Claiming the Near West: Territorial Expansion to 1812  From the
moment that Europeans set foot on the North American continent
in the sixteenth century, they began to expand their influence
westward. By the mid-eighteenth century that expansion had
progressed to the point that there were thirteen British
colonies poised on the eastern coast of North America. These
colonies had established themselves over a period of years by
fighting a series of skirmishes with the Native American
inhabitants of the region. By the 1760s they had largely carved
out their geographic boundaries, which generally stretched from
the east coast of North America to the crest of the Appalachian
Mountains. But the population of these colonies continued to
grow, fed not only by internal population growth but also by a
continued stream of immigrants from England and other European
countries, including Germany, Holland, Ireland, and Scotland.
This increased population as well as the deteriorating quality
of the soil on eastern farms put p