What countries had colonies in north America and central America?

Answer 1

There were many more than 3.

The 3 largest North American colonial powers were Britain, France and Spain.

Spain colonized most of the American west and southwest, and parts of the south. France originally colonized Canada and the Mississippi basin. England originally colonized most of the east coast between Florida and Maine. England eventually took control of the French territories of Canada and the east side of the Mississippi. The United States would eventually claim much of the territory in the west and southwest originally controlled by Spain.

But there were others.

Holland established the original colony at what is today New York, as well as much of New Jersey and Delaware; they called it New Netherland, and the city of New York was called New Amsterdam. It was ceded to England after Holland was defeated in the 3rd Anglo-Dutch War, in 1764.

Sweden also established a colony along the Delaware River, and included parts of Delaware, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. The colony was captured by the Dutch in 1655.

Portugal at one time claimed Labrador, and had established settlements at Newfoundland and Nova Scotia before 1521 - they were in fact the earliest permanent settlements in North America among the major colonizing powers of the 15th and 16th centuries.

Russia claimed all of Northwestern North America, from Alaska to the northern shores of San Francisco Bay. They had many large settlements mostly along the coast, and mostly in Alaska; they also had a significant settlement at Fort Ross, in California. They sold their territorial claims to the U.S. in 1867.

Lastly, the very earliest European Settlement in North America was by the Norse, mostly Greenlandic Icelanders, most famously Eric the Red, and his son Lief Ericson. Erik the Red established the first colonies in Greenland, in 986, and his son established a settlement on North America proper, at Newfoundland, in about the year 1000.

Answer 2

• French,
• Dutch