History of Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States an explorer and fur trader), but the more known Spanish emigration during this period happened between 1778 and 1783, when the Governor of Louisiana Bernardo de Galvez recruited groups from the Canary Islands and Malaga´s Spanish regions and sent them to Louisiana in order to populate regions of New Orleans. So, more than 2,700 Canaries and 500 Malaga´s natives emigrated to Louisiana in these period. In 1800, Spain returned Louisiana to France, although it sell it to the U.S. in 1803. The descendants of Spanish settlers still living there. The first European explorers, flying the flags of Spain, sailed along
St. Louis was founded in 1764 by French fur traders Pierre Laclède and Auguste Chouteau, and named after Louis IX of France. In 1764, following France's defeat in the Seven Years' War, the area was ceded to Spain and retroceded back to France in 1800. In 1803, the United States acquired the territory as part of the Louisiana Purchase. During the 19th century, St. Louis developed as a major port on the Mississippi River. In the 1870 Census, St. Louis was ranked as the 4th-largest city in the United States. It separated from St. Louis County in 1877, becoming an independent city