North America. How did the development (settlement) of America, Oceania, Australia

"Canada" - The volume of falling water reaches 5700 or more m? / s. Ottawa. Ottawa is the capital of Canada. Fauna. It borders the USA, Denmark and France. Area - 9984 thousand square meters. km. (second place in the world). Until 1855 it was called Bytown. Heather, sedge, shrub birch and willow grow here. These include the Notre Dame mountains, the Shikshok massif, the Kibkid mountains.

"Discovery of North America" ​​- Negroids. Mongoloids. Mulattos. Population. Caucasians. Key dates geographical discoveries in America. People from Europe and Africa. Eskimos. Metis. The past. Traveling North America. Indigenous. Sambo. Indians. History of discovery and research.

"Mainland North America" ​​- Task: determine the average July temperature for all climatic zones. The Cordilleras are rich in both sedimentary and igneous minerals. Christopher Columbus - Bahamas and Antilles, Caribbean Sea. In summer, the temperature depends on the latitude of the area and increases when moving from north to south.

"North America Geography" - "Guiana Triangle". dominant religions. Hinduism, Islam, Catholicism, Protestantism. Latin America. Northern part of the USA. Catholicism, Protestantism. Colonization - development Colonists - settlers. Mesoamerica. The name of the subregion. Traditional beliefs, Protestantism. Geography of cultures of modern America.

"North America" ​​- The peoples and countries of North America. Most of the residents speak English. The large Mackenzie River belongs to the Arctic Ocean basin. West. To the pool Pacific Ocean includes the Colorado River. The cave has underground rivers associated with the Green River system. In Canada - in English and French, in Mexico and Central America - mainly in Spanish.

Natural Areas of North America - Working with the Geo 7 Disk 1. Open the Geo 7 folder on your desktop. Determine the geographical location of natural areas. Main content: Climate. Author: teacher of geography of the municipal educational institution "Poyarkovskaya secondary school No. 2" Gladchenko G.V. Tundra-marsh. Group work. Wolverine, skunk, raccoon, gray squirrel. Soils. Chestnut chernozems.

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abstract

on the topic: "North America"

Geographical position

From the history of the discovery and exploration of the mainland North America is the third mainland of our planet in terms of area, which is 20.4 million km2. It is similar in outline to South America, but the widest part of the continent lies in temperate latitudes, which has a significant impact on its nature.

Determine the features of the geographical location of North America yourself. Draw preliminary conclusions about the nature of the mainland based on geographical location data.

The coasts of North America are strongly dissected. The northern and eastern shores are especially indented, and the western and southern ones are much less. The different degree of indentation of the coasts is explained mainly by the movements of lithospheric plates. In the north of the mainland is the vast Canadian Arctic Archipelago, as if frozen into the ice of the Arctic. The Hudson Bay extends into the land, covered with ice for most of the year.

The Spanish conquistadors, as in South America, were the first Europeans to discover the southern territories of North America. In 1519, the campaign of E. Cortes began, which ended with the conquest of the Aztec state, located where modern Mexico is located. Following the discoveries of the Spaniards, expeditions of other European countries. At the end of the XV century. John Cabot, an Italian in English service, discovered the island of Newfoundland and the coast of the Labrador Peninsula. English navigators and travelers G. Hudson (XVII century), A. Mackenzie (XVIII century) and others explored the northern and eastern parts of the mainland. At the beginning of the twentieth century. Norwegian polar explorer R. Amundsen was the first to sail along the northern coast of the mainland, and established the geographic position of the Earth's North Magnetic Pole.

Russian exploration of Northwest America. Huge contribution Russian travelers contributed to the study of the mainland. Independently of other Europeans, they discovered and mastered large expanses of the northwestern part of the continent. Then the map of this part of American soil was still being born. The first on it were the Russian names of the islands discovered in the middle of the 16th century. during the voyage of Vitus Bering and Alexei Chirikov. On two sailing ships in 1741, these Russian navigators passed along the Aleutian Islands, approached the coast of Alaska, and landed on the islands.

Kupets G.I. Shelikhov, who was called the Russian Columbus, created the first Russian settlements in America. He founded a trading company, promoted the fur trade and sea ​​animal in the northern islands of the Pacific Ocean and in Alaska G.I. Shelikhov conducted active trade with local residents and contributed to the exploration and development of Alaska - Russian America.

