-
Jun 1, 1534
Jacques Cartier
French expoerer who founded and named the St. Lawrence River. By following the St. Lawrence River Cartier found a long island dominated by a mountain, which he named Mont Real (Mount Royal) -
Giovanni da Verrazzano
French Explorer who searched for a sea route to the Pacific and instead found what is today New York harbor -
Jamestown
English settlement that was colonized by a company of London investors who received a charter from King James to found a colony in North America. The settlement was then named in honor of the king. -
Samuel de Champlain
French explorer who sailed up the St. Lawrence and founded Quebec -
Henry Hudson
An Englishmen in the service of the Netherlands that sailed west to find a route to Asia, but instead explored three waterways today known as - Hudson Bay, Hudson River, and Hudson Strait. -
Smallpox Epidemic
An epidemic of smallpox was found among Native Americans living along the New England coast. Some tribes were wiped out by the disease while others populations fell drastically. This epidemic lasted for centuries to come. -
Plymouth
A group of pilgrims founded this settlement. This group of Englishmen sought religious freedom in the "new" world. -
New Netherland
Dutch government granted a company permission to colonize the region of Fort Orange (now Albany) and Manhattan Island. The Dutch holdings are now known today as the New Netherlands. -
Jacques Marquette and Louis Joliet
French explore who explored the Great Lakes and the upper Mississippi River -
Sieur de La Salle
French explorer who explored lower Mississippi and claimed the entire valley for France; named it Louisiana honor of French king, Louis XIV. -
French and Indian War
Started over a dispute on land claims in the Ohio Valley between the British and French. This lasted for 7 years.
