OpenStax
Open Stax: Portuguese Exploration and Spanish Conquest
From a chapter on "Early Globalization: The Atlantic World, 1492-1650," this section describes the importance of Portuguese exploration of the Atlantic and Spanish exploration of the Americas.
Colonial Williamsburg Foundation
Colonial Williamsburg: Numismatics: Coins and Currency in Colonial America
Valuable lessons in the history of Europeans' early exploration and settlement of America can be gained by following the money used in trade. Coins and Currency exhibition lets you examine evidence of Spanish, British, Dutch, French, and...
Digital History
Digital History: The Meaning of America
Although brief, this article points out the opposing views of the New World of America in European eyes during the exploration and early colonization period.
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.
Library of Congress
Loc: American Memory: Touring Turn of the Century America
This collection contains thousands of photographs from the Detroit Publishing Company and gives viewers the opportunity to explore America from the period of 1880 to 1920. Images include rural America, city life, men and women at work,...
University of Groningen
American History: Essays: Europe's North South Conflicts Reach the Americas
An essay detailing early English and French exploration and settlement in the New World to challenge Spanish control.
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 Literature of Exploration
Had history taken a different turn, the United States easily could have been a part of the great Spanish or French overseas empires. Its present inhabitants might speak Spanish and form one nation with Mexico, or speak French and be...
PBS
Pbs: They Made America
Companion site to the four-part series on looking at America through inventors. Focuses on inventors from the early days of the country to modern day. From Robert Fulton and Samuel Colt, to Ted Turner and Russell Simmons, this site...
Other
Radford University: Prelude to European Settlement of Virginia
This site traces the early voyages of explorers from Portugal and Spain who were trying to find new resources.
The Newberry Library
Newberry: Exploration and Encounter: Map 3, Captain Cook and Hawaii, 1778
Map and primary source information provide first-hand account of exploration and encounters between Europeans and Hawaiians. Includes lesson plans for k-12, links to reference material and supplemental resources, and curators notes.
Wikimedia
Wikipedia: History of Nicaragua
Delve into the rich history of this Central American country. Learn much about Nicaragua's early explorations, the Somozas, and America's involvement in the country.
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.
Huntington Library
Early English Exploration and Settlement of the Colony of Virginia
For this lesson, 5th graders learn about the individuals and groups who first founded the different colonies in America and what their motivations were. Students participate in a reader's theater activity, create a poster that would...
Library of Congress
Loc: America's Story: Daniel Boone First Saw the Woodlands of Kentucky
Explore the wilderness of Kentucky with Daniel Boone. Here is a brief summary of his travels. Also features a portrait of Boone, a photograph of his cabin, and a beautiful engraving of Cumberland Gap.
Library of Congress
Loc: Parallel Histories: Exploration and Early Settlement
Read about the Spanish conquistadors who explored what was to become Spanish America. Included are links to digital collections from the Library of Congress and the National Library of Spain.
Library of Congress
Loc: Exploring the Early Americas: Interactive Presentations
Interactive collection of presentations from the Library of Congress provides glimpses into the fascinating history of pre-Columbian Americas.
National Humanities Center
National Humanities Center: America in Class: Early Visual Representations of the New World
A lesson that examines how Native Americans were portrayed by artists in the sixteenth century, whose aim was to convey their appearance to a European audience, and thereby encourage investment in future New World explorations. By...
Library of Congress
Loc: The Atlantic World: America and the Netherlands
Available in both English and Dutch, this Library of Congress and Library of the Netherlands collaborative project offers over 11,000 digitized images relating to the Dutch in America. Includes a letter describing the purchase of...
Library of Congress
Loc: Exploring the Early Americas: Columbus and the Taino
An on-line exhibit displaying copies of Columbus' journals, other writings about his voyages and findings, as well as information and artifacts of the Taino, the Native Americans Columbus encountered on San Salvador.
Mariners' Museum and Park
Mariners' Museum: The Ages of Exploration: Age of Discovery
This Age of Discovery page presents naval artifacts and explorers of the 15th century to the early 17th century. It looks at European explorers who journeyed to North and South America, the search for the Northwest Passage, and...
OpenStax
Open Stax: Europe on the Brink of Change
From a chapter on "The Americas, Europe, and Africa Before 1492," this section describes the European societies that engaged in conversion, conquest, and commerce and discusses the motives for and mechanisms of early European exploration.
Siteseen
Siteseen: Land of the Brave: Peter Stuyvesant
Overview and biographical facts on the life of Peter Stuyvesant who was involved in the early colonization of America and the Dutch New York Colony.
University of Texas at Austin
Ut Library Online: Historical Maps of the United States
This extensive collection of Historical United States maps from the University of Texas Library Online cover early inhabitants, exploration and settlement, territorial growth, military history, and later historical maps. These maps are...