Russian settlements were established on most of the northwestern coast until 380 s. sh., where the fort was built - a Russian fortress on the Pacific coast. This fortress in the XIX century. they often visited expeditions that Russia equipped to study the World Ocean and hitherto unknown lands. The memory of Russian explorers of Northwest America is kept by the names of geographical objects on the map: Chirikov Island, Shelikhov Strait, Velyamnov Volcano, etc. Russian possessions in Alaska were sold to the United States of America in 1867.

Relief and minerals

In the structure of the surface of the mainland, plains predominate, mountains occupy a third. The relief of the eastern part of the mainland was formed on a platform, the surface of which was destroyed and leveled for a long time.

The relief of the northern part of the mainland is dominated by low and elevated plains composed of ancient crystalline rocks. Low hills overgrown with pines and spruces alternate here with narrow and long lake basins, some of which have bizarre coastlines. Many thousands of years ago, a huge glacier covered most of these plains. Traces of his activities are visible everywhere. These are smoothed rocks, flat tops of hills, heaps of boulders, hollows plowed by the glacier. To the south are the rolling Central Plains, covered with glacial deposits, and the flat Mississippi Lowland, most of which is formed by river sediment.

To the west lie the Great Plains, which rise like majestic steps of a gigantic staircase to the Cordillera.

These plains are composed of thick strata of sedimentary rocks of continental and marine origin. The rivers flowing down from the mountains cut deep into them and formed deep valleys.

In the east of the mainland are the low mountains of Appalachia. They are badly destroyed, crossed by the valleys of numerous rivers. The slopes of the mountains are gentle, the peaks are rounded, the height is a little over 2000 m. The Cordilleras stretch along the western coast. The mountains are extremely beautiful. They are dissected by deep river valleys, which are called canyons. Deep depressions are adjacent to mighty ridges and volcanoes. In the northern part of the Cordillera, their highest peak rises - Mount McKinley (6194 m), covered with snow and glaciers. Some glaciers in this part of the Cordillera slide down from the mountains into the sea. The Cordilleras were formed at the junction of two lithospheric plates, in a band of compression of the earth's crust, which is crossed here by many faults. They start at the ocean floor and end up on land. The movements of the earth's crust lead to strong earthquakes and volcanic eruptions, which often bring a lot of grief and suffering to people.

Minerals in North America are found in almost all of its territory. Deposits of ores of metals predominate in the northern part of the plains: iron, copper, nickel, etc. The sedimentary rocks of the Central and Great Plains, as well as the Mississippi Lowland, contain a lot of oil, natural gas, and coal. In the Appalachians and their foothills lie iron ore and coal. The Cordilleras are rich in both sedimentary (oil, natural gas, coal), and igneous minerals (non-ferrous metal ores, gold, uranium ores, etc.).

Climate

The position of North America in all climatic zones, except for the equatorial one, creates great differences in its climate. Other factors also have a significant impact on the climate.

The surface of the land and the ocean affects the properties of air masses, their humidity, direction of movement, temperature and other properties in different ways. The Hudsons and the Gulf of Mexico, which extend deep into the land, have a significant but different effect on the climate.

Affects the climate and the nature of the relief of the mainland. For example, in temperate latitudes, sea air coming from the west meets the Cordillera on its way. Rising up, it cools and gives a large number of precipitation on the coast.

The absence of mountain ranges in the north creates conditions for the penetration of arctic air masses to the mainland. They can spread up to Gulf of Mexico, and tropical air masses sometimes freely penetrate far to the north of the mainland. Large differences in temperature and pressure between these masses create conditions for the formation of strong winds - hurricanes. Quite often vortices appear unexpectedly. These powerful atmospheric tornadoes bring a lot of trouble: they destroy buildings, break trees, lift and carry large objects. Natural disasters are also associated with other processes in the atmosphere.

In the central part of the mainland, droughts, dry winds, dust storms, carrying particles of fertile soil from the fields. There are intrusions into the subtropics of cold air from the Arctic, snow falls.

