Timeline of colonization of North America
Encyclopedia
This is a chronology
of the colonization of North America, with founding dates of European settlements. See also European colonization of the Americas
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Chronology
Chronology is the science of arranging events in their order of occurrence in time, such as the use of a timeline or sequence of events. It is also "the determination of the actual temporal sequence of past events".Chronology is part of periodization...
of the colonization of North America, with founding dates of European settlements. See also European colonization of the Americas
European colonization of the Americas
The start of the European colonization of the Americas is typically dated to 1492. The first Europeans to reach the Americas were the Vikings during the 11th century, who established several colonies in Greenland and one short-lived settlement in present day Newfoundland...
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Before Columbus
- 6th Century: Brendan The NavigatorBrendanSaint Brendan of Clonfert or Bréanainn of Clonfert called "the Navigator", "the Voyager", or "the Bold" is one of the early Irish monastic saints. He is chiefly renowned for his legendary quest to the "Isle of the Blessed," also called St. Brendan's Island. The Voyage of St...
possibly reaches North America. - 874: Norse reach Iceland
- 986: Norse reach Greenland
- circa 1000: Vikings at L'Anse aux MeadowsL'Anse aux MeadowsL'Anse aux Meadows is an archaeological site on the northernmost tip of the island of Newfoundland in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. Discovered in 1960, it is the only known site of a Norse or Viking village in Canada, and in North America outside of Greenland...
in Newfoundland. - 14??: last Norsemen in Greenland
- before 1492: Fishermen from Bristol and the Basque country fish for cod west of Iceland. See Pre-Columbian trans-oceanic contactPre-Columbian trans-oceanic contactTheories of Pre-Columbian trans-oceanic contact are those theories that propose interaction between indigenous peoples of the Americas who settled the Americas before 10,000 BC, and peoples of other continents , which occurred before the arrival of Christopher Columbus in the Caribbean in 1492.Many...
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1492-1600
- 1492: Columbus reaches the Bahamas
- 1493: Start of permanent settlement (La Isabela on northern Hispaniola)
- 1497: John CabotJohn CabotJohn Cabot was an Italian navigator and explorer whose 1497 discovery of parts of North America is commonly held to have been the first European encounter with the continent of North America since the Norse Vikings in the eleventh century...
may have reached Newfoundland. - 1502: Columbus sails along the mainland coast south of Yucatan
- 1511: Conquest of Cuba begins
- 1513: Ponce de LeonPonce de León-People:* Juan Ponce de León, a Spanish explorer of the Americas and first Governor of Puerto Rico* Juan Ponce de León y Loayza, the son of Juan Ponce de León II, and early settler of Ponce, Puerto Rico...
in Florida - 1521: Cortez conquers Mexico.
- 1521: Juan Ponce de LeónJuan Ponce de LeónJuan Ponce de León was a Spanish explorer. He became the first Governor of Puerto Rico by appointment of the Spanish crown. He led the first European expedition to Florida, which he named...
tries and fails to settle in Florida - 1524: Giovanni da Verrazzano sails along most of the east coast
- 1526: Lucas Vázquez de Ayllón tries to settle in South Carolina
- 1527: Fishermen are using the harbor at Saint John's, Newfoundland and other places on the coast
- 1535: Jacques CartierJacques CartierJacques Cartier was a French explorer of Breton origin who claimed what is now Canada for France. He was the first European to describe and map the Gulf of Saint Lawrence and the shores of the Saint Lawrence River, which he named "The Country of Canadas", after the Iroquois names for the two big...
reaches Quebec - 1536: Cabeza de Vaca reaches Mexico City after wandering the North American Southwest.
- 1538: Failed HuguenotHuguenotThe Huguenots were members of the Protestant Reformed Church of France during the 16th and 17th centuries. Since the 17th century, people who formerly would have been called Huguenots have instead simply been called French Protestants, a title suggested by their German co-religionists, the...
settlement on St. Kitts in the Caribbean (destroyed by the Spanish) - 1539: Hernando de Soto explores the interior from Florida to Arkansas
- 1540: CoronadoFrancisco Vásquez de CoronadoFrancisco Vásquez de Coronado y Luján was a Spanish conquistador, who visited New Mexico and other parts of what are now the southwestern United States between 1540 and 1542...
travels from Mexico to eastern Kansas - 1540: Spanish reach the Grand CanyonGrand CanyonThe Grand Canyon is a steep-sided canyon carved by the Colorado River in the United States in the state of Arizona. It is largely contained within the Grand Canyon National Park, the 15th national park in the United States...
