The Differences Between a Criminal Case and a Civil Case. The American legal system is comprised of two very different types of cases, civil and criminal. Crimes are generally offenses against the state, and are accordingly prosecuted by the state.
Researchers at the University of West Florida say theyâve proved Spanish Explorer, Tristan de Luna established his Spanish colony of Pensacola in August of 1559. Thatâs six years before St. Augustine, which claims itâs the oldest because itâs been continuously occupied.
St. Augustine, Florida, holds the distinction of being the first permanent European settlement in the continental United States. Castillo de San Marcos, or Fort San Marcos, was built in 1695 by the Spanish colonial government to protect St. Augustine. It followed a series of wooden forts that had been built in response to French and then British pressure on Spain's hold on Florida.