The Motives for Expansion

Europeans had long been attracted to countries outside of Europe. But with the closing of the overland routes, a number of people in Europe became interested in the possibility of reaching Asia by sea to gain access to the spices and other precious resources of the region.
Merchants, adventurers and government officials had high hopes of finding precious metals and new areas of trade.

Native Americans

Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples from the regions of North America now encompassed by the continental United States, including parts of Alaska. They comprise a large number of distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which still endure as political communities. There is a wide range of terms used, and some controversy surrounding their use: they are variously known as American Indians, Indians, Amerindians, Amerinds, or Indigenous, Aboriginal, Original Americans, or Red men.
Not all Native Americans come from the contiguous 48 states. Some come from Alaska and other insular regions. These other indigenous peoples, including Alaskan Native groups such as the Inupiag, Yupik Eskimos, and Aleuts are not always counted as Native Americans, although Census 2000 demographics listed "American Indian and Alaskan Native" collectively. Native Hawaiians and various other Pacific Islander American peoples, such as the Chamorros (Chamoru), can also be considered Native American but it is not common to use such a designation.

The first Voyages to the New World

While the Portuguese were seeking access to the spice trade of the Indies by sailing eastward through the Indian Ocean, the Spanish were attempting to reach the same destination by sailing westward across the Atlantic sea.

An important figure in the history of Spanish exploration was an Italian known as Christopher Columbus. Europeans were aware that the world was round but had little understanding of its circumference or the size of the continent of Asia. Convinced that the earth was smaller and Asia larger than people thought, Columbus believed that Asia could be reached by sailing directly west instead of travelling around Africa. Rebuffed by the Portuguese, he persuaded Queen Isabella of Spain to finance his exploration expedition. With three ships, the Santa Maria, the Nina, and the Pinta, and a crew of ninety men, Columbus set sail on August 3, 1492. On October 12, he reached the Bahamas and then went on to explore the coastline of Cuba and the northern shores of Hispaniola. Columbus believed that he had reached Asia, and in his reports to Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand upon his return to Spain, he assured them that he would eventually find gold there.
Other explorers soon realized that he had discovered a new frontier, but Columbus clung to his believe until his death.

New Horizons: The Portuguese and Spanish Empires

Portugal took the lead in the European age of expansion when it began to explore the coast of Africa under the sponsorship of Prince Henry the Navigator. His motives were a blend of seeking a Christian kingdom as an ally against the Muslims.

The Spanish Empire in the New World

The Spanish conquistadors were hardy individuals motivated by a typical sixteenth-century blend of glory, greed and religious zeal. Although authorized by the Castilian crown, these groups were financed and outfitted privately, not by the government. Their superior weapons, organizational skills, and determination brought the conquistadors incredible success. They also benefited from rivalries among the native peoples and the decimation of the native peoples by European diseases.

The French Empire in the New World

France had the largest empire in the New World until the "seven years" war between France and Great Britain had ended. Great Britain won and got a large part of the French empire.
France didn't use their empire really good and they hadn't a good agriculture.

The British Empire in the New World

Great Brintain wasn't as fast as France in the New World, but they were more successful as France. They took over a large area after the "seven years" war.
The first 13 states of the USA were a part of the British Colonies.

Trade in Colonial America

Overview

Here you find an overview over the whole Colonial Time in North America.

Links

I won't publish Links, because Webmasters often changes their Links.
There's only one Link (Overview), because there wasn't another possibility.

More Informations about the history of America

Some facts about Colonial Virginia
The first settlers come to found a colony in North America in 1585 when Walter Raleigh started a settlement. But soon the settlers died of illness. By 1591 all settlers were gone. Jamestown was the first permanent settlement in America. It was founded in 1607. The 104 colonists had come for gold, but soon they found out that they had to work hard if they wanted to survive. Only 53 of 120 settlers survived the first winter. Without the help of Indians no one would have survived at all. The settlers got the right to own land.
The first Puritans arrived in 1621. They had left England, because there King James 1. had taxed their business and had been against their religion.
Live in the colonies was hard. There were few food, supplies, many epidemics and people died early. But by the end of the 17th century the colonies had different export products:
Tobacco (in the north), rice, indigo and cotton (in the south).

Williamsburg
Williamsburg became the capital of Virginia in 1699. Thomas Jefferson was a radical law student there. The town became the political, social and cultural centre of the colony.
The Governors Palace was the home of the royal governors. The colonial parliament met in the capitol when Virginia declared it’s independence on May 15th, 1776. In this building Thomas Jefferson, George Washington and George Mason discussed the right of the colonies. And it was here where Patrick Henry called for rebellion with his famous words:
„Give me liberty or give me death. “

The Carter family
The Carter family, a dynasty of famous Virginias. In about 1640 John Carter emigrated from England to Virginia, built of the biggest plantations in Virginia and initiated the first slave transports. His son, Robert ´King´ Carter became Governor of Virginia. He had several wifes and many children.

Slavery
The story of African America in North America began in 1619 when a Dutch battleship brought 20 black men and woman to Jamestown. Up to that point indentured service (with took seven years) had common. Indentured service means, once their agreed working period had come to an end, the slaves were free again.
But it became standard practise for blacks to have to work their whole lives. In 1642 the slavery was officially legalized in Massachusetts, later other states followed.
From this point on blacks were seen and treated a property. The interested in black labour grew so much among owners of tobacco, cotton and rice plantations that the slave trade between Africa and America became a profitable business for white dealers.