Every major concept, key term, and definition that an AP US history student should know for a test prep session and the big exam is right here in this comprehensive, well-organized study guide. 

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...

Native Americans inhabited the New World long before European explorers began establishing settlements on the land. This entry addresses the challenges the natives had to face upon Europe's arrival, trials in relationships, and how...

Famous for cartography and exploration of the Pacific and Antarctic, Planet Explorers provides a brief biography of Captain James Cook.

A chronological timeline of early European exploration and development in Texas spanning from the sixteenth to the nineteenth centuries.

One of the first Europeans to penetrate the interior of Texas, read Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca's account of his shipwreck and eventual return to the Spanish Court.

Find out about the life of an explorer in this brief biography regarding Christopher Columbus.

The story of Christopher Columbus, of how he became an explorer, his encounter with the Arawak people in the Caribbean, and the exaggerated tales he told the King and Queen of Spain when he returned to Europe.

French explorer, Jacque Cartier, is featured in a video and biography. Cartier is famed for the European discovery of land now known as Canada. [2:10]

Read through the biography of Martin Frobisher to find out his importance in Canadian history.

A biography of Jacques Marquette (1637-1675), a French explorer and Roman Catholic missionary who was one of the earliest European explorers in North America. He joined the French explorer Louis Jolliet on a trip down the Mississippi...

Vasco da Gama (this is the accepted spelling) was a Portuguese explorer from the 15th and 16th centuries who established the first trade route to India that went around the southern tip of Africa. Read about his life, his...

A short history of the Shoshone people from prior to contact with European explorers up to 1870.

The Mangbetu live in the northeastern corner of Zaire. They are the founders of one of the few centralized political systems in Central Africa. The Mangbetu achieved a very high level of technological and material development, as...

A well known historian tells the story of the early Spanish explorers known as "conquistadors". He discusses their motivation, what effect they had on the native American societies and much more. Archived.

Following the arrival of European fur traders and explorers, Christianity and religion soon followed to convert the aboriginal peoples. churches and missionaries spread throughout the prairies.

Provides an overview of the history, culture, and lifestyle of Canadian Americans. (Note: Content is not the most current.)

Learn about the history and motives of the famous Spanish Conquistadors in the New World. Features biographies, pictures, and timelines about the life of the famous European Explorers.

This site gives information on technical advances in Portuguese shipbuilding and navigational tools.

Biographical information on French explorer, Jacque Cartier. Cartier is particularly recognized for his contributions of European exploration in Canada in the 16th century.

Covers the life of Ponce de Leon, a Spanish explorer known for leading the first official European expedition to Florida in 1513.

A biography of Hernando De Soto (1500?-1542), a Spanish explorer who led the first European expedition to reach the Mississippi River. His group arrived at the river in 1541 during a search for gold. De Soto also took part in the Spanish...

Overview and biographical facts on the life of Hernando de Soto, the first European to cross the Mississippi River.

Overview and biographical facts on the life of Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo who led the first European expedition to explore the upper California coast.