1. The Americas by 1750

2. Several European countries had colonized the Americas from 1492-1750
The European countries with the largest colonies in the Americas were Spain, Britain, Portugal, and France
By 1850, however, almost all colonies in the Americas broke away from Europe and became their own countries

3. North America in 1850

4. South America in 1860

5. Beginning with the American Revolution in the 1770s, most of the colonies in the Americas revolted and became independent by the middle of the 1800s
Although the countries were now independent, they kept much of the heritage of their former European home countries
This made the Americas extremely diverse politically, religiously, linguistically, & ethnically