The half century after Columbus's voyage sees a frenzy of activity in the new world (part exploration, part conquest, part colonization) as the Spanish scramble and struggle to make the most of their unexpected new opportunities. When he returned the following year, he found that the colonists had been massacred by natives. With no room for the stranded sailors, Columbus was forced to found the La Navidad (“Christmas”), first European settlement in the New World.

On the night of December 24-25, 1492, Christopher Columbus flagship, the Santa Marнa, ran aground off the northern coast of the island of Hispaniola and had to be abandoned. La Navidad: First European Settlement in the Americas So Latin America comes into use, at a time when almost all regions south of the USA speak Spanish or Portuguese (Latin-based romance languages) and are Roman Catholic - while the north of the continent is largely Anglo-Saxon and Protestant. Spanish or Hispanic America is therefore inadequate. But the exception is too large to overlook - mighty Brazil, belonging in colonial history to Portugal. The region consists, with just one exception, of those parts of the American continent colonized by the Spanish. The term Latin America, first used in the 19th century, is something of a compromise. The story of the continent becomes divided into distinct parts - Latin America and North America.

The two Atlantic seaboard countries of southern Europe concentrate on the southern part of the newly found continent, while their three European neighbours to the north struggle between themselves to dominate north America. Spanish and Portuguese colonists and administrators, settling in central and south America during the 16th century, are soon followed by the French, Dutch and English staking a claim to north America. Latin America's struggle for Independence.

Spanish and Portugal colonial administrations. LECTURE 3: THE MODERN HISTORY OF LATIN AMERICA Latin America between 16th - 20th century.

Latin modern roman 10 bold