(the area is ignored for the next 200 years) - 1541: Failed French settlement at Quebec City (Cartier and Roberval)
- 1542: Juan Rodriguez CabrilloJuan Rodríguez CabrilloJuan Rodriguez Cabrillo was a Portuguese explorer noted for his exploration of the west coast of North America on behalf of Spain. Cabrillo was the first European explorer to navigate the coast of present day California in the United States...
on the California coast. - 1559: Failed Spanish settlement at Pensacola, FloridaPensacola, FloridaPensacola is the westernmost city in the Florida Panhandle and the county seat of Escambia County, Florida, United States of America. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 56,255 and as of 2009, the estimated population was 53,752...
- 1562: Failed Huguenot settlement in South Carolina (Charlesfort-Santa Elena siteCharlesfort-Santa Elena SiteCharlesfort-Santa Elena Site is an archeological site on Parris Island, South Carolina, which is also known as Ribaut Monument, San Marcos, San Felipe, or 38BU51 and 38BU162...
) - 1564: French Huguenots at Jacksonville, Florida (Fort CarolineFort CarolineFort Caroline was the first French colony in the present-day United States. Established in what is now Jacksonville, Florida, on June 22, 1564, under the leadership of René Goulaine de Laudonnière, it was intended as a refuge for the Huguenots. It lasted one year before being obliterated by the...
) - 1565: Spanish slaughter French 'heretics' at Fort Caroline.
- 1565: Spanish found Saint Augustine, Florida
- 1566-87: Spanish in South Carolina (Charlesfort-Santa Elena siteCharlesfort-Santa Elena SiteCharlesfort-Santa Elena Site is an archeological site on Parris Island, South Carolina, which is also known as Ribaut Monument, San Marcos, San Felipe, or 38BU51 and 38BU162...
) - 1568: Dutch revolt against Spain. The economic model developed in Holland would define colonial policies in the next two centuries
- 1570: Failed Spanish settlement on Chesapeake Bay (Ajacan MissionAjacàn MissionThe Ajacán Mission was a failed attempt in 1570 to establish a Jesuit mission on the Virginia Peninsula. They intended to bring Christianity to the Virginia Indians. The effort to found what was to be called St...
) - 1576: Martin FrobisherMartin FrobisherSir Martin Frobisher was an English seaman who made three voyages to the New World to look for the Northwest Passage...
on the coast of Labrador and Baffin Island - 1579: Sir Francis Drake claims New AlbionNew AlbionNew Albion, also known as Nova Albion, was the name of the region of the Pacific coast of North America explored by Sir Francis Drake and claimed by him for England in 1579...
. - 1583: England formally claims Newfoundland (Humphrey GilbertHumphrey GilbertSir Humphrey Gilbert of Devon in England was a half-brother of Sir Walter Raleigh. Adventurer, explorer, member of parliament, and soldier, he served during the reign of Queen Elizabeth and was a pioneer of English colonization in North America and the Plantations of Ireland.-Early life:Gilbert...
) - 1585: Failed English settlement on Roanoke Island, North Carolina (Lost Colony).
- 1587: Filipino settlement in Morro Bay.
- 1598: Failed French settlement on Sable IslandSable IslandSable Island is a small Canadian island situated 300 km southeast of mainland Nova Scotia in the Atlantic Ocean. The island is a year-round home to approximately five people...
off Nova Scotia - 1598: Spanish reach Northern New Mexico
- 1600: By 1600 Spain and Portugal were still the only significant colonial powers. North of Mexico the only settlements were Saint Augustine and the isolated outpost in northern New Mexico. Exploration of the interior was largely abandoned after the 1540s. Around Newfoundland 500 or more boats annually were fishing for cod and some fishermen were trading for furs, especially at Tadoussac on the Saint Lawrence.
Seventeenth Century
- 1602 - San MiguelSan Diego, CaliforniaSan Diego is the eighth-largest city in the United States and second-largest city in California. The city is located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, immediately adjacent to the Mexican border. The birthplace of California, San Diego is known for its mild year-round...
