New World
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The "New World" is a historical term referring to the Americas and Oceania, regions that were newly encountered by Europeans starting in the late 15th century. The term matters because it reflects how European exploration and colonization reshaped global history, trade, and cultural exchange between these continents and the rest of the world.
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Sebastian Münster's 1540 map of the New World
The "New World" (Latin: Mundus novus) is a term describing the majority of lands in the Western Hemisphere, particularly the Americas. It was introduced in the early 16th century, during Europe's Age of Discovery, by Italian explorer Amerigo Vespucci, who published the pamphlet Mundus novus, presenting his conclusion that the lands discovered west of the Atlantic Ocean (soon called America after Amerigo's name) constituted new continents.