History of America The Spanish in Early America Written by Linda Thompson Rourke Educational Media rourkeeducationalmedia com Scan for Related Titles and Teacher Resources
Chapter 1 Discovery of Florida The first European attempt at a settlement in what became the United States was made in 1526 only 34 years after Christopher Columbus first landed in the New World This settlement was San Miguel de Guadalupe founded by Spain on North America’s Atlantic coast It happened nearly 60 years before the founding of Roanoke which is often considered the first settlement in North America The Old City Gates once the only entrance into St Augustine are now a landmark of the St Augustine Historic District 4
Like Roanoke San Miguel de Gualdape was doomed to fail The dream of a Spanish lawyer named Lucas Vásquez de Ayllón the outpost lasted only two months Native American attacks disease their leader’s death and conflict with each other proved too much for these settlers as they struggled to exist on the coast of what is now Georgia or southern South Carolina Of the 500 people who sailed from the settlement of Santo Domingo in the West Indies only 150 survived to return After that failure Spain made several more attempts at establishing a foothold on the Florida coast and finally succeeded St Augustine Florida about 40 miles 64 kilometers south of today’s Jacksonville is the oldest permanent European settlement in the United States It was founded as San Augustín on September 8 1565 The founder Pedro Menéndez de Avilés claimed this sheltered harbor and all of the land called La Florida in the name of his king Felipe II Pedro Menéndez de Avilés 1519-1574 5
