The Spanish were the first European country to establish large settlements in the Americas.  These Spanish soldiers, called conquistadors, originally explored and claimed what is today Mexico, Central America, South America, and the southwest portion of the United States. 

Hernan Cortes landed in modern day Mexico and quickly conquered the Aztec people there.  He built a city on the site of the Aztec's destroyed empire and named it New Spain.  

Francisco Pizarro went to South America and seized control of the Incan Empire in the name of Spain.  Others quickly followed their model of conquest.

Besides seeking glory for king and country, Spain's desire to convert the natives of these regions to Catholicism led them to build many missions.  All of the expeditions included priests to share the Bible with any natives they came in contact with.  Those natives were forced to convert and were often killed if they refused.  

The Spanish also used the natives as their labor force, enslaving them to work in the gold mines.  European diseases decimated the Native America population.  Those that survived the illnesses often fled from captivity or fought back.  For this reason, the Spanish eventually moved from native enslavement to African enslavement. 

The rest of Europe watched with envy as Spain gained enormous wealth from their territories in the New World.  Everyone wanted a part of that wealth.  

The French were smart enough to stay clear of Spanish land claims in the south and, instead, they headed north to lands that had yet to be explored. They hoped to find a northwest passage, a water route through North America, so ships could sail from the Atlantic to the Pacific for trade.  Sadly, it didn't exist. 

Jacques Cartier traveled along the St. Lawrence River, which today creates the boundary between the United States and Canada.  He claimed what is now Canada for France.

In 1608, French explorer Samuel De Champlain founded a trading post in Quebec, where an active fur trade developed.  

Unlike Spain's American empire, New France had no gold or silver.  Instead, the French profited from trapping and fur trading, specifically beaver fur.   

They established friendly relationships with natives, treating them as business partners and friends.  Some even married native women.  The natives taught them trapping and survival skills and guided them to new lands. 

Soon, France had claimed lands east and west of the Mississippi River to the Appalachian Mountains (into Canada to the Gulf of Mexico).  They called this land Louisiana (for King Louis and Queen Anna of France)

England was watching with envy as other European countries gained riches from their colonies in the New World.  Queen Elizabeth gave permission to her good friend, Sir Walter Raleigh, to found a colony in North America. 

In 1588, Raleigh sent John White to lead an expedition of over 100 men, women, and children to found the first British colony, Roanoke, in the land they named Virginia after the Queen.  They established Roanoke on an island off the coast of present day North Carolina.  When supplies ran low, White returned to England but was unable to get back to Roanoke for almost three years  When his ship docked at the island, the people were gone.  No trace of the colonists remained.  Some houses still stood, but most were gone.  To this day, Roanoke is known as the lost colony and people still search for answers to what happened to them. 

Although Roanoke failed, the English were determined.  A group of merchants formed the Virginia Company of London to make money from the colonies.  On April 26, 1607, 125 settlers reached the Chesapeake Bay in Virginia and founded the first permanent English colony in North America.  Jamestown, named after King James, was settled on the James River. Eventually, the English claimed parts of Canada and the lands on the Atlantic coast.

Initially, there were skirmishes with the natives in the area, but a peace did take place...at least for a short time.