this video about history of america continent discovery
History of the Discovery of the American Continent
1. First Human Settlement (c. 20,000–12,000 BCE)
Long before Europeans arrived, the Americas were discovered and inhabited by humans migrating from northeast Asia.
Bering Land Bridge Theory.
During the last Ice Age, sea levels were lower.
A landmass called Beringia connected Siberia and Alaska.
Small groups of hunter-gatherers crossed into North America.
Over thousands of years, populations spread across the continent and eventually into South America.
Alternative and Complementary Theories
Coastal migration route: early peoples traveled by boat along the Pacific Coast.
Solutrean hypothesis (disputed): proposes early migrants came from Ice Age Europe—rejected by most scholars.
By 10,000 BCE, the entire continent—from the Arctic to Patagonia—was home to diverse cultures.
2. Pre-Columbian Contacts Before Columbus
While Indigenous peoples were the first discoverers, several possible or confirmed pre-Columbian contacts occurred:
Norse (Viking) Exploration (c. 1000 CE)
Led by Leif Erikson, Norse explorers reached the coast of today’s Newfoundland.
L’Anse aux Meadows is an archaeological site confirming their presence.
This is the earliest proven European arrival in the Americas.
Other Theories (Unproven or Disputed)
Polynesians reaching South America (supported partly by sweet potato genetics).
Chinese voyages (e.g., Zheng He — considered unlikely by historians).
African contact (also debated).
None of these resulted in lasting colonies or global awareness.
3. The Age of European Exploration
Christopher Columbus (1492–1504)
Funded by Spain, Columbus sailed west seeking Asia.
On October 12, 1492, he reached the Caribbean.
Although he never understood he had reached a new continent, his voyages triggered permanent contact between Europe and the Americas.
Amerigo Vespucci (1501–1502)
Italian navigator who realized these lands were part of a new continent, not Asia.
His letters describing the “New World” led mapmakers to name the continents America in his honor.
4. Major Explorations After Columbus
Spanish Exploration
Hernán Cortés conquered the Aztec Empire (1519–1521).
Francisco Pizarro conquered the Inca Empire (1532).
Explorers such as Ponce de León, Coronado, and de Soto mapped Florida, the southwest, and the southeast.
Portuguese Exploration
Focused on Brazil after the 1500 arrival of Pedro Álvares Cabral.
French and English Exploration
Jacques Cartier explored the St. Lawrence River (1534).
John Cabot explored the North American Atlantic coast (1497).
Later English colonization began with Jamestown (1607).
Dutch Exploration
Henry Hudson explored the region that would become New York (1609).
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