English Settlements By eat_sleep_hockey Jan 1, 1524 France sends Giovanni Verrazano to search for the Northwest Passage Jan 1, 1534 Jacques Cartier claims the St. Lawrence Seaway and parts of Canada for France Jan 1, 1541 Hernando De Soto discovers the Mississippi River Jan 1, 1593 Captain John White returns to Roanoke. Jan 1, 1607 Jamestown is founded by the London Company of England Jan 1, 1610 The Dutch send Henry Hudson to find the Northwest Passage Jan 1, 1623 The Dutch West India Company sends settlers to New Netherlands Jan 1, 1626 New Amsterdam is founded by Peter Minuit Jan 2, 1626 Peter Minuit purchases Manhattan Island from the Native Americans Jan 1, 1651 Ft. Christina is founded Jan 1, 1673 French explorers Jacques Marquette and Louis Jolliet explore the Mississippi River