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Giovanni da Verrazano, funded by France, lands in the Carolinas, then sails north and discovers the Hudson River, and continues into Narragansett Bay and Nova Scotia.
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Jacques Cartier sails up the St. Lawrence River, the basis of French claims to Canada.
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French explorer LaSalle reaches the mouth of the Mississippi and claims the surrounding territory, which he names Louisiana.
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French explorers, Father Jacques Marquette and Louis Joliet, explore the interior of North America, including the Great Lakes and the Mississippi River.
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New Orleans is founded by the French.
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Colonial forces capture the French fort of Louisbourg.
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The French and Indian War, known in Europe as the Seven Years War, begins as a result of disputes over land in the Ohio River Valley.
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French Fort Niagara is captured by the English.
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The U.S. and French sign a treaty of alliance and a treaty of amity and commerce which stated that in the case of a war between the British and French, the French would not make peace until U.S. independence was assured. France declares war on Britain. Spain and the Netherlands later join France in the war.
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The Treaty of Paris ends the Revolutionary War.
