High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! The modern colonization of Arizona started with the arrival of Europeans in 1528. Prior to this time, there were migrations of people in and out of this region. These people undoubtedly brought different tools, plants and cultures which affected the various peoples who were already residing in Arizona, just as their European counterparts did later in history. European colonization can be broken down into four politically defined time frames: Spanish, Mexican, Territorial and Recent.