The story of North American exploration spans an entire millennium andinvolves a wide array of European powers and uniquely American characters. It began with
Initially, European nations were searching for a water route to the Far East, not a New World. Many factors encouraged European exploration. Portugal, Spain, France, and England were newly emerged as nation-states with the means to finance long overseas voyages now possible by innovations in navigation. They searched for a water route to the East because war with the Ottoman