Soon after Columbus first landed in the Americas in 1492, Europeans set off to explore what they called the “New World”. The Italian Amerigo Vespucci sailed down the eastern coast of South America. By 1502 he realised that the lands Columbus had discovered were part of a new continent. We get the name "America" from his first name. Spain conquered vast parts of Central and South America and claimed them for its empire: "New Spain". Meanwhile, other European countries, England, France and the Netherlands, claimed lands in eastern North America.

French colonies

During the first half of the 16th century, French explorers arrived on the northeast coast of North America. Some ventured up the St Lawrence River, claiming all the lands they discovered for France. By the 1600s people had begun to settle in the lands known as “New France” (now southeastern Canada). The colonists lived by trading furs with Native Americans.

Spanish colonies

Following their conquest of the Aztecs in 1521, Spain claimed much of what is now the southwestern United States, as well as Mexico. The territory became part of New Spain. Spanish explorers journeyed inland, up the Pacific coast and around the shores of the Gulf of Mexico. The first Spanish settlement, Saint Augustine, was founded in Florida in 1565. By 1610, another was established at Santa Fe in New Mexico. But, finding no gold or silver in these lands, most settlers from Spain headed for Mexico instead.

English colonies

The first permanent English settlement in North America was Jamestown, Virginia. It was founded in 1607. In the early days many settlers died, but the survivors were eventually able to make a living from growing and selling tobacco.

Nieuw-Nederland, or New Netherland, was a colony founded by Dutch settlers in 1614. The colony's capital, New Amsterdam, founded in 1625, was at the southern tip of the island of Manhattan. The town was captured by the English in 1664. They took full control of the colony ten years later and renamed it New York.

French and Indian War

The French and Indian War (1754–63) was fought in North America between Britain and France. The British and French colonists argued over who should own the lands around the Great Lakes region. The French were outnumbered by the British, so they made alliances with Native American warriors to help them in battle. But the British were victorious, and took over all France's lands in North America east of the Mississippi River.

Thirteen Colonies

By the early 18th century, a number of separate British colonies had been founded along the east coast (sometimes called the eastern seaboard) of North America. The Thirteen Colonies, as they were called, stretched from New England in the north to Georgia in the south.

​​​​​​​Although they remained loyal to Britain, the Thirteen Colonies began to work together to demand their rights. United against the rule of King George III, they declared independence from Britain in 1776 and formed the United States of America.