New World - Definition


New World - Definition

The New World is one of the names used for the continents of North and South America and adjacent islands collectively, in use since the 16th century. The continents were new to the Europeans, who knew the world consisting only of Europe, Asia, and Africa (the Old World).

Carte d'Amérique, Guillaume Delisle, 1774?

The New World should be distinguished from the Modern World.

Nowadays, the term is generally used:

in a historical context when talking about the European discovery of the Americas, as in discussions of Spanish exploration, Christopher Columbus, etc.
in describing biomes within biology: Paleotropics and Palearctic describe Old World organisms in their ecological settings, while Neotropics and Nearctic describe those of the Americas.
in relation to wine:
- to describe any wine produced outside the traditional wine-growing areas of Europe and North Africa, particularly wines from North and South America, South Africa, and Australasia.
- to describe a style of wine popularized by New World producers. Stereotypically produced in California and South-Eastern Australia, and described by grape variety rather than vineyard, these wines are riper, darker in color, fuller-bodied, smoother, fruitier and more alcoholic than traditional European products. The term has come to describe a wine with some or all of these characteristics produced in any wine region. Conversely, a wine produced in the New World might be considered Old World in style. (See New World wine, Old World wine)

Notice that while the Americas are always described as "New World," Australasia can be correctly described as either "Old World" or "New World", depending on the sphere of discourse.

See also