History of North America

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Many natives of North America as the Europeans found them were semi-nomadic tribes of hunter-gatherers; others were sedentary and agricultural civilizations. Many formed new tribes or confederations in response to European colonization. Well-known groups include the Aztec, Maya, Huron, Mohawk, Apache, Cherokee, Sioux, Mohegan, Iroquois, and Inuit.

While some smaller powers like the Dutch and Swedish had minor holdings on the continent, the main land and most of the islands were divided between the Spanish, the French and the English empires.

The Spanish were the first to arrive, building on Christopher Columbus' 1492 voyage to gain control of most of the largest islands in the Caribbean and to conquer the Aztecs and gain control of Mexico and Central America.

Almost half a century after Leif Erikson, John Cabot explored the east coast of what would become Canada in 1497. Giovanni da Verrazzano explored the East coast of America from Florida to presumably Newfoundland in 1524. Jacques Cartier made a series of voyages on behalf of the French crown in 1534 and penetrated the St. Lawrence River.

The first English settlements were at Jamestown and Plymouth Rock, in what are today Virginia and Massachusetts respectively. The first French settlements were Port Royal (1604) and Quebec City (1608) in what is now Nova Scotia and Quebec.