History of North America

Christopher Columbus
After Christopher Columbus's 1492 voyage, the Spanish were the first Europeans to arrive to stay. They gained control of most of the largest islands in the Caribbean and conquered the Aztecs, gaining control of Mexico and Central America.

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.

John Cabot in Canada
Almost 500 years after Leif Ericson, 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.

English Settlers
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.