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IN THE 100 YEARS FOLLOWING THE VOYAGES of Christopher
Columbus, many other Europeans sailed to America, leaving the Old
World behind for a new life in a new land. Spanish settlers founded
the first European colony in what is now the United States at Saint
Augustine, Florida, in 1565. The English built their first colony in 1585.
By 1700, over 250,000 colonists populated the area between Maine in
the north and the Carolinas to the south. America’s first cities developed
into thriving trade centers, with their own schools, churches, books,
and money. Many colonists began to think of themselves not as
Europeans, but as Americans.Colonial America
PennsylvaniaDelawareVirginiaNew JerseyMarylandSouth CarolinaGeorgiaNorth CarolinaMassachusettsConnecticutNew YorkTHE AMERICAN FRONTIER
Many Europeans explored the American
frontier, seeking new territories for trade.
French adventurers, including Father
Jacques Marquette (left), explored the
Mississippi River and established a
thriving fur trade in the Great Lakes
region. They exchanged guns with
native peoples for the beaver pelts
that were so valuable in Europe.THIRTEEN COLONIES
Although Spain founded the first settlement, it was mainly
English people who first colonized the United States. England’s
first colonies were in North Carolina, but these failed. In 1607,
English settlers built Jamestown, Virginia, their first successful
colony. England later founded or took over 11 other colonies,
including the Dutch colony of New Netherlands and the Swedish
colony of New Sweden. These 13 early colonies later became the
13 original states of the United States of America.
THE FIRST AMERICANS
As many as 500,000 native peoples
representing many tribes and speaking
numerous languages lived in the area that
became the 13 colonies. These people,
mistakenly called Indians by the
Europeans, had hunted and planted
the lands and fished the rivers
long before the first European
ships appeared. As the colonists
increased in numbers, the native
peoples were forced westward.Slave ships
were brutally
overloaded with
their human cargo.The first Pilgrims sailed
from England aboard
the Mayflower, a ship
similar to this model.SLAVES
AND SERVANTS
Some people came to the colonies against their will.
The first slaves were brought to Virginia from West
Africa in 1619. Eventually, there were slaves in all 13
colonies. Indentured servants from Europe were given
passage to America in return for years of unpaid labor.THE PILGRIMS
In 1620, the Mayflower landed at Plymouth,
Massachusetts, carrying 102 English settlers
known as Pilgrims. They had fled England to
find the freedom to practice their Puritan
faith. The Pilgrims faced terrible hardships,
but they were lucky enough to settle near a
friendly tribe of native peoples, the Patuxets,
who taught them how to plant corn, fish
with nets, and hunt deer – skills essential
to the survival of their colony.THE LOST COLONY
In 1587, the English founded a colony
on the North Carolina coast. That
summer, Virginia Dare was born—the
first English child born in America.
But when supply ships returned to
the colony in 1590, its residents had
mysteriously vanished
without a trace.Maine
(to Massachusetts)Rhode IslandNew HampshireAmerican revolution
Constitution
Native americans
Pilgrims
Slavery
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