My ideal map.

[Libertarian California]

Alright, good point, but it encourages people to call it "America", which I would call them out on, if it were not a stupid thing to start an argument about.

There's North America and South America.

Then there's the United States of America.

People regularly call it America and it is an accepted term.

Get over it.

[Viritica]

Alright, good point, but it encourages people to call it "America", which I would call them out on, if it were not a stupid thing to start an argument about.

Let me break it down:

North America: the continent from Alaska to southern Panama, including the Caribbean (although for political reasons, Canada/USA/Mexico, and for cultural reasons, Canada/USA

South America: Everything south of Panama

The Americas: North America and South America combined

Latin America: Mexico to Argentina plus the Spanish Caribbean

Anglo-America: The United States and Canada

America: The United States of America

Why is this such a hard thing for some propel to grasp?

[New haven america]

Not in my visionary country. *Nods*

Does this visionary country systematically kill off Americans, or encourage the mass reproduction of Canadians?

No

[Utceforp]

That, plus Manifest Destiny and all that, was the reason that the country was named that, yes. But now it is an inaccurate name.

So what do you suggest we rename the country to?

I'm not saying it should be renamed at all. Just that it's technically inaccurate.

[New Korongo]

Why the hell do you hate New Zealand so much?

[Utceforp]

Does this visionary country systematically kill off Americans, or encourage the mass reproduction of Canadians?

No

(That was a joke, just in case you didn't get it. It's notoriously hard to communicate humour over the internet)

Then how do you plan on balancing out the population differences?

[Skeckoa]

America: The United States of America

Only one that I have to shut down. When I hear America, I hear the continent as a whole. (Many people learned that America was a single continent.)

[Viritica]

America: The United States of America

Only one that I have to shut down. When I hear America, I hear the continent as a whole. (Many people learned that America was a single continent.)

Well it's not.

[Libertarian California]

America: The United States of America

Only one that I have to shut down. When I hear America, I hear the continent as a whole. (Many people learned that America was a single continent.)

More people learned that it is two separate ones.

[Skeckoa]

Only one that I have to shut down. When I hear America, I hear the continent as a whole. (Many people learned that America was a single continent.)

Well it's not.

If we can call Europe a separate continent, then I can call America one continent.

[Constaniana]

Why are you ripping apart all the great nations of the world?

Also, with the USA, I could understand making Hawaii and Puerto Rico independent but why all those states? Alaska was purchased with hardly any population in it. Texas wanted to become part of the USA. And California, hell, California wanted to be a part of the US as well.

See, my map doesn't rip nations apart, except for Russia Saudi Arabia, and a bit of Japan. See for yourself.
viewtopic.php?p=18491129#p18491129

[New haven america]

No

(That was a joke, just in case you didn't get it. It's notoriously hard to communicate humour over the internet)

Then how do you plan on balancing out the population differences?

We get to that point when we unify those 3 countries. *Nods*

[Viritica]

Well it's not.

If we can call Europe a separate continent, then I can call America one continent.

You can't call it all one continent. There are so many different Americas.

[Hetalian Indie Rio de Janeiro]

Why is this such a hard thing for some propel to grasp?

What is your argument for Central American and the Caribbean be North American rather than, say, a continent on its own, or part of South America, or for the whole Americas being a sole continent as it was originally thought to be and still is in a couple of languages around the world?

[Libertarian California]

Why is this such a hard thing for some propel to grasp?

What is your argument for Central American and the Caribbean be North American rather than, say, a continent on its own, or part of South America, or for the whole Americas being a sole continent as it was originally thought to be and still is in a couple of languages around the world?

Because that would against the geological and geographical realities?

[The Greater Luthorian Empire]

So what do you suggest we rename the country to?

I'm not saying it should be renamed at all. Just that it's technically inaccurate.

Who the hell cares? A lot of country names are technically inaccurate. It is like complaining about the name Holy Roman Empire during the late 1700s. Yeah there is nothing holy about it, it isn't Roman, and it is a stretch to call it an Empire. It doesn't need mentioning because it adds nothing.

[Viritica]

What is your argument for Central American and the Caribbean be North American rather than, say, a continent on its own, or part of South America, or for the whole Americas being a sole continent as it was originally thought to be and still is in a couple of languages around the world?

