In that pivotal year, the Spanish established the first European colony in San Francisco and set off a cataclysm for the region s native residents.
While imperial officials in distant Europe maneuvered to control lands they knew a.
And the British extended their fur trade from Hudson Bay deep into the continent, sparking an environmental revolution that transformed America s boreal forests.
The Russians pushed into Alaska in search of valuable sea otters, devastating local Aleut communities.
In that pivotal year, the Spanish established the first European colony in San Francisco and set off a cataclysm for the region s native residents