York: Oxford University Press, p. 33: "[16c: from the feminine of Americus, the Latinized first name of the explorer Amerigo Vespucci (1454–1512). The name America first appeared on a map in 1507 by the German cartographer Martin Waldseemüller, referring to the area now called Brazil]. Since the 16th century, the term "New World" has been used to describe the Western Hemisphere, often referred to as the Americas. Since the 18th century, it has come to represent the United States, which was initially colonial British America until it established independence following the American Revolutionary War. The second sense is now primary in English: ... However, the term is open to uncertainties: ..."
^Mundus Novus: Letter to Lorenzo Pietro Di Medici, by Amerigo Vespucci; translation by George Tyler Northrup, Princeton University Press; 1916.
^M.H.Davidson (1997) Columbus Then and Now, a life re-examined. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, p. 417)
The term "NewWorld" is used to describe the majority of lands of Earth's Western Hemisphere, particularly the Americas. The term gained prominence in...
Brave NewWorld is a dystopian novel by English author Aldous Huxley, written in 1931 and published in 1932. Largely set in a futuristic World State, whose...
Cathartidae, known commonly as NewWorld vultures or condors, are a family of birds of prey consisting of seven extant species in five genera. It includes...
The New 7 Wonders of the World was a campaign started in 2001 to choose Wonders of the World from a selection of 200 existing monuments. The popularity...
"A Whole NewWorld" is the signature song from Disney's 1992 animated feature film Aladdin, with music by Alan Menken and lyrics by Tim Rice. A duet originally...
NewWorld monkeys are the five families of primates that are found in the tropical regions of Mexico, Central and South America: Callitrichidae, Cebidae...
NewWorld orioles are a group of birds in the genus Icterus of the blackbird family. Unrelated to Old World orioles of the family Oriolidae, they are...
NewWorld Pictures (also known as NewWorld Entertainment and NewWorld Communications Group, Inc.) was an American independent production, distribution...
The NewWorld porcupines, family Erethizontidae, are large arboreal rodents, distinguished by their spiny coverings from which they take their name. They...
NewWorld crops are those crops, food and otherwise, that are native to the NewWorld (mostly the Americas) and were not found in the Old World before...
The NewWorld quail are small birds, that despite their similar appearance and habits to the Old World quail, belong to a different family known as the...
A NewWorld Record is the sixth studio album by Electric Light Orchestra (ELO). It was released on 15 October 1976 on United Artists Records in the U...
The NewWorld Translation of the Holy Scriptures (NWT) is a translation of the Bible published by the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society; it is used...
In 1993, Paul McCartney and his band embarked upon The NewWorld Tour, spanning almost the entire year and almost the entire globe. This tour featured...
The collapse of the Hotel NewWorld was a civil disaster that occurred in Singapore on 15 March 1986. The Hotel NewWorld was a six-story building situated...
The NewWorld warblers or wood-warblers are a group of small, often colorful, passerine birds that make up the family Parulidae and are restricted to...
The NewWorld rats and mice are a group of related rodents found in North and South America. They are extremely diverse in appearance and ecology, ranging...
NewWorld sparrows are a group of mainly NewWorld passerine birds, forming the family Passerellidae. They are seed-eating birds with conical bills, brown...
NewWorld Development Company Limited (NWD), is a Hong Kong-based company focused on property, hotels, infrastructure and services and department stores...
NewWorld wines are those wines produced outside the traditional winegrowing areas of Europe and the Middle East, in particular from Argentina, Australia...
Global Information