Central America, Which continent, North or South America?

Question

People say there are only three countries in North America. Canada,USA and Mexico. I beg to differ. Looking at any map of South America, I have come to the conclusion that South America begins at the border between Panama and Colombia. Or am I mistaken? Where does that leave central American countries such as Belize and Guatemala? Serious answers please. Thanks.

Answer 1

The idea of "continents" is outdated.

Where to draw the border between continent is more a political decision rather than a "natural" or "geologic" one.

If it were, India and Madagascar would be their own continents.

"North America" should comprise all the nations and islands from Panama on north.

However, we like to think of North America as just the US, Canada, and Mexico, because all the other countries are just so damn poor. It's like the Europeans not liking to include Bulgaria or Moldova in "Europe." (Think of the famed "Orient Express:" it went from Paris to Romania.)

Add to the mix the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) which although says "North American" only includes three countries. Result: more confusion.

Central America and the Caribbean can not be part of South America, however. The confusion lies in that Central America is part of a cultural region we call Latin America.

Yet, Latin America is not synonymous with South America.

South America has three non-Spanish speaking nations, and the Caribbean is divided into Anglophone, Francophone, and Dutch West Indies, in addition to the larger Spanish-speaking islands.

The use of cultural regions is becoming much more widely used, to avoid these kind of confusions that the myth of continents brings up.

Therefore, there's an Anglo-America (Canada and the US); Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean; and South America.

And these can be further subdivided, as in Andean and Southern Cone South America, or Anglophone Caribbean.

So the problem is not so much defining the term "continent;" rather it's the myth that continents are anything that matters.

The trick will to make people realize that "Europe" is just a western peninsula of Asia, and that Jesus Christ was an "Asian" man, not likeness of Cesare Borgia, an Italian who modeled for the Renaissance painters of the fifteenth century.

Answer 2

We (North Americans) are taught that there are 6 continents, while many other Americans (those living in the southern hempisphere) are taught there are 5 continents, as are some Europeans (mainly non British). Then there are some that are taught there are 4 continents (Eurasia, Africa, Australia and the controversial Antartica). That being said, this is a difficult question - as continents are not geopolitical entities that can have official borders. Meaning, even though N America and S America are joined in one continuous land mass, some believe continents sit on different plates on the earths surface. But I don't believe there is concrete science to say that there is or isn't a true division of the Americas, years of different political entities have created the north and South America. In the immediate years following columbus 1492 visit, it was America. the separate designations a result of Iberian control of one region and British/French control of the other.

Answer 3

Central America is part of North America.

Answer 4

Central America is a central region of the Americas. Variably defined, the geographic region constitutes the southern portion of the North American continent.

I would have thought it was south america but nope. You were right.

Answer 5

Central America is a geographic region that constitutes the southern portion of the North American continent.

Answer 6

Central America its considered an "itsmo" not a continent, thats why it's don't belong to any America continent. That 'itsmo' have some countries: Panama, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Belize, Honduras y Guatemala. I hope my answer can help to you.

Answer 7

South

Answer 8

there are only 2 continents in the area, north & south america, the caribbean and panama are the limits of north america

Answer 9

As far as i'm concerned, America (the continent) is build up by four regions:
1. north america (canada, united states of america, united states of mexico)
2. central america (belize, guatemala, honduras, el salvador, nicaragua, costa rica, panama)
3. the caribbean islands (bahamas, cuba, cayman island, jamaica, turks and caicos island, haiti, dominican republic, *puerto rico, britosh virgin island, us virgin island, antigua, st kits and nevis, antigua y barbuda, montserrat, guadalupe, dominica, martinique, st lucia, barbados, st vincent and the granadines, trinidad y tobado, bonaire... )
4. south america (colombia, ecuador, peru, chile, argentina, Bolivia, aruba, venezuela, guyana, surinam, french guyana, brasil, paraguay, uruguay and the malvinas islands)

Countries are grouped in regions by their importance or proximity. That is why you can find in some books "central american and the caribbean".








I live in honduras and i like to be considered as "central american" as most people from central america do too.

Answer 10

I think South America