- Spanish - 1604 - AcadiaAcadiaAcadia was the name given to lands in a portion of the French colonial empire of New France, in northeastern North America that included parts of eastern Quebec, the Maritime provinces, and modern-day Maine. At the end of the 16th century, France claimed territory stretching as far south as...
- French - 1605 - Port RoyalPort Royal, Nova ScotiaPort Royal was the capital of Acadia from 1605 to 1710 and is now a town called Annapolis Royal in the western part of the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. Initially Port Royal was located on the north shore of the Annapolis Basin, Nova Scotia, at the site of the present reconstruction of the...
- French - 1607 - JamestownJamestown, VirginiaJamestown was a settlement in the Colony of Virginia. Established by the Virginia Company of London as "James Fort" on May 14, 1607 , it was the first permanent English settlement in what is now the United States, following several earlier failed attempts, including the Lost Colony of Roanoke...
- English - 1607 - Popham ColonyPopham ColonyThe Popham Colony was a short-lived English colonial settlement in North America that was founded in 1607 and located in the present-day town of Phippsburg, Maine near the mouth of the Kennebec River by the proprietary Virginia Company of Plymouth...
- English - 1608 - QuebecQuebecQuebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
- French - 1610 - Cuper's Cove - English
- 1610 - Kecoughtan, VirginiaKecoughtan, VirginiaKecoughtan in Virginia was originally named Kikotan , the name of the Algonquian Native Americans living there when the English colonists arrived in the Hampton Roads area in 1607....
- English - 1610 - Santa FeSanta Fe, New MexicoSanta Fe is the capital of the U.S. state of New Mexico. It is the fourth-largest city in the state and is the seat of . Santa Fe had a population of 67,947 in the 2010 census...
- Spanish - 1611 - HenricusHenricusThe "Citie of Henricus" — also known as Henricopolis or Henrico Town or Henrico — was a settlement founded by Sir Thomas Dale in 1611 as an alternative to the swampy and dangerous area around the original English settlement at Jamestown, Virginia...
- English - 1615 - Fort Nassau - Dutch
- 1615 - Renews, Newfoundland - English
- 1618 - Bristol's Hope - English
- 1620 - St. John's, Newfoundland - English
- 1620 - Plymouth ColonyPlymouth ColonyPlymouth Colony was an English colonial venture in North America from 1620 to 1691. The first settlement of the Plymouth Colony was at New Plymouth, a location previously surveyed and named by Captain John Smith. The settlement, which served as the capital of the colony, is today the modern town...
- English - 1621 - Nova ScotiaNova ScotiaNova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...
- Scottish - 1622 - Province of MaineProvince of MaineThe Province of Maine refers to several English colonies of that name that existed in the 17th century along the northeast coast of North America, at times roughly encompassing portions of the present-day U.S. states of Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont, as well as the Canadian provinces of Quebec...
- English - 1623 - PortsmouthPortsmouth, New HampshirePortsmouth is a city in Rockingham County, New Hampshire in the United States. It is the largest city but only the fourth-largest community in the county, with a population of 21,233 at the 2010 census...
- English - 1623 - Stage PointGloucester, MassachusettsGloucester is a city on Cape Ann in Essex County, Massachusetts, in the United States. It is part of Massachusetts' North Shore. The population was 28,789 at the 2010 U.S. Census...
- English - 1623 - DoverDover, New HampshireDover is a city in Strafford County, New Hampshire, in the United States of America. The population was 29,987 at the 2010 census, the largest in the New Hampshire Seacoast region...
- English - 1623 - PannawayRye, New HampshireRye is a town in Rockingham County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 5,298 at the 2010 census.-History:The first settlement in New Hampshire, originally named Pannaway, was established in 1623 at Odiorne's Point. The first settler in Rye was William Berry...
- English - 1623 - New CastleNew Castle, New HampshireNew Castle is a town in Rockingham County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 968 at the 2010 census. It is the smallest town in New Hampshire, and the only one located entirely on islands. It is home to Fort Constitution Historic Site, Fort Stark Historic Site, and the New Castle...
- English - 1623 - Fort NassauFort Nassau (South River)Fort Nassau was a factorij in the colonial province of New Netherland from 1623-1651.The name Fort Nassau was used by the Dutch in the 17th century for several fortifications, mostly trading stations, named for the House of Orange-Nassau....
