 They subsequently established small Spanish outposts along the eastern coast into Georgia and the Carolinas, the northernmost at "Santa Elena" on an island off Port Royal, South Carolina.From there, Juan Pardo was commissioned to lead expeditions into the interior looking for a route to Mexican silver mines.He founded Fort San Juan in 1567-68 at the regional chiefdom of Joara as the first European settlement in the interior of North America in western North Carolina, and five other interior garrisons.