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The first Norwegians to arrive in America took over Greenland in 1261. They continued East and explored Cananda, Newfoundland, and upstate New York. They did not keep permanent colonies in America and just stayed for resources.
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The first Portuguese explorers to arrive in America came in 1501 and mapped what would be New England and Newfoundland. They set up a colony the following year but ended up loosing it 5 years later after it was abandoned. That was the end of Portuguese involvment in North America.
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The first Spanish to arrive on future American soil came in 1513 when they landed in Florida. They set up trading posts and forts. Spanish conquistadores also explored the American Southwest and Southeast extensively from 1540-1545.
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The first Italians to arrive in America came as explorers in1524 and mapped the eastern coast of the U.S. They would not return until the 1900's as immigrants. Italian makes up one of the largest ethnicities in the United Sates today.
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The first Greek to arrive in America was Don Theodoro. He led an expedition in Florida but died as did most of his comrades. The U. S. saw many Greeks arrive during the early 1900's as immigrants later.
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The first French explorers to arrive in America arrived in 1534 and explored the east coast. They eventually set up forts in Newfoundland and Canada along with a brief one in Florida. The Frnch claimed most of America along the Mississippi where they were most prodominant.
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The first Dutch people arrived in America around 1602 though no specific date is know. The first Dutch founded New Netherland and created the fort that will one day grow into New York City. The forts name was also New Netherland and the colony was annexed by the British about a centuy later.
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During this time there has been rapid immigration to the United States from other countries primarily in the early 1900's. For information on immigration to the U.S. click here, or copy and paste it and press enter. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immigration_to_the_United_States
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The first permanent British colony landed in 1607 of what will one day be the United States and founded Jamestown. They were the first permanent settlers in America. This was the beginnning of the colonization of the future United States.
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The first German to arrive in America arrived in 1608 a year after the first British landed. The first immigrants came on British vessels. German would soon become the dominant ethnicity in white people by 1900.
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The frirst Polish to arrive in the United States arrived in 1608 in the Jamestown Colony. They helped the colony survive and thrive. Many Polish would arrive centuries later in the 1900's with other Eastern Europeans such as Czechs and Slovaks. Polish is one of the largest ethnicities in the United States.
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The first African to arrive in America came in 1619. They arrived in Jamestown, Virginia and sold as indentured servants (not slaves). Eventually 10-12 million Africans would arrive in America as slaves until it was abolished.
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The first people from Courland (a small German-Scandinavian country in the Baltics) arrive in North America in 1637. They set up a colony known as New Courland and were the smallest country to colonize the Americas. They're colony was destroyed 4 times and eventually was surrendered to The Netherlands in 1655.
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The first Swedish immigrants arrived in 1638. They set up a colony along the Delaware River and claimed it for they're queen. The colony was incorporated into the New Nethrlands colony by 1655.
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The first Scotch-Irish immigrants arrived in 1717. The exact date of the first imnigrants is not known but they settled the frontier which was Pennsylvania. They soon became the prominent ethnic group in the area a that time.
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On July 15th, 1741 the first Russians to arrive in America landed on the West side of Prince of Wales Island. They set up camp and brought otter pelts back to Russia. The Russians decided otter pelts were the finest furs in the world and began a colony known as Russian America.
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In 1750 the first Asians arrived and stayed in America. They set up settlements in Louisiana where they could find jobs. The first real waves of immigration from Asia did not happen though until the mid 1800's.
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On January 1st, 1892 Ellis Island opened. Ellis Island would become the place where most immigrants from Europe would come through to live in America. People from Poland, Italy, Greece, and almost all of the European countries came here to see a better life. It is a national park now.
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1907 was the peak year in immigration from Europe. 1.3 million people entered the country legally through Ellis Island. During these few decades before and after the country became far more diverse and became a "melting pot".
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The first Scottish explorers set up a colony in America frmom Greenland in 985 along with Vikings. They settled in mostly present-day Canada bu also upstate New York. Not much is known about what happend to this colony.
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The first Danish people to arrive in America arrived around 980. They set up a colony in Greenland, Iceland, Newfoundland, and Upstate New York. All of them were abandoned eventually.
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This is the era in which mostly explorers arrived in America and not many immigrants or colonies existed. For more information on the European expeditions and colonies, click here or copy and paste and press enter. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_colonization_of_the_Americas
