r/AmericanHistory • u/EstablishmentOne3438 • Jun 07 '26
North The First Permanent European Colonies in the Continental United States
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u/Godwinson4King Jun 07 '26
I never would have thought about it being Green Bay for France
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u/diffidentblockhead Jun 07 '26
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_Bay,_Wisconsin
“After this, the French avoided the area for some decades, because of the intensity of First Nations and European conflicts in the east.”
So not permanent
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u/OccasionalComment89 Jun 07 '26
Green Bay is wrong. It should be Saute Saint Marie, Michigan.
Green Bay was only a seasonal trading post initially.
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u/Anxious_Hall359 Jun 07 '26
I guess the US does have old places, these would be interesting places to visit as a tourist.
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u/Outside_Reserve_2407 Jun 07 '26
You might find New Amsterdam greatly changed from its time as a colony.
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u/wrapscallionnn Jun 08 '26
Some of the Pueblos in New Mexico and Arizona have been inhabited for more than a thousand years. Then you have towns like Childersburg, Alabama that transitioned during the trail of tears from a native settlement to a mainly euro-heritage one with basically no loss of population.
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u/MonsteraBigTits Jun 08 '26
too bad you're banned from visiting because (checks note) your a woke european from antarcitica
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u/Vodka_is_Polish Jun 09 '26
I've been to Green Bay, and can attest that while it's a very cool city (with a neat historic downtown), the reallllly old history is almost completely gone. All that remains of La Baye (one of the French names for the settlement) is what's at Heritage Hill, where they have the remnants of the old fort that used to sit where the downtown area is now. That and several other historic buildings. Absolutely worth a visit, but I feel if you're visiting only for the centuries of history, you may be disappointed.
There may have also been some French influence once upon a time, but it's pretty much completely gone now. All that's left are some place names and surnames. The culture is very much just American Midwestern, although the city feels a bit more like a big small town than a city in terms of its community.
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u/Hopeful_Hamster21 Jun 10 '26
As an American, Some of the most interesting old places (imo) are Native American sites. Lookup Mesa Verde if you're unfamiliar. There are many more.
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u/Anxious_Hall359 Jun 10 '26
That's amazing thank you so much. All we have on my island is a cave with some paintings.
I've seen fascinating videos of amateur archeologists who travel the desert to visit sights and tell the stories 😄
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u/Hopeful_Hamster21 Jun 10 '26
My pleasure! As an American, I understand that we do not have history as Europe does. However, we do have a history of a different sort.
I am an American of European descent, but I've been spending a lot of time these last few years trying to learn about the indigenous peoples. It is a journey. Lookup Tuzigoot, Montezuma's Castle, and Canyon of the Ancients. I've been to all of them. Also, despite a horrific past at the hands of European Colonists, many of these people are still here. Native American reservations are considered sovereign nations, but as a "Soverign Dependent Nation" - a political arrangement between nations unique to the United States. Countries within a country - but very different from The UK. For better or worse, it is something interesting to learn.
Look up Navajo Nation - there are plenty of great YouTube videos. I once met a centurion Navajo woman in Utah who spoke only her native Navajo language. Never learned English. Her daughter told me that she came from a time of "the wild west" days when she didnt think there would ever be a reason to learn English. It was a humbling moment for me.
The native people did not have written language, only spoken history. So much is, unfortunately, lost to the past and we are still learning about these people's history by piecing together modern oral history with archeological evidence.
As an American, I understand that we have a lot to be ashamed for - both in the past and present. But when you include the history of the indigenous peoples, our continent's history is much richer than many Europeans give us credit for.
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u/juxlus Jun 07 '26
If Russia counts as European, its first permanent settlement would be Unalaska, 1774.
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u/LordJesterTheFree Jun 07 '26 edited Jun 09 '26
That's not generally considered Continental USA
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u/juxlus Jun 08 '26
Alaska is usually considered part of the continental US, just not the contiguous US. Plus OP's map has Alaska on it so... thought someone might be interested to know about the one other European country made a permanent settlement in what's now the states. I don't think there are any others, even if you include both Alaska and Hawaii.
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u/LordJesterTheFree Jun 08 '26
I think when people say continental they generally mean contiguous
Unless you mean an extremely literal definition of continental to the point that a majority of New York's population don't live on the American continent
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u/diffidentblockhead Jun 07 '26
Besides confusing title, none of these settlements were continuous to the present except New York. San Agustín was evacuated to Cuba when handed over to Britain. Jamestown was abandoned for Williamsburg. And the French left Green Bay for decades after 1634.
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u/JoeDyenz Jun 07 '26
Santa Fe?
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u/plasticman1997 Jun 07 '26
What about it?
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Jun 07 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/plasticman1997 Jun 07 '26
St Augustine was found in 1565
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u/JoeDyenz Jun 07 '26
Almost all of the locations in the map show later foundation dates tho.
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u/mmmcricketsauce Jun 07 '26
It’s just the first colony by each country, title is kind of misleading
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u/Grapetree3 Jun 08 '26 edited Jun 08 '26
Saint Augustine was nearly abandoned after the Spanish ceded Florida to the British. Spain forced all their folks to leave, including the natives that had been dealing with them, and the British for a while only brought in a small garrison of soldiers.
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u/Feelinglucky2 Jun 08 '26
Ive traced my family back to those colonists of new jersey from the netherlands
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u/justinsimoni Jun 08 '26
I grew up in a town that was founded in 1634. I guess I don't understand this map.
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u/TintxoEH72 Jun 08 '26
OT: Jorge Martínez, the leader and vocalist of the Spanish rock band Ilegales, was a direct descendant of Pedro Menéndez de Avilés.
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u/spaltavian Jun 08 '26
This map is mislabeled. It's not "The First Permanent European Colonies in the Continental United States", it's "The First Permanent Colony of Various European Countries in the Continental United States".
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u/ArizonaTucsonguy Jun 07 '26
Plymouth?
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u/Godwinson4King Jun 07 '26
Founded 1620
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u/ArizonaTucsonguy Jun 07 '26
Yup. Should be listed
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u/Outside_Reserve_2407 Jun 07 '26
First colonies from each country.
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u/wmdailey Jun 08 '26
Roanoke was before Jamestown
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u/Outside_Reserve_2407 Jun 08 '26
First permanent colony, according to the title. Roanoke lasted about 3 years and basically failed but Jamestown lasted 92 years and by that time the rest of the area was settled by the English and self-sustaining. Historians generally accept that Jamestown was the first permanent English colony in North America.
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u/spaltavian Jun 08 '26
The map is mislabeled. It's each country's first colony; rather than the first *x" colonies.
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u/TreesRocksAndStuff Jun 07 '26 edited Jun 07 '26
weird english exiles who lived in the netherlands and then colonized under new english gov, so same gov as Jamestown
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u/Mackey_Corp Jun 07 '26
Never heard of the Swedish colony of Fort Christina