Texas State Historical Association
Texas State Historical Association: Early European Exploration and Development
A chronological timeline of early European exploration and development in Texas spanning from the sixteenth to the nineteenth centuries.
University of Groningen
American History: Outlines: The First Europeans
The first Europeans to arrive in North America -- at least the first for whom there is solid evidence -- were Norse, traveling west from Greenland, where Erik the Red had founded a settlement around the year 985. In 1001 his son Leif is...
Other
Houston Institute for Culture: Early Texas History: Spanish Exploration
Read about Cabeza de Vaca, one of the first Europeans to extensively explore Texas after an accidental landing at Galveston Island.
British Library
British Library:northwest Passage: Early Approaches, a Historical Account
Read about the early attempts to find a way through the Northwest Passage. Included are portraits and early maps of the explorers.
Wisconsin Historical Society
American Journeys: Eyewitness Accounts Early American Exploration/settlement
A collaborative project of the Wisconsin Historical Society and National History Day, this site contains over 18,000 pages of primary source, eyewitness accounts of North American exploration starting with the Vikings.
Curated OER
Etc: Early Voyages of Spaniards in the West Indies, 1512 1580
A map of the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean showing the voyage routes of the early European explorers in the region between 1512 and 1580. The map shows the routes of Alonzo de Ojeda to Darien Colombia, Balboa to the Pacific, Juan Ponce de...
PBS
Empire of the Bay: Who Were the Pathfinders?
Who were the men key to the Hudson's Bay Company? Read through the biographies provided through Empire of the Bay to find out.
Other
California Historical Society: California History Online
With over four hundred original images, this site covers periods in California's history from 1600 to the 1930s. Topics covered include the geography and climate of California, early aboriginal groups, the first European explorers, the...
Khan Academy
Khan Academy: French and Dutch Exploration in the New World
An overview of the French, Dutch, and English explorers in the late 1500's and early 1600's.
Curated OER
Etc: Early Explorers of the Atlantic Coast, 1492 1620
A map of the Atlantic coast of North America from the Labrador Peninsula and Gulf of St. Lawrence south to the Santee River in the Carolinas, showing the European explorations and settlements in the region between 1492 and 1620. The map...
Curated OER
Etc: Dev of Colonies and Early Western Explorations, 1700 1775
A map of eastern North America showing the early development of the European colonies and westward exploration to the Mississippi River. The map shows the routes of several early explorers with dates of exploration, including La Salle,...
Curated OER
Unesco: Tanzania: Ruins of Kilwa Kisiwani and Ruins of Songo Mnara
The remains of two great East African ports admired by early European explorers are situated on two small islands near the coast. From the 13th to the 16th century, the merchants of Kilwa dealt in gold, silver, pearls, perfumes, Arabian...
Other
Texas Bob: The Journey of Alvar Nunez Cabeza De Vaca
An English translation of Cabeza De Vaca's first-hand account of his journey and quest to claim territory from Florida to Mexico for Spain.
Texas State Library and Archives Commission
Texas State Library and Archives Commission: Native American Relations in Texas: Introduction
How did a Spanish explorer become a "medicine man and the first European trader in Texas"? Who authored the "first ever written description of Texas Indians"? Read this brief article to begin learning about the early relations between...
Curated OER
Etc: Maps Etc: Egypt, Abyssinia, Et Cetera, 1904
"Egypt is another of those countries whose prehistoric ages are wrapped in mystery as impenetrable as the sources of her Nile, whose exact location ling baffled the most enterprising of explorers. Great interest attaches to the country's...