European Expansion -- 1600s - 1750
This was the basic premise of North American (New World) exploration: European explorers were looking for a water route to the north around the new continents -- the fabled North West Passage -- to China to trade spices and silk. When they realized this was not possible, the focus shifted to furs and other natural resources. The French and British contracted exploration "fever" after the Spanish. Spanish claims were concentrated in the south, so the French started out by going north, with the British following suit.