History of Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States de Oñate. In all, Spaniards probed half of today's lower 48 states before the first English colonization attempt (Roanoke Island, 1585). The Spanish didn't just explore, they settled, creating the first permanent European settlement in the continental United States, at St. Augustine, Florida in 1565. Santa Fe, New Mexico also predates Jamestown, Virginia (of Pocahontas fame, founded in 1607) and Plymouth Colony (of "Mayflower", Pilgrims and Thanksgiving fame). In 1566 Pedro Menendez established Fort San Felipe on Santa Elena- which is present day Parris Island near Beaufort South Carolina. The fort was part of the Spanish King’s ongoing effort to
English colonial grants in North America (1621–1639) English colonial grants in North America (1621–1639) This article provides a listing and map of English colonial grants in North America during the years 1621 to 1639. Grants prior to 1621 (and not shown on the map) include Sir Humphrey Gilbert's 1578 grant for Newfoundland, the Society of Merchant Venturers, the London and Bristol Company, the Virginia Company (the London Company and the Plymouth Company) and the Plymouth Council for New England. The previously existing Jamestown, founded in 1607 by the London Company, is denoted as J. Such grants were usually in the form of land patents, which specified the