European colonization of North America (Spanish, Dutch, French territories in North America).

(Everyone recognizes that many people were in America long before Christopher Columbus. The Asiatic peoples who became Native Americans were certainly the first, tens of thousands of years ago. Also Norse expeditions to North America, starting with Bjarni Herjolfsson in 986, are well established historically. Many other pre-Columbian discoveries are not well established: claims have been made for St. Brendan, Basque fishermen, Portuguese, Chinese, Japanese, and even Carthaginians. Some of these claims may be true; most are probably not.

In spite of this, Columbus's discovery (or re-discovery, if you prefer) is rightly regarded as the most historically important, and will continue to be. That is because, unlike the others, Columbus inaugurated permanent large-scale two-way commerce between the Old World and the New. Previous discoveries were so little known that even the best educated Europeans were unaware of the existence of America prior to Columbus. The "Admiral of the Ocean Sea," unlike any of his predecessors, changed the world)

It’s very difficult to say when the colonization of North America began. Around 1000 AD a group of Vikings from Iceland under Leif Ericson sailed from Greenland to the eastern coast of NA.

The foundations of Viking huts were found in Newfoundland. But the first Viking settlements did not last. The local Am. Indians were hostile, the Northern Seas were not friendly either, the Vikings sailed back to Europe and their expedition was soon forgotten.

Columbus was an Italian, but the country who supplied his expedition with different things was Spain and not Italy.

1492 – Columbus reached Central America but his journey didn’t produce any permanent settlement, though the Spanish showed great interest in gold and adventures and some Spanish expeditions followed.

Spanish expeditions resulted in the founding the earliest European settlements (Florida, Texas, California).

In 1565 Spanish settlers founded St Au`gustine the very first town in NA in Florida. Later, in 1609 Santa Fe in New Mexico. Spanish were interested in treasures and adventures.

The English colonies in the South (Virginia and Caroline) were separated from those in the North (New England) by a Dutch colony which was called the New Netherlands. Its main town was New Amsterdam. It was situated on the Manhattan Island and one of the rivers of the city was the Hudson River. In 1664 New Amsterdam was captured by the English and Charles II gave it to his brother James, Duke of York, and the city was renamed New York. New York has 5 boroughs: the Bronx (Dutch families lived there), Harlem (Dutch).

A number of British, Dutch and Swedish settlers set up in Delaware. But the main rival of the English in the colonization of NA were the French. They had 2 territories: New France (Canada) and Louisiana (along the Mississippi River; New Orleans - capital).

It can be said that the French controlled all the territory west of the Appalachians. In the 18^th century there were continual wars btw the English and the French. The French were defeated and the 7 years war ended in 1763. The English kept the territories in Canada and east of the Mississippi, except New Orleans. The western half of the Mississippi Valley and New Orleans were transferred to Spain. But they were returned to France by 1800.

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