- Dutch - 1624 - Governors IslandGovernors IslandGovernors Island is a island in Upper New York Bay, approximately one-half mile from the southern tip of Manhattan Island and separated from Brooklyn by Buttermilk Channel. It is legally part of the borough of Manhattan in New York City...
- Dutch - 1625 - Cape BretonCape Breton IslandCape Breton Island is an island on the Atlantic coast of North America. It likely corresponds to the word Breton, the French demonym for Brittany....
- Scottish - 1625 - New AmsterdamNew AmsterdamNew Amsterdam was a 17th-century Dutch colonial settlement that served as the capital of New Netherland. It later became New York City....
- Dutch - 1626 - SalemSalem, MassachusettsSalem is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 40,407 at the 2000 census. It and Lawrence are the county seats of Essex County...
- English - 1630 - Massachusetts Bay ColonyMassachusetts Bay ColonyThe Massachusetts Bay Colony was an English settlement on the east coast of North America in the 17th century, in New England, situated around the present-day cities of Salem and Boston. The territory administered by the colony included much of present-day central New England, including portions...
- English - 1631 - Saint John, New BrunswickSaint John, New BrunswickCity of Saint John , or commonly Saint John, is the largest city in the province of New Brunswick, and the first incorporated city in Canada. The city is situated along the north shore of the Bay of Fundy at the mouth of the Saint John River. In 2006 the city proper had a population of 74,043...
- English - 1632 - Williamsburg, VirginiaWilliamsburg, VirginiaWilliamsburg is an independent city located on the Virginia Peninsula in the Hampton Roads metropolitan area of Virginia, USA. As of the 2010 Census, the city had an estimated population of 14,068. It is bordered by James City County and York County, and is an independent city...
- English - 1633 - Windsor, ConnecticutWindsor, ConnecticutWindsor is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States, and was the first English settlement in the state. It lies on the northern border of Connecticut's capital, Hartford. The population was estimated at 28,778 in 2005....
- English - 1634 - Maryland Colony - English
- 1634 - WethersfieldWethersfieldWethersfield may refer to:* RAF Wethersfield, a British Ministry of Defence training facility in Essex, England* Wethersfield, Connecticut* Wethersfield, Essex, an English village near RAF Wethersfield* Wethersfield, New York* Wethersfield, Vermont...
- English - 1635 - Territory of SagadahockTerritory of SagadahockThe Territory of Sagahadock, also called the Sagahadoc Colony and New Castle, was an English colonial territory which included the eastern part of what was later colonial Maine and was more sparsely settled than the western region...
- English - 1636 - Providence PlantationsProvidence PlantationsProvidence Plantations was the first permanent European American settlement in present-day Rhode Island. It was established at Providence in 1636 by English clergyman Roger Williams and a small band of followers who had left the repressive atmosphere of the Massachusetts Bay Colony to seek freedom...
- English - 1636 - Connecticut ColonyConnecticut ColonyThe Connecticut Colony or Colony of Connecticut was an English colony located in British America that became the U.S. state of Connecticut. Originally known as the River Colony, it was organized on March 3, 1636 as a haven for Puritan noblemen. After early struggles with the Dutch, the English...
- English - 1638 - New Haven ColonyNew Haven ColonyThe New Haven Colony was an English colonial venture in present-day Connecticut in North America from 1637 to 1662.- Quinnipiac Colony :A Puritan minister named John Davenport led his flock from exile in the Netherlands back to England and finally to America in the spring of 1637...
- English - 1638 - New SwedenNew SwedenNew Sweden was a Swedish colony along the Delaware River on the Mid-Atlantic coast of North America from 1638 to 1655. Fort Christina, now in Wilmington, Delaware, was the first settlement. New Sweden included parts of the present-day American states of Delaware, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania....
- Swedish - 1638 - ExeterExeter, New HampshireExeter is a town in Rockingham County, New Hampshire, United States. The town's population was 14,306 at the 2010 census. Exeter was the county seat until 1997, when county offices were moved to neighboring Brentwood...
- English - 1639 - Bridgeport, ConnecticutBridgeport, ConnecticutBridgeport is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. Located in Fairfield County, the city had an estimated population of 144,229 at the 2010 United States Census and is the core of the Greater Bridgeport area...
- English - 1639 - NewportNewport, Rhode IslandNewport is a city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island, United States, about south of Providence. Known as a New England summer resort and for the famous Newport Mansions, it is the home of Salve Regina University and Naval Station Newport which houses the United States Naval War...