The northern part of the mainland lies in the arctic climate zone. Cold arctic air dominates here throughout the year. Most low temperatures observed in Greenland in winter (-44-50 OS). Fog, heavy cloud cover, snow storms are frequent. Summer is cold, with negative temperatures. Under these conditions, glaciers form. The subarctic belt is characterized harsh winter, which is replaced by a cool summer with cloudy, rainy weather.

Most of the mainland from 600 to 400 s.l. lies in the temperate zone. Here Cold winter and relatively warm summer. It snows in winter, it rains in summer, but cloudy weather is quickly replaced by warm and sunny weather. Significant climatic differences are inherent in this belt, which is associated with the characteristics of the underlying surface. In the eastern part of the belt, winters are cold and snowy, and summers are warm; Fogs are frequent on the coast. In the center of the belt weather others. In winter, snowfalls and snow storms are not uncommon, frosts are replaced by thaws. Summers are warm, with rare showers, droughts and dry winds. In the west of the temperate zone, the climate is maritime. average temperature in winter it is about 0 °C, and in summer it rises only to + 10-12 °C. Wet, windy weather lasts almost the whole year, the wind carries sleet and rain from the ocean. The climate features of three more belts are already familiar to you.

Climatic conditions in most of the mainland are favorable for growing various crops: in the temperate zone - wheat, corn; in the subtropical - rice, cotton, citrus; in the tropics - coffee, sugar cane, bananas. Two, and sometimes three crops a year are harvested here.

Inland waters

Like South, North America is rich in water. You already know that their features depend on the relief and climate. To prove this dependence and to find out the differences between the waters of North America and the waters of South America, conduct another study using maps.

The largest river in North America is the Mississippi with a tributary of the Missouri, collecting water from the Appalachians, the Central and Great Plains. It is one of the longest rivers on Earth and the most water-bearing river on the continent. The main role in its nutrition is played by rains. Part of the water the river receives from the melting of snow on the plains and in the mountains. The Mississippi smoothly carries its waters across the plains. In the lower reaches, it winds, forms many islands in the channel. When snow melts in the Appalachians or rain falls on the Great Plains, the Mississippi overflows its banks, flooding fields and villages. Dams and diversion channels built on the river have greatly reduced flood damage. In terms of its role in the life of the American people, the Mississippi has the same significance as the Volga for the Russian people. No wonder the Indians who once lived on its banks called the Mississippi "the father of the waters."

The rivers flowing from the eastern slopes of the Appalachians are swift, full-flowing, and have large reserves of energy. Many hydroelectric stations have been built on them. At the mouths of many of them are located big cities-ports.

A huge water system is formed by the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence River, which connects them to the Atlantic Ocean.

The Niagapa River "sawed through" the hilly limestone upland and connected the lakes of Zree and Ontario. Breaking off a steep ledge, it forms the world-famous Niagara Falls. As the water erodes the limestone, the waterfall slowly recedes towards Lake Erie. Human intervention is needed to keep this unique object nature.

In the north of the mainland flows the Mackenzie River, which the Indians call the "big river". This river receives most of its water from melting snow. Swamps and lakes give it a lot of water, so that in summer the river is full of water. For most of the year, Mackenzie is ice-bound.

There are many lakes in the northern part of the mainland. Their hollows were formed as a result of faults in the earth's crust, then they were deepened by a glacier. One of the large and beautiful lakes of this region is Winnipeg, which in the language of the Indians means "water".

Short, swift rivers flow from the Cordillera to the Pacific Ocean. The largest of them are Columbia and Colorado. They start in the eastern part of the mountains, flow through the inner plateaus, forming deep canyons, and, again cutting through the mountain ranges, give water to the ocean. The Grand Canyon on the Colorado River, which stretches for 320 km along the river, has become world famous. This huge valley has steep stepped slopes, composed of rocks of different ages and colors.

There are many lakes of volcanic and glacial origin in the Cordillera. On the inner plateaus there are shallow saline lakes. These are the remains of large reservoirs that existed here in a more humid climate. Many lakes are covered with a crust of salt. The largest of them is the Great Salt Lake.

Despite the richness of the mainland in waters, in some areas there is not enough fresh natural water. This is due to the uneven distribution of water, as well as their increasing use in industry, for irrigation, and for the domestic needs of large cities.

natural areas

In North America, natural areas are unusually located. In the north of the mainland, they, according to the law of zoning, are elongated in strips from west to east, and in the central and southern parts natural zones are located in the meridional direction. This distribution of natural zones is a feature of North America, which is mainly determined by its topography and prevailing winds.

