Native American Treatment and Resistance (Westward Expansion)

Native American Treatment and Resistance (Westward Expansion) — page 5
CHAPTER ONE CHAPTER ONE Whose Land lthough native peoples had lived in North and South America for thousands of years the continents were unknown to Europeans when A Christopher Columbus landed in the Caribbean islands in 1492 Sailing for Spain he had been searching for a sea route from Europe to Asia Columbus did not find a new trade route but his voyage paved the way for European exploration of what became known as the New World European powers competed with one another to find riches or to plant colonies in the new lands Spain conquered the Aztec and Inca empires in Mexico and South America before turning northward to claim large parts of what would become the southern and south western United States France claimed territories in what are now the eastern United States and Canada It was England however that established the colonies that would become the United States 88