- English - 1639 - San MarcosSt. Marks, FloridaSt. Marks is a city in Wakulla County, Florida, United States. It is part of the Tallahassee, Florida, Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 272 at the 2000 census. As of 2004, the population estimated by the U.S. Census Bureau is 299 .-Geography:...
- Spanish - 1640? - New StockholmBridgeport, New JerseyBridgeport is an unincorporated area within Logan Township, located in Gloucester County, New Jersey. The area is served as United States Postal Service ZIP Code 08014....
- Swedish - 1640? - SwedesboroSwedesboro, New JerseySwedesboro is a borough in Gloucester County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2000 Census, the borough population was 2,055....
- Swedish - 1642 - MontrealMontrealMontreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
- French - 1651 - Fort CasimirFort CasimirFort Casimir was a Dutch settlement in 17th century colonial province of New Netherland. It was located on a no-longer existing barrier island at the end of Chestnut Street in what is now New Castle, Delaware...
- Dutch - 1670 - CharlestonCharleston, South CarolinaCharleston is the second largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. It was made the county seat of Charleston County in 1901 when Charleston County was founded. The city's original name was Charles Towne in 1670, and it moved to its present location from a location on the west bank of the...
- English - 1678 - New Paltz, New YorkNew Paltz, New YorkNew Paltz is a town in Ulster County, New York, USA. The population was 14,003 at the 2010 census. The town is located in the southeastern part of the county and is south of Kingston, New York. New Paltz contains a village also with the name New Paltz...
- French - 1682 - PennsylvaniaPennsylvaniaThe Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
- English - 1683 - East New Jersey - Scottish
- 1684 - Stuarts Town, Carolina - Scottish
- 1684? - Fort Saint Louis (Illinois)- French
- 1684? - Fort Saint Louis (Texas)- French
- 1698 - Pensacola, FloridaPensacola, FloridaPensacola is the westernmost city in the Florida Panhandle and the county seat of Escambia County, Florida, United States of America. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 56,255 and as of 2009, the estimated population was 53,752...
- Spanish - 1699 - LouisianaLouisianaLouisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
- French
Eighteenth Century
- 1718 - New Orleans - French
- 1718 - San Antonio - Spanish
- 1721 - Greenland - Danish
- 1733 - Province of GeorgiaProvince of GeorgiaThe Province of Georgia was one of the Southern colonies in British America. It was the last of the thirteen original colonies established by Great Britain in what later became the United States...
- British - 1769 - Santa CruzSanta Cruz, CaliforniaSanta Cruz is the county seat and largest city of Santa Cruz County, California in the US. As of the 2010 U.S. Census, Santa Cruz had a total population of 59,946...
- Spanish - 1769 - San DiegoSan Diego, CaliforniaSan Diego is the eighth-largest city in the United States and second-largest city in California. The city is located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, immediately adjacent to the Mexican border. The birthplace of California, San Diego is known for its mild year-round...
- Spanish - 1770 - MontereyMonterey, CaliforniaThe City of Monterey in Monterey County is located on Monterey Bay along the Pacific coast in Central California. Monterey lies at an elevation of 26 feet above sea level. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 27,810. Monterey is of historical importance because it was the capital of...
- Spanish - 1775 - TucsonTucson, ArizonaTucson is a city in and the county seat of Pima County, Arizona, United States. The city is located 118 miles southeast of Phoenix and 60 miles north of the U.S.-Mexico border. The 2010 United States Census puts the city's population at 520,116 with a metropolitan area population at 1,020,200...
- Spanish - 1776 - San FranciscoSan Francisco, CaliforniaSan Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
- Spanish - 1784 - Kodiak IslandKodiak IslandKodiak Island is a large island on the south coast of the U.S. state of Alaska, separated from the Alaska mainland by the Shelikof Strait. The largest island in the Kodiak Archipelago, Kodiak Island is the second largest island in the United States and the 80th largest island in the world, with an...
- Russian
See also
- List of North American cities by year of foundation
- List of French possessions and colonies
- Former colonies and territories in CanadaFormer colonies and territories in CanadaFormer colonies, territories, boundaries, and claims in Canada prior to the current classification of provinces and territories. In North America, ethnographers commonly classify Aboriginals into ten geographical regions with shared cultural traits and by related linguistic dialects...