<P> In 1513 , Spanish explorers were the first Europeans to reach the west coast of North America , on the Pacific coast of the Panama isthmus . From the point of view of European powers in the age of sailing ships , the west coast of North America was among the most distant places in the world . The arduous journey around Cape Horn at the tip of South America and then north meant nine to twelve months of dangerous sailing . These practical difficulties discouraged all but the Spanish Empire from making regular visits and establishing settlements and ports until the second half of the 18th century -- some 200 years after Europeans first reached the east coast of North America . </P>
<P> In 1513 , Spanish explorers were the first Europeans to reach the west coast of North America , on the Pacific coast of the Panama isthmus . From the point of view of European powers in the age of sailing ships , the west coast of North America was among the most distant places in the world . The arduous journey around Cape Horn at the tip of South America and then north meant nine to twelve months of dangerous sailing . These practical difficulties discouraged all but the Spanish Empire from making regular visits and establishing settlements and ports until the second half of the 18th century -- some 200 years after Europeans first reached the east coast of North America . </P>
who explored the west coast of north america
who explored the west coast of north america
Spanish
Spanish