In the zone of Arctic deserts covered with snow and ice, beyond short summer here and there on the rocky surface sparse vegetation of mosses and lichens forms.

The tundra zone occupies the northern coast of the mainland and the islands adjacent to it. Tundra is called treeless expanses of the subarctic belt, covered with moss-lichen and shrub vegetation on poor tundra-marsh soils. These soils are formed in a harsh climate and permafrost. The natural complexes of the tundra of North America have much in common with the complexes of the tundra of Eurasia. In addition to mosses and lichens, sedges grow in the tundra, and dwarf willows and birches grow in elevated areas, and there are many berry shrubs here. Tundra plants serve as food for many animals. FROM ice age a musk ox has been preserved here - a large herbivore with thick and long hair that protects it from the cold. The musk ox is small and is under protection. Herds feed on lichen pastures reindeer caribou. Of the predators in the tundra, arctic foxes and wolves live. Many birds nest on the islands and coast, on numerous lakes. Walruses and seals off the coast, caribou in the tundra attract many hunters. Excessive hunting causes great harm to the animal world of the tundra.

To the south, the tundra passes into light forest - forest tundra, which is replaced by taiga. The taiga is a zone of the temperate zone, the vegetation of which is dominated by coniferous trees with an admixture of small-leaved species. Soils in the taiga are formed in conditions of cold snowy winters and wet cool summers. The remains of plants in such conditions decompose slowly, little humus is formed. Under its thin layer lies a whitish layer, from which the humus has been washed out. The color of this layer is similar to the color of ash, and therefore such soils are called podzolic.

Black and white spruce, balsam fir, American larch, pines grow in the American taiga. different types. Predators live: black bear, Canadian lynx, American marten, skunk; herbivores: elks, deer wapiti. The wood bison has been preserved in the national parks.

The zone of mixed forests has a transitional character from taiga to broad-leaved forests. This is how a European traveler describes the nature of these forests: “The great variety of species is striking ... I distinguish around more than ten species of deciduous and several coniferous. A wonderful company gathered: oaks, hazel, beeches, aspens, ash, linden, birch, spruce, fir, pine and some other species unknown to me. All of them are related to our European trees, but still somewhat different - in various small things, in the pattern of foliage, but above all in the pulse of life - some stronger, joyful, lush.

Soils under mixed and broad-leaved forests are gray forest and brown forest. They contain more humus than the podzolic soils of the taiga. It was their fertility that led to the reduction of these forests in most of the continent, to their replacement with artificial tree plantings. Only small forests in the Appalachians have survived.

IN deciduous forests grow beeches, dozens of species of oaks, lindens, maples, deciduous magnolias, chestnuts and walnuts. Wild apple, cherry and pear trees form an undergrowth in them.

The forest zone on the slopes of the Cordillera differs from the forest zone on the plains. Plant and animal species are different here. For example, in the subtropical mountain forests on the Pacific coast, sequoias grow - coniferous trees over 100 m high, up to 9 m in diameter.

The steppe zone stretched from north to south in the center of the mainland from the Canadian taiga to the Gulf of Mexico. Steppes are treeless spaces of the temperate and subtropical zones, covered with grassy vegetation on chernozem and chestnut soils. The abundance of heat creates favorable conditions for the growth of herbs, among which cereals predominate (bearded vulture, bison grass, fescue). The transitional strip between the forests and steppes of North America is called the prairie. They are everywhere changed by man - plowed up or turned into pastures for livestock. The development of the prairies also affected their animal world. Bison almost disappeared, coyotes (steppe wolves) and foxes became less.

On the interior plateaus of the Cordillera lie the deserts of the temperate zone; the main plants here are black wormwood and quinoa. Cacti grow in the subtropical deserts of the Mexican Highlands.

Changing nature under the influence of human activities. Economic activity has affected all components of nature, and since they are closely interconnected, they change as a whole. natural complexes. Especially great changes in nature in the United States. Soils, vegetation and wildlife were mostly affected. Cities, roads, strips of land along gas pipelines, power lines, around airfields take up more and more space.

