<Ul> <Li> </Li> <Li> </Li> <Li> </Li> </Ul> <P> The European colonization of the Americas describes the history of the settlement and establishment of control of the continents of the Americas by various European powers . Starting in either the 10th or 11th century, when West Norse sailors explored and briefly settled on the shores of present - day Canada, according to Icelandic Sagas, violent conflicts with the indigenous population ultimately led to the Norse abandoning those settlements . </P> <P> European colonization began in 1492, when a Spanish expedition headed by the Genoese explorer Christopher Columbus sailed west to find a new trade route to the Far East but inadvertently landed in what came to be known to Europeans as the "New World". Running aground on the northern part of Hispaniola on 5 December 1492, which the Taino people had inhabited since the 7th century, the site became the first European settlement in the Americas . European conquest, large - scale exploration and colonization soon followed . Columbus's first two voyages (1492--93) reached the Bahamas and various Caribbean islands, including Hispaniola, Puerto Rico and Cuba . In 1498, sailing from Bristol on behalf of England, John Cabot landed on the North American coast, and a year later, Columbus's third voyage reached the South American coast . As the sponsor of Christopher Columbus's voyages, Spain was the first European power to settle and colonize the largest areas, from North America and the Caribbean to the southern tip of South America . </P> <P> Other powers such as France also founded colonies in the Americas: in eastern North America, a number of Caribbean islands and small coastal parts of South America . Portugal colonized Brazil, tried colonizing the eastern coasts of present - day Canada and settled for extended periods northwest (on the east bank) of the River Plate . The Age of Exploration was the beginning of territorial expansion for several European countries . Europe had been preoccupied with internal wars and was slowly recovering from the loss of population caused by the Black Death; thus the rapid rate at which it grew in wealth and power was unforeseeable in the early 15th century . </P>

When did the first colonists settle in america