map of the world with countries outlined

#Map of the world with countries outlined series#

In 1513, Vasco Nunez de Balboa crossed the Isthmus of Panama to find gold, but instead led the first European expedition to the Pacific Ocean and the west coast of the New World.

#Map of the world with countries outlined series#

The first mainland Spanish explorations were a series of inland expeditions that led to the conquest of In 1510 they established Santa María la Antigua del Darien near the border of Colombia and Panama: these were the first European settlements in the Americas. The city of Nueva Cádiz was founded on the Venezuela island ofĬubaqua. In 1500, the Spanish made their move to colonize parts of the New World. Giovanni da Verrazzano explored the East Coast of North America from Florida to eastern Canada in 1524, and Jacques Cartier made a series of voyages on behalf of the French crown in 1534 and penetrated the St.

John Cabot explored the east coast of what would becomeĬanada in 1497. Within a few months he reached land in the Bahamas, and North America would change forever.Īfter Columbus made his initial voyage to this New World, word of its potential riches spread acrossĮurope and explorers and settlers by the thousands would eventually step ashore along the Atlantic Ocean coastline of North America. Spain on an epic journey, financed by Isabella I and Ferdinand II, Queen and King of Spain. In 1492, after proposing a voyage of discovery to the then mostly-imagined New World, Christopher Columbus left Mexico to Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and northern Costa Rica. The Mayan culture was fading and the Aztec Empire now stretched across most of Mesoamerica, from In the 13th century, central Mexico was the center of the Aztec civilization. Leif Erikson is believed to have reached the Island of Newfoundland, Canada - circa 1000 AD Using sturdy wooden longships they traveled as far west as Iceland, Greenland, and Newfoundland. The Vikings were seafaring north Germanic people who raided, traded, explored, and settled in wide areas ofĮurope, Asia, and the North Atlantic islands from the late 8th to the mid-11th centuries. Perhaps most importantly they developed farming techniques for one of the planet's major foods, maize (corn). From the Northeast to the Southeast, and from the Plains to the Southwest, the expansion continued unabated.Īs large groups gained additional knowledge, they began to farm some familiar crops now used around the world, such as tomatoes and squash. Native American societies continued to spread the Inuit and the Aleut lived in domed-shaped dwellings in theĪrctic regions while large groups inhabited the Subarctic parts of Alaska and western Canada. Across regions of what is now the United States, social organization were building mound complexes, with some supporting sizable communities year-round. North America, sophisticated pre-Columbian cultures continued to develop. From the years 250 to 900, they were at the pinnacle of their power. They developed written language, as well as far-reaching advances in art, architecture, astronomical systems and mathematics. In the far-southern reaches of the continent important cultural advances were made by the Maya civilization. Small groups settled on many islands in the southeastern Caribbean, eventually reaching the Greater Antilles, creating their largest settlements on the islands of Cuba, Hispaniola, Puerto Rico, and Jamaica Across the Great Plains hunter-gatherers existed on wild plants and animals, but they were eventually replaced by more sophisticated bands that farmed the land, raised some animals and improved their hunting skills.Īt about the time of Christ, the brown-skinnedĪrawak People migrated from Venezuela to the Lesser Antilles. The development of stone tools was one of the factors instrumental in that successful expansion.Įuropeans arrived, small groups developed throughout the Americas. Indigenous peoples of the Americas have been linked to North Asian populations by linguistic dialects and blood types.Īfter the last glacial period ended some 12,500 years back, a wide variety of prehistoric cultures developed across the continent, north to south. There is scientific evidence connecting indigenous Americans to Asian peoples, specifically from the eastern Some experts feel that by using primitive boats, early man also migrated down the Pacific coast to South America that debate continues. Anthropologists believe that North America's initial inhabitants arrived around 40,000 years ago by traversing theīering Strait.