European Nations Settle
North America
Chapter 4, Section 2
Main Idea
 Several European nations fought for control of
North America, and England emerged
victorious.
 English settlers in North America left a legacy of
law and government that guides the United
States today.
Introduction
 Spain was successful in colonizing the
Americas.
 Other European nations wanted to obtain
colonies, too.
 Remember the Treaty of Tordesillas?
 Other European nations ignored it.
 Other European nations set out to build their
own empire.
 Result?
 Struggle for North America
Competing Claims in
North America
 Magellan found a trade
route to Asia through the
Pacific Ocean.
 Spain claimed this
route that went around
the south tip of South
America.
 Other European nations
wanted to find an easier
and more direct route.
 If it existed, it would be
highly profitable.
 No route?
 Established colonies
in North America
instead.
European Settlements
Explorers Establish New France
 Giovanni da
Verrazzano Italian working for
France
 Searching for trade
route to Asia
through the Pacific.
 Instead, he
discovered New
York harbor.
New France
 By the 1700’s,
France
controlled
most of the
Midwest and
Eastern
Canada.
A Trading Empire
 France had a large empire but it was
sparsely populated.
 65,000 people
 Many French colonists had no desire
to build towns or raise families.
 Catholic priests sought to convert
Native Americans.
 Fur trade became France’s main
economic activity.
 French were concerned with making
money off the land, not gaining
territory, like the English.
The English Arrive in
North America
 The English were inspired by the explorations of
the French and the Spanish.
 1606 – King James sent a company to found an
English colony.
 Four months later, the settlers landed in Virginia
and named the land Jamestown.
The Settlement of Jamestown
 The colony’s start was disastrous.
 Settlers were more interested in finding gold than
planting crops.
 Seven out of every ten people died of hunger, disease or
battles with Native Americans.
 Jamestown eventually became successful, especially
after the discovery of tobacco.
 It became a profitable cash crop.
Puritans Create a “New England”
 Pilgrims founded a second English colony
 Plymouth
 Puritans sought religious freedom from
England’s Anglican Church.
 Establish Massachusetts Bay.
 Wanted a model community that would set an
example for other Christians to follow.
 This community was full of families, unlike
Jamestown.
The Dutch Found New Netherland
 Henry Hudson – English but in
service of the Netherlands.
 In search of the northwest trade route
to Asia.
 Instead, found three waterways.
 Hudson River, Hudson Bay and
Hudson Strait.
 The Dutch claimed this region
(around New York).
 Establish fur trade with the Iroquois
Indians.
 Area became known as New
Netherland.
The Struggle for
North America
 English v. Dutch
 English felt Dutch
territory separated
their territory.
 Duke of York drove out
the Dutch and renamed
it New York.
 With the Dutch gone,
English controlled entire
Atlantic coast.
England Battles France
 English became greedy and decided to push
farther west.
 Result? Collided with France’s territories.
 Dispute over land claims in the Ohio Valley led
to a war between the British and French.
 French and Indian War
 Why was it called the French and Indian War?
French and Indian War
 British
defeated the
French in
1763.
 French
surrendered
their territory.
 British now
had control of
the eastern
half of North
America.
Native Americans Respond
 French and Dutch cooperated mostly with
Native Americans.
 England’s objective was to populate the land and
force off the natives.
 Disease - Europeans brought new diseases to
America.
 More destructive than weapons.
 Small Pox – dropped a tribe from 24,000 to 750
 Replaced natives with Africans.
• Who gained control of the northwest territory by
1763?
• In 1754, who held the most area between the
Mississippi River and Rio Grande?
▫ 1763?