<P> The European colonization of the Americas describes the history of the settlement and establishment of control of the continents of the Americas by most of the naval powers of Europe . </P> <P> Systematic European colonization began in 1492, when a Spanish expedition headed by the Italian 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, John Cabot, on behalf of England, 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> The Spanish began building up their American empire in the Caribbean, using islands such as Cuba, Puerto Rico, and Hispaniola as bases . The North and South American mainland fell to the conquistadors . Florida fell to Juan Ponce de León after 1513 . From 1519 to 1521, Hernán Cortés waged a brutal campaign against the Aztec Empire, ruled by Moctezuma II . The Aztec capital, Tenochtitlan, became Mexico City, the chief city of what the Spanish were now calling "New Spain ." Later, the areas that are today California, Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, Texas, Missouri, Louisiana, and Alabama were taken over by other conquistadors, such as Hernando de Soto, Francisco Vázquez de Coronado, and Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca . Farther to the south, Francisco Pizarro conquered the Inca Empire during the 1530s . </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>

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