European Nations That Colonized the United States

Five European powers established colonies in territory that became the United States. Their efforts shaped the continent's demographic, cultural, and political landscape.

1. England (Later Great Britain)

• First permanent: Jamestown, Virginia (1607).
• Major colonies: Plymouth (1620), Massachusetts Bay (1630), Maryland (1634), Rhode Island (1636), Connecticut (1636), New Hampshire (1638), Delaware (1638), North Carolina (1653), South Carolina (1663), New Jersey (1664), Pennsylvania (1682), Georgia (1732).
• Dominance: 13 colonies → United States. English law, language, institutions.

2. France

• New France (Canada, Great Lakes, Mississippi Valley): Quebec (1608), Montreal (1642), Detroit (1701), New Orleans (1718), St. Louis (1764).
• Focus: Fur trade, missions, alliances with Native nations (Algonquian, Huron).
• Lost: Most territory to Britain (1763 Treaty of Paris); Louisiana to Spain (1762), back to France (1800), sold to US (1803 Louisiana Purchase).

3. Spain

• First European explorers: Ponce de León (FL 1513), Coronado (SW 1540), de Soto (SE 1539).
• Settlements: St. Augustine, FL (1565) — oldest continuously inhabited European settlement in US. Santa Fe, NM (1610). San Antonio, TX (1718). California missions (1769–1823).
• Territory: Florida, Gulf Coast, Southwest, California.
• Ceded: Florida to UK (1763), back to Spain (1783), to US (1819). Southwest/California to US (1848).

4. Netherlands

• New Netherland: Henry Hudson (1609). New Amsterdam (1624) = Manhattan.
• Extent: Hudson Valley, Delaware Valley, parts of CT, NJ, PA, NY.
• Lost to England: 1664 (Second Anglo-Dutch War) → New York, New Jersey.
• Legacy: Place names (Brooklyn, Harlem, Staten Island, Bronx), patroon system, tolerance tradition.

5. Sweden

• New Sweden (1638–1655): Fort Christina (Wilmington, DE), settlements on Delaware River (PA, NJ, DE).
• Conquered by Dutch (1655) → then English.
• Legacy: Log cabin construction, place names (Christina, Swedesboro), early Lutheran presence.

Others

• Russia: Alaska (1741–1867) — not contiguous US at time.
• Denmark: Virgin Islands (1672–1917) — not contiguous.

England's colonies became the US; French, Spanish, Dutch, and Swedish colonies were absorbed, purchased, or conquered—leaving enduring cultural imprints.