In 1497 John Cabot sailed from Bristol, England on commission "to seek out ...regions ...of the heathen." He made a landing in Canada, laid claim to the region and hurried home. There the delighted king rewarded him with 50 pounds "to have a good time with". This was England's first meeting of the new world.

    Then one day in December of 1606, a little over a hundred Englishmen crowded onto three small ships, the Susan Constant, Godspeed, and Discovery.They set sail from London for what one of the men hopefully called "Virginia, Earth's only paradise". This became known as the colony of Jamestown. From that moment on emmigration to the shores of North America has never ceased.
                                    from "Colonial America" web site  http://www.7cs.com/collectibles.colonial.html

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