2. Which people were the first to explore North America? What were they searching for?

The first people to explore North America were the Paleo-Indians, who migrated from Siberia to North America across a land bridge in Beringia that connected the two regions. They were not searching for anything in particular, but were rather following herds of animals for survival, as they were hunter-gatherers.

However, if we're talking about exploration in the sense of discovering the continent for the first time from an Old World perspective, then the Norse, led by Leif Erikson, were the first known Europeans to have explored North America, specifically areas of the northeastern part of the continent, around the year 1000 AD. They were likely searching for new lands to settle.

Later, in the 15th and 16th centuries, Europeans such as Christopher Columbus and John Cabot explored North America. Columbus was initially searching for a new route to Asia, while Cabot was looking for a northwest passage to Asia. Their explorations led to further European knowledge of the continent and eventually to colonization.