Why is Latin America called 'Latin' America?
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Their languages developed from Latin

Quoted from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latin_America:

"Latin America is the region of the Americas where Romance languages, those derived from Latin, and in particular Spanish and Portuguese, are primarily spoken."

The term was coined in the 1860s when the French Emperor Napoleon III was trying to extend French imperial control over the whole region. He wanted to create the Second Mexican Empire (1864-1867). Napoleon and the French attempted to use the Mexican adventure to recapture some of the grandeur of earlier Napoleonic times.

He and his ministers used the term to try to suggest at least some degree of cultural similarity throughout the region and with France.

The region consists of people who speak Spanish, Portugese and French. Next to the Romance languages, traditional 'Indian' languages are still spoken as well.

These languages (together with Italian and Romanian) developed from Latin during the days of the Roman Empire and the Europeans who speak them are sometimes called 'Latin' peoples. Hence the term 'Latin America.'

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