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
Raid on St. Augustine Raid on St. Augustine The Raid on St. Augustine was a military event during the Anglo-Spanish War in which the Spanish settlement of St. Augustine in Florida ()) was captured in a small fight and burnt by an English expedition fleet led by Francis Drake. This was part of Francis Drake's "Great Expedition" and was his last engagement on the Spanish Main before Drake headed north for the Roanoke Colony. The expedition also forced the Spanish to abandon any settlements and forts in present-day South Carolina. War had already been unofficially declared by Philip II of Spain after the Treaty