North America as modernly defined.
North America is a continent in the Earth's northern hemisphere and almost fully in the western hemisphere. It is bordered on the north by the Arctic Ocean, on the east by the North Atlantic Ocean, on the southeast by the Caribbean Sea, and on the south and west by the North Pacific Ocean; South America lies to the southeast, connected to North America by the isthmus of Panama.
North America covers an area of about 24,709,000 square kilometers (9,540,000 square miles), about 4.8% of the planet's surface or about 16.5% of its land area. As of July 2008, its population was estimated at nearly 529 million people across 23 independent states, representing about 7.5% of the human population. Most of the continent's land area is dominated by Canada, the United States, and Mexico, while smaller states exist in the Central American and Caribbean regions. North America is the third largest continent by area, following Asia and Africa, and the fourth by population after Asia, Africa, and Europe.
The large island of Greenland is generally considered to be part of North America, as are the islands in the Caribbean Sea.
North America in 1632[]
North America was in the process of being colonized by Europeans when Grantville arrived in 1631. Throughout the 16th century, Spain had established settlements in Florida, some of the Caribbean islands, Central America, and modern-day Mexico. In the early 17th century, permanent French and English, and Dutch settlements had been established.
When Charles I of England, already uninterested in the Americas, learned of the American Revolution, he quickly sold all English land holdings and colonies in North America to his League of Ostend ally, France. This, however, greatly upset many English colonists and entrepreneurs, who had settled and/or possessed business interests in the Americas.
In 1634, Japan began colonizing the western coast of North America, especially the Monterey Bay area of California, which it used as a place of exile for Japanese Christians.
North America in Trail of Glory[]
Two decades after the United States gained its independence, a new country appeared in North America: the Confederacy of the Arkansas.
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