The volume chronicles European exploration and settlement of North America, beginning with Norse voyages and early discoveries, then surveying Iberian and later French and English expeditions. It describes major voyages of discovery, early encounters with indigenous peoples, Spanish conquests, and the establishment and struggles of early English colonies in Virginia, Maryland, and New England, including their economic motives, conflicts, governance experiments, and relations with native populations. Chapters combine narrative episodes of exploration with political and social developments that shaped colonial foundations and survival.
