The discovery of America, the New World was made by Christopher Columbus 1451-1506 in 1492. America was named after Amerigo Vespucci in 1507. America, the New World opened up new trade routes, power, riches and wealth to the countries of Europe. The other continents were unknown to Europeans. After Columbus discovered the American continents the "world" of Europe, Africa, and Asia were often referred to as the "Old World" while the Americas were called the "New World". Because it was an unexplored region at one time. A new continent. The Spanish, French, and English all established major colonial settlements in North America in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. In each colony, settlement revolved around some sort of trade plantations and mining in New Spain, the fur trade in New France, and tobacco and the family farm in British North America. There were many similarities in their approaches to settlement, but also significant differences. New Spain
The Spanish were the first European to establish large settlements in the Americas. By the 1570s, the Spanish had established roughly 200 cities and towns in the New World. At its greatest extent in 1795, New Spain included Mexico, Panama, several Caribbean islands, and most of the United States west of the Mississippi River. In these territories, the Spanish established large projects to exploit available resources. Throughout the sixteenth century they established sugar plantations in the Americas and the Caribbean and gold mines in Mexico.
The new government regulated everything from transatlantic commerce to the makeup of individual settlements. The Law of the Indies, which was passed in 1573, decreed that all Spanish settlements be modeled on the plan of a Spanish village. New France
The French colonized North America later than the Spanish; the first French colony, Acadia, was founded in 1604, and Quebec was founded in 1608. The French slowly established more colonies along the St. Lawrence River and in other areas where they traded. By 1660 there were about 3000 people living in New France. While by the eighteenth century the French claimed (in modern geographical terms) most of the U.S. Midwest, Louisiana, and Canada, its colonists were never as numerous as the English and Spanish.
At first, French settlement was based upon the fur trade and, to a lesser extent, fishing. Trade with the Native Americans gave the French an endless supply of furs. The trading relationship between the French and the Native Americans was balanced. The Native Americans taught the French settlers how to survive. In comparison with the British, the French remained on equal terms and were a more attractive ally. As in New France, Native American populations helped the English settlers stay alive; Native Americans gave supplies to the new arrivals and taught them to survive. Unlike the French, however, the English did not treat the Native Americans well in return In New England, the Native Americans and colonists were almost constantly at war. This is how Spain, France, and England had an important role in the establishment in the New World.
