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1554
Giovanni da Verrazzano
Giovanni da Verrazzano sailed to North America in search of a sea route to the Pacific. -
The explorations of the Spanish and French inspired the English.
a company of London investors received from King James a charter to found a colony in North America. In late 1606, the company’s three ships, and more than 100 settlers, pushed out of an English harbor. About four months later, in 1607, they reached the coast of Virginia -
English colonists
the approximately 105 English colonists who had set sail from England landed in Virginia. They named their colony Jamestown, after the monarch who had approved the financing of a new settlement -
New France
Another French explorer, Samuel de Champlain, sailed up the St. Lawrence with about 32 colonists. They founded Quebec, which became the base of France’s colonial empire in North America, known as New France. -
Henry Hudson
Henry Hudson, an Englishman in the service of the Netherlands, sailed west. He was searching for a northwest sea route to Asia. Hudson did not find a route. He did, however, explore three waterways that were later named for him—the Hudson River, Hudson Bay, and Hudson Strait. -
Period: to
smallpox
an epidemic of smallpox ravaged Native Americans living along the New England coast. The population of one tribe, the Massachusett, dropped from 24,000 to 750 -
Pilgrims
a group known as Pilgrims founded a second English colony, Plymouth, in Massachusetts. Persecuted for their religious beliefs in England, these colonists sought religious freedom -
New Netherland
the Dutch government granted the company permission to colonize the region and expand the fur trade. The Dutch holdings in North America became known as New Netherland. -
Powhatan tribe
the Powhatan tribe attacked colonial villages around Jamestown and killed about 350 settlers. During the next few years, the colonists struck back and massacred hundreds of Powhatan. -
TheDutch
the Dutch captured what are now the Netherlands Antilles and Aruba from Spain. -
Charles II
the English king, Charles II, granted his brother, the Duke of York, permission to drive out the Dutch. When the duke’s fleet arrived at New Netherland, the Dutch surrendered without firing a shot. The Duke of York claimed the colony for England and renamed it New York. -
Jacques Marquette and trader Louis Joliet
French Jesuit priest Jacques Marquette and trader Louis Joliet explored the Great Lakes and the upper Mississippi River. -
French and Indian War.
a dispute over land claims in the Ohio Valley led to a war between the British and French on the North American continent. The conflict became known as the French and Indian War.The war became part of a larger conflict known as the Seven Years’ War. Britain and France, along with their European allies, also battled for supremacy in Europe, the West Indies, and India. -
France’s North American empire
the European population of New France had grown to only about 65,000. A large number of French colonists had no desire to build towns or raise families. -
The French surrendered
In North America, the British colonists, with the help of the British Army, defeated the French.The French surrendered their North American holdings. As a result of the war, the British seized control of the eastern half of North America.