Scientists have come to the conclusion that the active impact of man on nature leads to an increase in the frequency of natural disasters. These include dust storms, floods, forest fires.

In North America, laws have been passed to protect and restore nature. The state of individual components of nature is recorded, destroyed complexes are being restored (forests are being planted, lakes are being cleaned of pollution, etc.). In order to protect nature on the continent, reserves and several dozen national parks. Millions of citizens flock to these wonderful corners of nature every year. The influx of tourists has set the task of creating new reserves in order to save rare species of plants and animals from extinction.

In North America, there is one of the most famous, the world's first national Yellowstone Park, founded in 1872. It is located in the Cordillera and is famous for its hot springs, geysers, petrified trees.

Population

The majority of the population of North America are from different countries Europe, mainly from the UK. They are US Americans and Anglo-Canadians, they speak English. The descendants of the French who settled in Canada speak French.

The indigenous people of the mainland are Indians and Eskimos. They inhabited North America long before its discovery by Europeans. These peoples belong to the American branch of the Mongoloid race. Scientists have established that Indians and Eskimos come from Eurasia.

Indians are more numerous (about 15 million). The name "American Indian" has nothing to do with India, it is the result of a historical mistake by Columbus, who was convinced that he had discovered India. Before the arrival of Europeans, Indian tribes were engaged in hunting, fishing, and collecting wild fruits. The main part of the tribes was concentrated in southern Mexico (Aztecs, Maya), where they formed their own states, distinguished by a relatively developed economy and culture. They were engaged in agriculture - they grew corn, tomatoes and other cultivated plants later introduced to Europe.

On the map “population density and peoples”, determine where the Eskimos and Indians live, what part of the mainland is inhabited by Americans, Anglo- and French-Canadians, blacks.

With the advent of European colonialists, the fate of the Indians was tragic: they were exterminated, driven from fertile lands, they died from diseases introduced by Europeans.

In the XVII-XVIII centuries. Negroes were brought from Africa to work on plantations in North America. They were sold into slavery to planters. Now blacks live mostly in cities.

The population of North America is about 406 million people. Its location depends primarily on the history of the settlement of the mainland and natural conditions. The most populated southern half of the mainland. The population density is high in the eastern part, where the first settlers from European countries settled. The largest cities are located in this part of North America: New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Montreal, etc.

The northern territories of the mainland, unsuitable for life and occupied by tundra and taiga forests, are rarely populated. mountainous areas with their arid climate and rugged topography are also sparsely populated. In the steppe zone, where there are fertile soils, a lot of heat and moisture, the population density is much higher.

North America is home to the most developed country in the world, the United States of America. Their territory consists of three parts far removed from each other. Two of them are located on the mainland - the main territory and in the northwest - Alaska. The Hawaiian Islands lie in the central Pacific Ocean. In addition, the United States owns a number of island possessions in the Pacific Ocean.

North of the mainland of the United States is another large country- Canada, and to the south - Mexico. There are several small states in Central America and the islands of the Caribbean Sea: Guatemala, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Jamaica, etc. The Republic of Cuba is located on the island of Cuba and the small islands adjacent to it.

List of used literature

1. “Geography of continents and oceans. Grade 7 ": textbook. for general education institutions / V.A. Korinskaya, I.V. Dushina, V.A. Shchenev. - 15th ed., stereotype. – M.: Bustard, 2008.

Europeans of America

In the USA there is German America, French America, Chinese America, Russian, Polish, Jewish America, etc. The biggest one is certainly German America. The descendants of immigrants from Germany make up at least 17% of the population of the entire United States. There are especially many of them in Texas, California and Pennsylvania, although there are states - for example, Ohio, Nebraska, both Dakotas, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa - where the heirs of the Germans make up more than a third of the state's population. German America produced not only President Dwight Eisenhower, but also Generals John Pershing and Norman Schwarzkopf, as well as many entrepreneurs and inventors, including the Rockefeller family, the Anheuser and Bush beer magnates, Donald Trump, William Boeing, Walter Chrysler, and George Westinghouse. Only in late XIX in. more than 100 thousand Volga Germans moved from the Russian Empire to America. At one time, the German language became so widespread here that America could have become a German-speaking, and not an English-speaking country - then world history, most likely, would have developed in a completely different way.

