Why did European settlers come to the New World?

European nations came to the Americas to increase their wealth and broaden their influence over world affairs. Many of the people who settled in the New World came to escape religious persecution. The Pilgrims, founders of Plymouth, Massachusetts, arrived in 1620.

What was North America like before European colonization?

Before contact with Europeans, the indigenous peoples of North America were divided into many different polities, from small bands of a few families to large empires. They lived in numerous culture areas, which roughly correspond to geographic and biological zones.

How long did Native American live before European arrived?

But before Columbus, these continents were already populated. The indigenous people hadn’t always been there, nor had they originated there, as some of their traditions state, but they had occupied these American lands for at least 20,000 years.

How did Native American live before European arrived?

Part ii: American Indians before European contact. During the early Woodland period, native peoples began to concentrate settlements near streams and rivers, where the rich soil allowed successful farming. This Woodland tradition took root among Indians in the Carolina region.

What did natives call America?

Turtle Island is a name for the Earth or for North America, used by some US Indigenous and First Nations people and by some Indigenous rights activists.