From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Map of countries that make up Hispanic America
Hispanic America or Spanish
America (Spanish: Hispanoamérica) is strictly the
region comprising the American countries inhabited by Spanish–speaking populations.[1][2]
These countries have significant cultural commonalities with
each other and with Spain, whose
colonies they were formerly. Although some of these countries later
become colonies of other countries (Belize of the United Kingdom in 1786 and Puerto Rico of the United States in
1898), Spanish is the most spoken language in them. In all of them,
Spanish is either the main language or shares this position with
one or more indigenous
languages (such as Guaraní, Quechua, Aymara, or Mayan), or English (in Belize and Puerto
Rico).[3] Roman Catholicism is the predominant
religion, as well.[4]
The term "Hispanic America" contrasts with "Ibero-America",
which comprises Hispanic America together with Brazil, a Portuguese–speaking nation often
referred to as "Portuguese
America" in history books. "Hispanic America" also contrasts
with "Latin
America", which is usually equated with Ibero–America, but,
depending on definition, often includes the former French colonies in the Western
Hemisphere.[5]
Countries
| Country |
Population |
Area (km²) |
 Argentina |
40,747,000 |
2,766,890 |
 Belize |
320,000 |
22,966 |
 Bolivia |
9,182,000 |
1,098,581 |
 Chile |
16,800,000 |
756,950 [6] |
 Colombia |
45,600,000 |
1,141,748 |
 Costa Rica |
4,509,290 |
51,000 |
 Cuba |
11,269,000 |
110,861 |
 Dominican
Republic |
9,395,000 |
48,730 |
 Ecuador |
13,228,000 |
256,370 |
 El Salvador |
6,881,000 |
21,040 |
 Guatemala |
12,599,000 |
108,890 |
 Honduras |
7,805,000 |
112,492 |
 Mexico |
107,029,000 |
1,972,550 |
 Nicaragua |
5,487,000 |
129,494 |
 Panama |
3,232,000 |
75,571 |
 Paraguay |
6,158,000 |
406,752 |
 Peru |
27,968,000 |
1,285,220 |
 Puerto Rico (U.S.) |
3,955,000 |
9,104 |
 Uruguay |
3,463,000 |
176,215 |
 Venezuela |
26,749,000 |
916,445 |
| Total |
360,843,000 |
11,444,903 |
In comparison, the population of Anglo-America (United States and Canada) is approximately
337,000,000, while that of Brazil is 192,000,000.[7] Canada
(9,984,670 km²) and the United States (9,826,630 km²) occupy a
combined area of 19,811,300 km², and Brazil occupies 8,511,965 km².[8]
Flag of
Hispanic America
While relatively unknown, there is a flag representing the
countries of Hispanic America, its people, history and shared
cultural legacy.
It was created in October 1933 by Ángel Camblor, captain of the Uruguayan
army. It was adopted by all the states of Spanish America
during the Pan-American Conference of the
same year in Montevideo, Uruguay.[9]
The white background stands for peace, the Inti sun god of Inca mythology symbolizes the light
shining on the American continent, and the three crosses represent
Christopher Columbus' caravels, the Niña, Pinta, and Santa María, used in his first voyage from Spain
to the New World in
1492. The deep
lilac color of the crosses evokes the color of the lion on the Coat of Arms of the medieval Crown of
Castile.[10]
See also
References
- ^
All of the following dictionaries only list "Spanish America" as
the name for this cultural region. None list "Hispanic America."
All list the demonym for the
people of the region discussed in this article as the sole
definition, or one of the definitions, for "Spanish American". Some
list "Hispanic," "Hispanic American" and "Hispano-American" as synonyms for "Spanish
American." (All also include as a secondary definition for these
last three terms, persons residing in the
United States of Hispanic ancestry.) The
American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (3rd
ed.) (1992). Boston: Houghton Mifflin. ISBN 0-395-44895-6. Merriam-Webster's Collegiate
Dictionary (11th ed.) (2003). Springfield:
Merriam-Webster. ISBN 0-877-79807-9. The Random
House Dictionary of the English Language (2nd ed.) (1987).
New York: Random House. ISBN 0-394-50050-4. Shorter Oxford English
Dictionary on Historical Principles (2007). New York:
Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-920687-2. Webster's New Dictionary and
Thesaurus (2002). Cleveland: Wiley Publishing. ISBN
978-0-471-79932-0
- ^
"Hispanic America" is used in some older works such as Charles
Edward Chapman's 1933 Colonial Hispanic America: A History
and 1937 Republican Hispanic America: A History (both New
York: The Macmillan Co.); or translated titles that faithfully
reproduce Hispanoamérica, such as Edmund Stephen Urbanski
(1978), Hispanic America and its Civilization: Spanish
Americans and Anglo-Americans, Norman: University of Oklahoma
Press.
- ^
"CIA - The World Factbook --
Field Listing - Languages". https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2098.html. Retrieved
2009-04-11.
- ^
"CIA - The World Factbook --
Field Listing - Religions". https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2122.html. Retrieved
2009-04-11.
- ^
"Latin America" The Free
Online Dictionary (American Heritage Dictionary of the English
Language, 2000, 4th ed. Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in
2003.)
- ^
(Spanish)Demografia de Chile.
- ^
CIA. "Field
Listing-Population". The World Factbook. Central Intelligence
Agency. https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2119.html. Retrieved
2008-06-14.
- ^
CIA. "Field Listing-Area".
The World Factbook. Central Intelligence Agency. https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2147.html. Retrieved
2008-06-14.
- ^ a
b
Raeside, Rob (ed.) (1999-10-11). "Flag of the Race".
Flags of the World. http://www.crwflags.com/fotw/flags/int-raza.html. Retrieved
2006-12-23.
- ^
Image of the standard of the Crown of Castile
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