In less than the last two centuries, about 6 million Italians moved to the United States, and 80% of them came from the southern regions of Italy, primarily from Sicily. The Italians had a huge impact on America, which was not limited to the popularity of Italian restaurants. Today, almost 18 million Americans (6% of the country's population) have Italian roots and consider themselves the heirs of Italian immigrants. Rudolph Giuliani, Vince Lombardi and Madonna, Lady Gaga, Frank Sinatra and Joe DiMaggio, Dean Martin and Tony Bennett, Susan Sarandon, Nicolas Cage and Danny DeVito, John Travolta, Al Pacino and Liza Minnelli, Francis Ford Coppola and Marisa Tomei. One can recall the famous Italian mafia in the United States, with which Russians are familiar from The Godfather and The Soprano Family. There are two Italians sitting on the US Supreme Court today. Immigrants from Italy strengthened large group adherents of the Roman Catholic Church in the United States, which partly made it possible for John F. Kennedy to become president, although he himself belonged to the descendants of Irish immigrants. Kennedy is still the only Catholic president in the history of the country.

Irish component of today American life it is hard not to notice anyone who has been in the US even for a short time. Irish bars, names, music and elements of everyday life are deeply embedded in American life. Almost 12% of the country's population write themselves down during the census as the heirs of Irish settlers. Seven of those who signed the US Declaration of Independence were Irish. Twenty-two American presidents were of the same blood - from Andrew Jackson to Barack Obama, whose maternal ancestry has Irish ancestors, and besides them, Bushy's father and son, Bill Clinton, Ronald Reagan, Richard Nixon, Jimmy Carter, Harry Truman ... By the way, the Irish-American landowner Charles Lynch in late XVIII in. went down in history as Godfather» unconventional execution, which is still called lynching. Of the three hundred and thirty-two languages ​​spoken in the United States in surveys, Irish now ranks sixty-sixth simply because many native speakers have adapted to American English. The Irish also joined the ranks of the Catholics, although a small part of them, together with the Scottish immigrants from Great Britain, became Protestants.

About 10 million Americans, that is, more than 3% of the country's population, are of Polish origin. Although the first Poles arrived in the United States as early as early XVII century, the main number of immigrants fled here in the late XIX - early XX century. from the Russian Empire, as well as from the Austrian and German occupations. Among them were many Jews and Ukrainians. As a result, "Polish Americans" became the most big group Slavic emigrants from Eastern Europe. In 2000, about 700,000 people in the US named Polish, rather than English, as their mother tongue. Tadeusz Kosciuszko and Kazimir Pulatsky became heroes of America during the years of the struggle for independence, statues were erected to both of them in Washington. General Pulatsky generally entered the history of the country as the "father of the American cavalry." Poles in the US are Catholic and play a big role in local religious movements, and there is even a Polish Museum of America in Chicago.

Of the well-known representatives of the Polish people, every educated American knows Zbigniew Brzezinski, who was national security adviser from 1977-1981. from President Jimmy Carter, Ambassador to Russia Alexander Vershbow, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Lisa Kudrow from Friends, actors Paul Newman, Natalie Portman, William Shatner, artist Max Weber, film producers Samuel Goldwyn and the Warner Brothers, director Stanley Kubrick , singer Eminem. However, for some reason, it was the Poles who in America became the characters of jokes about stupid, narrow-minded and poorly educated people. They, in fact, are the American analogue of the Chukchi from Russian jokes. If you tell an American any anecdote about the Chukchi - replacing, of course, the word "Chukchi" with the word "Eskimo", he will not understand what the point is. If the word "Chukchi" is replaced by the word "Pole", then the American will laugh just like a Russian at a joke about the Chukchi. Why it happened in America, I could not find out. The main version told to me is that at one time many poorly educated and naive Polish peasants emigrated to America, who began to symbolize a kind of local “Chukchi”. I don’t know about education, but, as it seemed to me, no one ever considered the Poles naive, except maybe Ivan Susanin.

Despite the external hostility that the French often show towards Americans, the reality of America is that about 12 million people in the country consider themselves French, and almost 2 million speak French at home. In Louisiana, about half a million speak Creole, which is based on a simplified version of French. Many people moved to the US from the French part of Canada.

