Spanish Exploration

By TyseanW
  • Jan 1, 1501

    Slaves

    Slaves
    Spanish settlers bring African slaves to the New World
  • Mar 1, 1513

    3 Juan's Explore

    3 Juan's Explore
    Free Africans Juan Garrido and Juan Gonzalez de Leon accompany Juan Ponce de Leon in his exploration of La Florida
  • Jul 15, 1526

    First Settlement

    First Settlement
    First enslaved Africans brought to North America by Lucas Vasquez de Allyon expedition: established settlement of San Miguel de Gualdape in present day Penscola: this is the first European settlement in the geographic United States
  • Apr 1, 1528

    Settlement Failure

    Settlement Failure
    Panfilo Narvaez attempts to settle area near Tampa Bay with 600 people, including slaves. Lack of supplies and hurricanes doom venture.
  • Jan 1, 1536

    Survival of the Fittest

    Survival of the Fittest
    Four survivors of the doomed Tampa Bay settlement end up in Mexico City after walking through willderness for eight years. Estevanico, an African slave, ensures their survival by learning to communicate with natives along the way.
  • May 30, 1539

    Exploration of Florida

    Exploration of Florida
    Hernando de Soto explores Florida and much of the present-day southeastern United States with the aid of free and enslaved Africans.
  • Sep 8, 1565

    First City

    First City
    St. Augustine, the oldest permanent city in the USA, is established by Spain. It is home to over 600 people, including 50 African slaves. Some of these slaves immediately escape into the surrounding wilderness.

  • An Exception

    An Exception
    Spanish government in Florida grants freedom to all runaway slaves from English colonies to the north if slaves agree to convert to Roman Catholicism.

  • Slaves Escape

    Slaves Escape
    Hundreds of slaves from Georgia and theCarolinas escape to Florida from 1683 to 1738 as a result of Spanisg goverment decision.

  • First Free Settlement

    First Free Settlement
    Francisco Menendez, an escaped slave from the Carolinas agrees to help defend Florida from the British in exchange for freedom. He then establishes Fort Mose, the first free black settlement in the present-day USA, two miles north of St. Augustine

  • Invasion

    Invasion
    English invaders capture Fort Mose: blacks and Spaniards recapture it a few years later.

  • The Exchange

    The Exchange
    Spain trades Florida to the English in exchange for Havana, Cuba, which Spain had lost during the Seven Year's War: as a result, large rice and indigo plantations pop up along the St. John's River in East Florida: thousands of slaves are imported from Africa or brought south from other colonies.