European colonization of the Americas. European colonization of the Americas began as early as the 10th century, when Norse sailors explored and settled limited areas on the shores of present-day Greenland and Canada.[1] According to Norse folklore, violent conflicts with the indigenous population ultimately made the Norse abandon those settlements.
Extensive European colonization began in 1492, when a Spanish expedition headed by Christopher Columbus sailed west to find a new trade route to the Far East but inadvertently found the Americas. European conquest, large-scale exploration, and colonization soon followed. Columbus's first two voyages (1492–93) reached the Bahamas and various Caribbean islands, including Hispaniola, Puerto Rico and Cuba. In 1497, sailing from Bristol on behalf of England, John Cabot landed on the North American coast, and a year later, Columbus's third voyage reached the South American coast. Colonial history of the United States. The colonial history of the United States covers the history of European settlements from the start of colonization of America until their incorporation into the United States.
In the late 16th century, England, France, Spain and the Netherlands launched major colonization programs in eastern North America.[1] Small early attempts—such as the English Lost Colony of Roanoke—often disappeared; everywhere the death rate of the first arrivals was very high. Nevertheless successful colonies were established. European settlers came from a variety of social and religious groups. No aristocrats settled permanently, but a number of adventurers, soldiers, farmers, and tradesmen arrived.
The four distinct regions were: New England, the Middle Colonies, the Chesapeake Bay Colonies (Upper South) and the Lower South. See timeline of Colonial America for list of historical events. Goals of colonization[edit] Mercantilism[edit] Religious persecution[edit] Early colonial failures[edit] Florida[edit] Jamestown, Virginia. Jamestown[1] was a settlement in the Colony of Virginia, the first permanent English settlement in the Americas.
Established by the Virginia Company of London as "James Fort" on May 4, 1607 (O.S., May 14, 1607 N.S.),[2] and considered permanent after brief abandonment in 1610, it followed several earlier failed attempts, including the Lost Colony of Roanoke. Mayflower. This voyage has become an iconic story in the earliest annals of American history with its tragic story of death and of survival in the harshest New World winter environment.
The culmination of the voyage in the signing of the Mayflower Compact is one of the greatest moments in the story of America, providing the basis of the nation's present form of democratic self-government and fundamental freedoms. Early history From the Port Books of England in the reign of James I (1603-1625), there were twenty-six vessels bearing the same name as the Pilgrim ship and the reason for such popularity has never been found.[6] A particular Mayflower that has caused historical confusion is a Mayflower erroneously named as the Mayflower of the 1620 Pilgrims. This particular ship was partly owned by John Vassall and was outfitted for Elizabeth I of England in 1588 during the time of the Spanish Armada, a war for which he outfitted several ships.
Voyage About August 5, the two ships set sail. Passengers. Plymouth Colony. Despite the colony's relatively short history, Plymouth holds a special role in American history.
Rather than being entrepreneurs like many of the settlers of Jamestown, a significant proportion of the citizens of Plymouth were fleeing religious persecution and searching for a place to worship as they saw fit. Roanoke Colony. Coordinates: The Roanoke Colony on Roanoke Island in Dare County, present-day North Carolina, United States, was a late 16th-century attempt by Queen Elizabeth I to establish a permanent English settlement.
The enterprise was financed and organized originally by Sir Humphrey Gilbert, who drowned in 1583 during an aborted attempt to colonize St. John's, Newfoundland. Sir Humphrey Gilbert's half brother Sir Walter Raleigh would gain his brother's charter from Queen Elizabeth I and subsequently would execute the details of the charter through his delegates Ralph Lane and Richard Grenville, Raleigh's distant cousin.[1] Raleigh's charter[edit]