The Explorers
European explorers claimed land in North America between the late 1400s through the 1600s. Many of these men were looking for the Northwest Passage, a faster route by water from Europe to Asia. The European explorers accomplished a lot- they found new routes, created maps of their journeys, and guided the way for settlement in the Americas. They also caused harm. When the explorers came to the New World, they cared very little for the American Indians who were already living there. They even brought with them diseases that spread quickly to the American Indians.