European Colonization Timeline

  • 1492

    The Transfer

    Columbus’ voyage started a transfer of people, plants, animals and diseases between Europe and the Americas. This transfer is called the Columbian Exchange.
  • 1519

    Conquistadors

    Conquistadors were sent by Spain to conquer more land in the Americas. In 1519, they sent a conquistador named Hernan Cortes to the Americas along with horses and 500 more men. He found the Aztecs and conquered the city of Tenochtitlan, which is now Mexico City.
  • 1580

    Roanoke Island

    The English tried to plant a permanent colony on Roanoke Island (on the outer banks of present-day North Carolina), but their effort was short-lived.
  • London Company

    London Company send out its first expedition to began colonizing
  • Rapid succession

    The English began a colony (Jamestown) in Chesapeake Bay
  • French built Quebec and The Dutch

    began their interest in the region that became present-day New York. Within another generation, the Plymouth Company
  • the Plymouth Company

    The Plymouth company started taking interest
  • The Dutch West India Company

    They began to send thousands of colonists, including families, to North America. Successful colonization was not inevitable. Rather, interest in North America was a halting, yet global, contest among European powers to exploit these lands.
  • The Company of New France

    Took Interest next
  • The Massachusetts Bay Company

    The Massachusetts bay company took interest next