<P> Systematic European colonization began in 1492 , when a Spanish expedition headed by the Genoese explorer Christopher Columbus sailed west to find a new trade route to the Far East but inadvertently landed in what came to be known to Europeans as the `` New World '' . Running aground on the northern part of Hispaniola on 5 December 1492 , which the Taino people had inhabited since the 7th century , the site became the first European settlement in the Americas apart from a small Norse attempt in Newfoundland centuries before . European conquest , large - scale exploration and colonization soon followed . Columbus 's first two voyages ( 1492 -- 93 ) reached the Bahamas and various Caribbean islands , including Hispaniola , Puerto Rico and Cuba . In 1498 , John Cabot , on behalf of England , landed on the North American coast , and a year later , Columbus 's third voyage reached the South American coast . As the sponsor of Christopher Columbus 's voyages , Spain was the first European power to settle and colonize the largest areas , from North America and the Caribbean to the southern tip of South America . </P>
<P> Systematic European colonization began in 1492 , when a Spanish expedition headed by the Genoese explorer Christopher Columbus sailed west to find a new trade route to the Far East but inadvertently landed in what came to be known to Europeans as the `` New World '' . Running aground on the northern part of Hispaniola on 5 December 1492 , which the Taino people had inhabited since the 7th century , the site became the first European settlement in the Americas apart from a small Norse attempt in Newfoundland centuries before . European conquest , large - scale exploration and colonization soon followed . Columbus 's first two voyages ( 1492 -- 93 ) reached the Bahamas and various Caribbean islands , including Hispaniola , Puerto Rico and Cuba . In 1498 , John Cabot , on behalf of England , landed on the North American coast , and a year later , Columbus 's third voyage reached the South American coast . As the sponsor of Christopher Columbus 's voyages , Spain was the first European power to settle and colonize the largest areas , from North America and the Caribbean to the southern tip of South America . </P>
when did the european settlers arrived in america
when did the european settlers arrived in america
1492
1492