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11AnOutlineofAmericanHistoryChaper1EarlyAmerica•TheFirstAmericans•Beringia•TheFirstEuropeans:•ThefirstEuropeanstoarriveinNorthAmerica--atleastthefirstforwhomthereissolidevidence--wereNorse,travelingwestfromGreenland.•In1497,justfiveyearsafterChristopherColumbuslandedintheCaribbeanlookingforawesternroutetoAsia,aVenetiansailornamedJohnCabotarrivedinNewfoundlandonamissionfortheBritishking.Althoughfairlyquicklyforgotten,Cabot'sjourneywaslatertoprovidethebasisforBritishclaimstoNorthAmerica.ItalsoopenedthewaytotherichfishinggroundsoffGeorge'sBanks,towhichEuropeanfishermen,particularlythePortuguese,weresoonmakingregularvisits.•AmongthemostsignificantearlySpanishexplorationswasthatofHernandoDeSoto,aveteranconquistadorwhohadaccompaniedFranciscoPizzaroduringtheconquestofPeru.•WhiletheSpanishwerepushingupfromthesouth,thenorthernportionofthepresent-dayUnitedStateswasslowlybeingrevealedthroughthejourneysofmensuchasGiovannidaVerrazano.AFlorentinewhosailedfortheFrench,VerrazanomadelandfallinNorthCarolinain1524,thensailednorthalongtheAtlanticcoastpastwhatisnowNewYorkharbor.•Adecadelater,theFrenchmanJacquesCartiersetsailwiththehope--liketheotherEuropeansbeforehim--offindingaseapassagetoAsia.Cartier'sexpeditionsalongtheSt.LawrenceRiverlaidthefoundationsfortheFrenchclaimstoNorthAmerica,whichweretolastuntil1763.•FollowingthecollapseoftheirfirstQuebeccolonyinthe1540s,FrenchHuguenotsattemptedtosettlethenortherncoastofFloridatwodecadeslater.TheSpanish,viewingtheFrenchasathreattotheirtraderoutealongtheGulfStream,destroyedthecolonyin1565.Ironically,theleaderoftheSpanishforces,PedroMenendez,wouldsoonestablishatownnotfaraway--St.Augustine.ItwasthefirstpermanentEuropeansettlementinwhatwouldbecometheUnitedStates.•In1578HumphreyGilbert,theauthorofatreatiseonthesearchfortheNorthwestPassage,receivedapatentfromQueenElizabethtocolonizetheheathenandbarbarouslandesintheNewWorldwhichotherEuropeannationshadnotyetclaimed.Itwouldbefiveyearsbeforehiseffortscouldbegin.Whenhewaslostatsea,hishalf-brother,WalterRaleigh,tookupthemission.•In1585RaleighestablishedthefirstBritishcolonyinNorthAmerica,onRoanokeIslandoffthecoastofNorthCarolina.Itwaslaterabandoned,andasecondefforttwoyearslateralsoprovedafailure.Itwouldbe20yearsbeforetheBritishwouldtryagain.Thistime--atJamestownin1607--thecolonywouldsucceed,andNorthAmericawouldenteranewera.•MostEuropeanemigrantslefttheirhomelandstoescapepoliticaloppression,toseekthefreedomtopracticetheirreligion,orforadventureandopportunitiesdeniedthemathome.Between1620and1635,economicdifficultiessweptEngland.Manypeoplecouldnotfindwork.Evenskilledartisanscouldearnlittlemorethanabareliving.Poorcropyieldsaddedtothedistress.Inaddition,theIndustrialRevolutionhadcreatedaburgeoningtextileindustry,whichdemandedanever-increasingsupplyofwooltokeeptheloomsrunning.•Landlordsenclosedfarmlandsandevictedthepeasantsinfavorofsheepcultivation.Colonialexpansionbecameanoutletforthisdisplacedpeasantpopulation.•Majesticrivers--theKennebec,Hudson,Delaware,Susquehanna,Potomacandnumerousothers--linkedlandsbetweenthecoastandtheAppalachianMountainswiththesea.•Onlyoneriver,however,theSt.Lawrence--dominatedbytheFrenchinCanada--offeredawaterpassagetotheGreatLakesandintotheheartofthecontinent.Denseforests,theresistanceofsomeIndiantribesandtheformidablebarrieroftheAppalachianMountainsdiscouragedsettlementbeyondthecoastalplain.Onlytrappersandtradersventuredintothewilderness.Forthefirsthundredyearsthecolonistsbuilttheirsettlements12compactlyalongthecoast.•PoliticalconsiderationsinfluencedmanypeopletomovetoAmerica.Inthe1630s,arbitraryrulebyEngland'sCharlesIgaveimpetustothemigrationtotheNewWorld.ThesubsequentrevoltandtriumphofCharles'opponentsunderOliverCromwellinthe1640sledmanycavaliers--king'smen--tocasttheirlotinVirginia.•IntheGerman-speakingregionsofEurope,theoppressivepoliciesofvariouspettyprinces--particularlywithregardtoreligion--andthedevastationcausedbyalongseriesofwarshelpedswellthemovementtoAmericainthelate17thand18thcenturies.•Incontrasttothecolonizationpoliciesofothercountriesandotherperiods,theemigrationfromEnglandwasnotdirectlysponsoredbythegovernmentbutbyprivategroupsofindividualswhosechiefmotivewasprofit.•Jamestown:ThefirstoftheBritishcoloniestotakeholdinNorthAmericawasJamestown.•Itwasnotlong,however,beforeadevelopmentoccurredthatrevolutionizedVirginia'seconomy.In1612JohnRolfebegancross-breedingimportedtobaccoseedfromtheWestIndieswithnativeplantsandproducedanewvarietythatwaspleasingtoEuropeantaste.ThefirstshipmentofthistobaccoreachedLondonin1614.WithinadecadeithadbecomeVirginia'schiefsourceofrevenue.•MASSACHUSETTS•Duringthereligiousupheavalsofthe16thcentury,abodyofmenandwomencalledPuritanssoughttoreformtheEstablishedChurchofEnglandfromwithin.Essentially,theydemandedthattheritualsandstructuresassociatedwithRomanCatholicismbereplacedbysimplerProtestantformsoffaithandworship.Theirreformistideas,bydestroyingtheunityofthestatechurch,threatenedtodividethepeopleandtoundermineroyalauthority.•In1620,agroupofLeydenPuritanssecuredalandpatentfromtheVirgini