European Colonization

  • 1494

    The Treaty of Tordesilla

    This treaty divided North America up between England, France, and the Netherlands. Other European countries ignored this treaty and started to build their own colonies.
  • 1524

    The Founding of the New York Harbor

    Giovanni da Verrazzano sailed to North America looking for a Pacific sea route. He did not find it, but did discover the New York harbor.
  • The Settlement of Jamestown

    In 1607, more than 100 settlers came to the New World and founded Jamestown in honor of their king.
  • New France

    A French explorer by the name of Samuel de Champlain, founded a place called Quebec, later named New France. It became the the main place for France trade.
  • Plymouth

    Pilgrims founded a second colony in Massachusetts. They wanted religious freedom, and were later called the Puritans.
  • New Netherland

    In the year 1621, the Dutch government decided to settle along the water the three Hudson water ways, and expanded their fur trade.
  • The Caribean

    France took what is now today, Haiti, Guadeloupe, and Martinique. The English settled Barbados and Jamaica. The Dutch captured the Netherlands Antilles and Aruba from Spain.
  • Good-Bye Dutch

    The King of England gave the Duke of York permission to drive out the Dutch. The Duke's fleet arrived to New Netherland and the Dutch surrendered instantly. Renamed the place New York.
  • King Philip's War

    The Native ruler, Metacom, led an attack on colonial villages around the Massachusetts area. Hundreds of people were killed on both sides, but the colonists won the war.
  • The French and Indian War

    There were disputes over land in the Ohio Valley between the British and French.