The French minority in the US is less visible because many of its members identify with the Creole and Cajun (in Louisiana) ethnic groups rather than with France proper. The number of Franco-Americans increased dramatically after the American purchase of Louisiana from France in 1803 (not to be confused with the current US state Louisiana). Through this purchase, America acquired, in whole or in part, fifteen of its present states and two Canadian provinces. Today, New Hampshire is the only state where people with French roots make up more than a quarter of the population, with the largest numbers living in California, Louisiana and Massachusetts. Most Franco-Americans are Catholics.

During the development of American territory, French was as common as English and German, and in many places was the main language of the pioneers. Anyone who has traveled the US knows that the country is covered in French names – the states of Arkansas, Louisiana and Delaware, Maine and Illinois, Oregon and Wisconsin… Warren Buffett, Louis Chevrolet, King Gillett, the Dupont family, Jessica Alba, brothers have French roots. Baldwin, Lucille Ball, Humphrey Bogart, Jim Carrey, acting family Duval, Matt LeBlanc from Friends, Patrick Swayze... French blood flowed and flows in the veins of Hillary Clinton and Al Gore, Presidents Franklin Roosevelt and William Taft, writer Jack Kerouac and others.

One of the first to the territory of the current United States began to move immigrants from Spain. Their presence has been recorded since 1565. However, most Hispanic immigrants to the United States came from Latin America, especially Mexico and Puerto Rico. Today it is the largest ethnic group in the US among Romance speakers. It is believed that there are more than 24 million people. Spanish was the first language spoken by immigrants from Europe, but then English began to take over. Today, Spanish is the second main language of the United States, behind English in terms of prevalence, but ahead of any other languages ​​spoken by the inhabitants of the country.

There is no need to talk about the influence of Spanish culture on American. Spanish (and Latin American) cuisine, traditions, holidays, customs and life, without exaggeration, have become one of the foundations of American life. The fact that Americans have long been associated with cowboys, which originated in medieval Spain, speaks for itself. The largest number The Hispanic minority lives in the states of California, New York, Texas and Florida, but the Hispanic names densely cover the map of the country. These are, for example, Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Montana, Nevada, thousands and thousands of names of towns and settlements, rivers and hills, nature reserves and mountain ranges. As for the list of Americans with Spanish roots who entered the history and culture of the United States, it is very long. These are actors from Salma Hayek and Cameron Diaz to Martin and Charlie Sheen, and musicians from Julio Iglesias and Kurt Cobain to Jerry Garcia and Gloria Estefan, politicians and writers, religious figures and athletes.

Another ethnic group that appeared on the territory of America among the first were the Dutch. History records the founding date of the first Dutch settlement in the New World - 1613. Today, about 6 million Americans consider themselves descendants of Dutch settlers. Most live in Michigan, Montana, Ohio, California and Minnesota.

Of course, I did not set out to describe in this book the history of the development of America by the Dutch and the relations of the new state with the Netherlands, but I will note that it was the Dutch who first began to celebrate US independence in 1776 and taught other Americans to salute their national flag. The story of the 1626 purchase of the Manhattan peninsula for $24 has been recounted many times, but areas of New York still retain their Dutch names. Many words have passed from the same language into American English, including the word "Yankee". Some American philologists convincingly argue that it was from the old Dutch language that the definite article came into English. the, as well as many necessary words - "house", "street", "book", "pen", etc. The Dutch community plays an important role in the life of the Reformed Church of America and a number of other religious associations.

Three people had Dutch roots American presidents, and one of them - Martin van Buuren, the eighth president of the United States - was a real Dutchman. By the way, he turned out to be the only president of the country for whom English was a second language, that is, a non-native language. Prior to this, van Buuren also managed to visit the eighth vice president and tenth US secretary of state. Many "Dutch Americans" have entered the history of the United States, for example, Willem de Kooning, Herman Melville, Walt Whitman, the Vanderbilt family, Christina Aguilera, Marlon Brando, Clint Eastwood, Henry and Jane Fonda, Jack Nicholson, Bruce Springsteen, Dick van Dyck, director CIA General David Petraeus, Thomas Edison, Walter Cronkite, Anderson Cooper and many others. For some reason, it is a popular tradition in America to make the Dutch the heroes of many films - thus, as a result, they are present in both Titanic and The Simpsons.