When the London Company sent out its first expedition to begin colonizing Virginia on December 20, 1606, it was by no means the first European attempt to exploit North America. In 1564, for example, French Protestants (Huguenots) built a colony near what is now Jacksonville, Florida. This intrusion did not go unnoticed by the Spanish, who had previously claimed the region. The next year, the Spanish established a military post at St. Augustine; Spanish troops soon
wiped out the French interlopers residing but 40 miles away. Meanwhile, Basque, English, and French fishing fleets became regular visitors to the coasts from Newfoundland to Cape Cod. Some of these fishing fleets even set up semi-permanent camps on the coasts to dry their catches and to trade with local people, exchanging furs for manufactured goods. For the next two decades, Europeans' presence in North America was limited to these semi-permanent incursions. Then in the 1580s, 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. In the early 1600s, in rapid succession, the English began a colony (Jamestown) in Chesapeake Bay in 1607, the French built Quebec in 1608, and the Dutch began their interest in the region that became present-day New York. Within another generation, the Plymouth Company
(1620), the Massachusetts Bay Company (1629), the Company of New France (1627), and the Dutch West India Company (1621) 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. There is another very important point to keep in mind: European colonization and settlement of North America (and other areas of the
so-called "new world") was an invasion of territory controlled and settled for centuries by Native Americans. To be sure, Native American control and settlement of that land looked different to European eyes. Nonetheless, Native American groups perceived the Europeans' arrival as an encroachment and they pursued any number of avenues to deal with that invasion. That the Native American were unsuccessful in the long run in resisting or in establishing a more favorable accommodation with the
Europeans was as much the result of the impact of European diseases as superior force of arms. Moreover, to view the situation from Native American perspectives is essential in understanding the complex interaction of these very different peoples. Finally, it is also important to keep in mind that yet a third group of people--in this case Africans--played an active role in the European invasion (or colonization) of the western hemisphere. From the very beginning, Europeans' attempts to
establish colonies in the western hemisphere foundered on the lack of laborers to do the hard work of colony-building. The Spanish, for example, enslaved the Native American in regions under their control. The English struck upon the idea of indentured servitude to solve the labor problem in Virginia. Virtually all the European powers eventually turned to African slavery to provide labor on their islands in the West Indies. Slavery was eventually transferred to other colonies in both South and
North America. Because of the interactions of these very diverse peoples, the process of European colonization of the western hemisphere was a complex one, indeed. Individual members of each group confronted situations that were most often not of their own making or choosing. These individuals responded with the means available to them. For most, these means were not sufficient to prevail. Yet these people were not simply victims; they were active agents trying to shape their own destinies. That many of them failed should not detract from their efforts. Part of
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Home World History Global Exploration European exploration, exploration of regions of
Earth for scientific, commercial, religious, military, and other purposes by Europeans, beginning about the 4th century bce. The motives that spur human beings to examine their
environment are many. Strong among them are the satisfaction of curiosity, the pursuit of trade, the spread of religion, and the desire for security and political power. At different times and in different places,
different motives are dominant. Sometimes one motive inspires the promoters of discovery, and another motive may inspire the individuals who carry out the search. For a discussion of the society that engaged in these explorations, and their effects on intra-European affairs, see European history. The earliest European empires are discussed in ancient Greek civilization and ancient Rome. The threads of geographical exploration are continuous and, being entwined one with another, are difficult to separate. Three major phases of investigation may nevertheless
be distinguished. The first phase is the exploration of the Old World centred on the Mediterranean Sea, the second is the so-called Age of Discovery, during which, in the search for sea routes to Cathay (the name by which China was known to
medieval Europe), a New World was found, and the third is the establishment of the political, social, and commercial relationships of the New World to the Old and the elucidation of the major physical features of the continental interiors—in short, the delineation of the modern world. Britannica Quiz European Exploration: Fact or Fiction? Were the French the first Europeans to reach southern Africa? Was Christopher Columbus the first European to see South America? From southern Africa to Jamaica, navigate your way through this quiz of European exploration. The exploration of the Old WorldFrom the time of the earliest recorded history to the beginning of the 15th century, Western knowledge of the world widened from a river valley surrounded by mountains or desert (the views of Babylonia and Egypt) to a Mediterranean world with hinterlands extending from the Sahara to the Gobi Desert and from the Atlantic to the Indian Ocean (the view of Greece and Rome). It later expanded again to include the far northern lands beyond the Baltic and another and dazzling civilization in the Far East (the medieval view). The earliest known surviving map, dating probably from the time of Sargon of Akkad (about 2334–2279 bce), shows canals or rivers—perhaps the Tigris and a tributary—and surrounding mountains. The rapid colonization of the shores of the Mediterranean and of the Black Sea by Phoenicia and the Greek city-states in the 1st millennium bce must have been accompanied by the exploration of their hinterlands by countless unknown soldiers and traders. Herodotus prefaces his History (written in the 5th century bce) with a geographical description of the then known world: this introductory material reveals that the coastlines of the Mediterranean and the Black Sea had by then been explored. Get a Britannica Premium subscription and gain access to exclusive content. Subscribe Now Stories survive of a few men who are credited with bringing new knowledge from distant journeys. Herodotus tells of five young adventurers of the tribe of the Nasamones living on the desert edge of Cyrenaica in North Africa, who journeyed southwest for many months across the desert, reaching a great river flowing from west to east; this presumably was the Niger, although Herodotus thought it to be the Upper Nile. What were the two main reasons for European exploration?Two main reasons for European exploration are faster routes to Asia— the source of spices and luxury goods. Another reason for exploration was spreading Christianity to new lands.
What are three reasons Europeans were motivated to claim land in North America?Name three reasons Europeans were motivated to claim land in North America.. the wealth of natural resources.. the rumors of gold.. the expansion of their respective empires.. Why did Europe colonize the world?The opportunity to make money was one of the primary motivators for the colonization of the New World. The Virginia Company of London established the Jamestown colony to make a profit for its investors. Europe's period of exploration and colonization was fueled largely by necessity.
Why did European countries compete to expand their power in North America?Why did European countries compete to expand their power in North America? The English and French were turning profits by growing tobacco in Virginia, fishing off the North Atlantic Coast, and trading furs from New England and Canada with Europe.
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What factors caused European nations to explore the Western Hemisphere and establish colonies?
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