In our second session today we looked at what happened when other European nations began to sail across the Atlantic in 1600 - 1700 to the Western Hemisphere. European nations fought to establish their own empires in North America. We looked at their motivations for exploring, key people involved, the places they explored, and the initial failed colonies of France and England. Several European nations tried to establish colonies in America including France, the Netherlands, and Sweden. Throughout the 17th century, European rivals competed for land and control of trade in North America. New France comprised the largest territory. They dominated the lucrative fur trade and made allies with powerful Indian nations, but it was under-populated and gradually they lost control of their land to England. New Netherland was prosperous in both trade and agriculture, and they had a growing population. In 1665, New Netherland took over neighboring New Sweden, and in 1674, the colony of New Netherland was taken over by the English. This became the colony of New York.