Exploration and Settlement By sandiimarie 1492 Columbus lands at Hispaniola in the Caribbean. Marked the first contact between Europeans and Native Americans *was from Italy https://www.factretriever.com/christopher-columbus-facts 1513 Balboa "discovers" the Pacific Ocean in Panama 1521 Cortés conquers the Aztecs at Tenochtitlán (Mexico City) 1539 De Soto explores the region between Florida and the Mississippi River 1607 First permanent English settlement is founded in Jamestown, Virginia 1620 Mayflower Pilgrims found Plymouth colony in Massachusetts 1676 English Settler's defeat Native Americans in King Philip's War 1682 French claims the Mississippi River Valley and names it Louisiana.
