Early Europeans to North America

​Early Europeans to North America

By Micah Agas

The first Europeans to actually arrive in North America were Norse explorers led by Leif Erikson around the year 1000, landing in what is now Newfoundland, Canada. The Norse even built small settlements, such as the site known today as L’Anse aux Meadows, but these were temporary and did not develop into lasting colonies. It would be centuries before Europeans returned.

First Europeans

Multiple Choice

What is true about the Norse explorers led by Leif Erikson around the year 1000?

• They built permanent colonies that lasted for centuries

• They discovered the Caribbean islands before Columbus

• They created small settlements like L’Anse aux Meadows, but these did not last

In 1492, Christopher Columbus sailed across the Atlantic under the Spanish flag and landed in islands of the Caribbean. Though he never set foot in what is today the United States, his voyages opened the door for further European exploration and colonization of the Americas. Columbus’s journeys marked the beginning of a new era of contact between Europe and the Western Hemisphere, leading to major cultural exchanges as well as conflict with Indigenous peoples.

Columbus

Multiple Choice

What was the main result of Christopher Columbus’s voyages in 1492?

• He established the first English colony in North America

• He landed in the Caribbean, opening the door to European exploration of the Americas

• He reached Asia by sailing west across the Atlantic

This period of time became known as the Age of Exploration, when European nations such as Spain, Portugal, France, and England sent explorers across the oceans. They were motivated by the “three G’s”: gold, glory, and God—seeking wealth, fame, and the spread of Christianity. Advances in navigation and shipbuilding made these journeys possible, and they forever changed the world by connecting Europe, Africa, and the Americas in new ways.

Age of Exploration

Labelling

The Age of Exploration connected these 3 continents for the first time.

Label these 3 continents:

Drag labels to their correct position on the image

Europe

North America

Africa

Multiple Select

Why did many European explorers begin sailing across the Atlantic in the late 1400s and 1500s?

• To obtain more wealth and land for their country

• To study Native American cultures

• To have fun and vacation with family

• to spread their religion

Multiple Select

When talking about the Age of Exploration, what are the three G's?

• Gold

• Glory

• Gucci

• God

Among the most famous groups to follow were the Pilgrims, English separatists who sailed on the Mayflower in 1620. They established the Plymouth Colony in present-day Massachusetts, seeking religious freedom and a new start. Their survival depended heavily on the knowledge and help of Native Americans, including the Wampanoag people, who taught them vital skills such as planting corn and fishing. The Pilgrims’ story became a central part of early American history and tradition.

The Pilgrims

Multiple Choice

What was the main reason the Pilgrims traveled on the Mayflower in 1620?

• To explore and make maps

• To find gold and silver

• To seek religious freedom and start a new life

Multiple Choice

What U.S. holiday celebrates the story of the Pilgrims and the Wampanoag (Native American) people?

• Halloween

• Thanksgiving

• Easter

Multiple Choice

How did the Wampanoag people help the Pilgrims survive?

• They built houses for them

• They taught them how to plant corn and fish
  

• They defended them from the Spanish

Before the Pilgrims, however, John White led expeditions to the coast of present-day North Carolina in the 1580s. As an artist and cartographer, White carefully documented the land and its Indigenous peoples through detailed drawings, providing some of the earliest visual records of Native American life. He later became governor of the ill-fated Roanoke Colony, known as the “Lost Colony,” after its settlers mysteriously disappeared. White’s work remains significant because it offers both a glimpse into early English attempts at colonization and the first artistic portrayals of Native Americans encountered by Europeans.

John White

Multiple Choice

What was John White known for during his expeditions in the 1580s?

• Leading the first successful colony in Massachusetts

• Establishing trade with the French

• Creating detailed drawings and maps of the land and Indigenous peoples

Reorder

Reorder the following European explorers from earliest to latest to arrive in America from left to right.

• Norse aka Vikings

• Christopher Columbus

• John White

• The Pilgrims

1

2

3

4

• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4