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THE CONQUEST OF AMERICA BY SPAIN AND THE UNITED STATES Yehoshua Arieli This article examines the new perceptions of the world , of mankind and of history which were formed in Europe following the discovery and settlement of America and the encounter with its indigenous peoples and cultures . Such an inquiry involves a semantic study of the influence which new and vague geographical and historical terms , such as 'America ' , the 'New World' and a 'New Era ' , had on the historical self-awareness and collective self-perceptions of Europe and the colonies . It traces the revolutionary transformation of these terms by the British colonists in their struggle for independence . The adoption of the term 'American ' , ' the American people ' , and ' the United States of America ' , defined their collective new identity and was linked to the concept of the New World as viewed by the Enlightenment . The term and the meaning of 'America' was preempted by the people of the United States in more t...
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