Because that would against the geological and geographical realities?

^
The Caribbean's to the North.

Ergo, it's part of North America.

North and South America are divided along the equator.

[Hetalian Indie Rio de Janeiro]

What is your argument for Central American and the Caribbean be North American rather than, say, a continent on its own, or part of South America, or for the whole Americas being a sole continent as it was originally thought to be and still is in a couple of languages around the world?

Because that would against the geological and geographical realities?

No, that is true for YOUR definition that North America is composed of both plaques, including the one that cuts Colombia in half.

Saying South America includes the Caribbean and Central America up to the border with Guatemala makes far more geological sense.

In the end, all definitions of continent are arbitrary, but North America + Central America is the most arbitrary one given the nature of the artificiality of separating the Americas in order to not confuse the country named after the continent with the continent itself.

[Utceforp]

I'm not saying it should be renamed at all. Just that it's technically inaccurate.

Who the hell cares? A lot of country names are technically inaccurate. It is like complaining about the name Holy Roman Empire during the late 1700s. Yeah there is nothing holy about it, it isn't Roman, and it is a stretch to call it an Empire. It doesn't need mentioning because it adds nothing.

I brought it up as a fact in passing to introduce the topic of a theoretical name for a North America-spanning country. I wasn't the one who turned it into a debate.

[Libertarian California]

Because that would against the geological and geographical realities?

^
The Caribbean's to the North.

Ergo, it's part of North America.

North and South America are divided along the equator.

Actually, they are divided in southern Panama.

[Viritica]

Because that would against the geological and geographical realities?

No, that is true for YOUR definition that North America is composed of both plaques, including the one that cuts Colombia in half.

Saying South America includes the Caribbean and Central America up to the border with Guatemala makes far more geological sense.

In the end, all definitions of continent are arbitrary, but North America + Central America is the most arbitrary one given the nature of the artificiality of separating the Americas in order to not confuse the country named after the continent with the continent itself.

It makes far more sense to divide the two along the equator which is what's already been done.

[The Greater Luthorian Empire]

Why are you ripping apart all the great nations of the world?

Also, with the USA, I could understand making Hawaii and Puerto Rico independent but why all those states? Alaska was purchased with hardly any population in it. Texas wanted to become part of the USA. And California, hell, California wanted to be a part of the US as well.

See, my map doesn't rip nations apart, except for Russia Saudi Arabia, and a bit of Japan. See for yourself.
viewtopic.php?p=18491129#p18491129

Your map has an awesome backstory. 8/10. It loses 2 points because there aren't enough nations, mega empires are cool and all, but they don't mean much without weaker nations to easily extinguish and fight over. What is WW1 without Belgium and Serbia? What is WW2 without Canada and Italy? What is the 7 years war without Spain?

[Mushet]

Because that would against the geological and geographical realities?

^
The Caribbean's to the North.

Ergo, it's part of North America.

North and South America are divided along the equator.

....do you know where the equator is?

[Libertarian California]

Because that would against the geological and geographical realities?

No, that is true for YOUR definition that North America is composed of both plaques, including the one that cuts Colombia in half.

It's not my definition. It's the definition of most respected geographers.

Saying South America includes the Caribbean and Central America up to the border with Guatemala makes far more geological sense.

In the end, all definitions of continent are arbitrary, but North America + Central America is the most arbitrary one given the nature of the artificiality of separating the Americas in order to not confuse the country named after the continent with the continent itself.

No it does not. The Caribbean and Central America were/still are attached to the North American plate, which used to be, and will one day again be separate from South America. Laurasia anybody?

No. The definitions are not arbitrary. They are useful for studying our planet.

[Libertarian California]

No, that is true for YOUR definition that North America is composed of both plaques, including the one that cuts Colombia in half.

Saying South America includes the Caribbean and Central America up to the border with Guatemala makes far more geological sense.

In the end, all definitions of continent are arbitrary, but North America + Central America is the most arbitrary one given the nature of the artificiality of separating the Americas in order to not confuse the country named after the continent with the continent itself.

It makes far more sense to divide the two along the equator which is what's already been done.

No. They've long been divided in Panama.