Juan Ponce de Leon, a Spanish explorer, became the first European to definitely set foot in what today is the United States, landing in Florida in 1513 under orders to ascertain the existence of a large landmass to the north of Cuba. Juan didn’t find anything of interest beyond some locals who didn’t seem too happy to see him, so he returned home. This was the general attitude of most early explorers of the Eastern Seaboard. From 1519 to 1525, the Spanish, Portuguese, and even the French, sent expeditions to explore the coast line between Florida and Newfoundland, not so much out of a want to add to the map, but rather in hopes of finding an ocean passage west to the Pacific and the riches of Asia. Not only did they fail to find such a Northwest Passage, they failed to find anything of interest whatsoever. Though there were numerous towns and villages dotting the coast, none of the locals had either gold or silver, or really anything at all of interest to trade.
The first attempt to establish a colony in what is today the United States was carried out by Ponce de Leon in 1521, when he led some 200 settlers to Florida. Though there were no riches to be had, Juan probably dreamed of maybe getting lucky and discovering another empire of gold like Hernan Cortes in Mexico. Instead he got killed by the locals, who were no more happy to see him than they had been eight years before. Five years later, a second group of 600 Spaniards tried to start a colony in what is today Georgia, but again the locals proved less than friendly, resulting in some 450 colonists being killed and the rest fleeing for their lives. It should probably be mentioned that due to a shortage of natives in the Caribbean around this time, you know, due to disease and atrocities, the Spanish had conducted several raids in the area a few years prior to collect slaves to take with them back to Cuba and Hispaniola. So you know, it kind of makes sense they weren’t all that welcoming.
Not everyone agreed with the assessment that the Atlantic coast of North America was useless. There might not have been silver and gold, but there were other resources. Early explorers to the area of Newfoundland described cod so thick that one could practically walk across the ocean. These accounts caught the attention of French fisherman, who in the 1530s began risking the dangerous voyage to see if such stories were true. The voyages provided to be a resounding financial success, leading to not only fisherman from France, England, Portugal, and Spain making the voyage, but Basque whalers as well. Though the fisherman tended to stay out in the ocean, the whalers set up temporary camps on the shore to process their catch. In this way the Basque came into contact with the Native Americans living in the area, trading with them from time to time. One of the more prized trading items were beaver pelts, which could be used to make water resistant coats and hats.
Of all the nations of western Europe, France took the most interest in the possibility of Northwest Passage to Asia. In 1524, the king of France sent the Italian explorer Giovanni da Verrazzano to explore the Eastern Seaboard. He sailed from Newfoundland as far south as South Carolina, but found no sign of a way through. During a second expedition in 1528, he ventured south to the Lesser Antilles where he was killed and eaten by the natives on the island of Guadeloupe. Six years later in 1534, Jacques Cartier set sail to the find the passage, discovering the mouth of the St. Lawrence River, which seemed promising. A second voyage in 1535 sailed far up the river, but found its way blocked by rapids., though the local Iroquois were welcoming and more than willing to trade beaver pelts and other such things. In 1541, in order to secure the likely route to Asia, Cartier returned again with orders to create a colony, but found the local Iroquois much less welcoming when it became apparent the French were not just there for a visit. The colony lasted less than two years before it was abandoned.
Despite these setbacks, the king of France still held a great interest in the New World. From his way of seeing things, it was important to create some kind of a toehold across the sea, because one never knew what might come of it. After all, the Caribbean had seemed like a backwater until the discovery of the riches of Mexico and Peru. A small colony called Charlesfort was built in Florida in 1562, but had to be abandoned due to the hostility of the locals and a lack of food. In 1564, a new colony, called Fort Caroline, was built not far from the first colony. This proved too close for comfort for the Spanish. French and English privateers were increasingly attacking their ships sailing across the Atlantic, which for some reason made them less than cool with the idea of having a French fort in Florida. The Spanish attacked and killed the inhabitants of the fort in 1565, and then founded their own colony nearby. St Augustine became the first permanent settlement in what is today the United States.
