Spanish Attempts to Colonize Southeast North America, 1513-1587

Although Spain's attempts to colonize southeast North America in the 16th century proved a dismal failure, the Spanish empire in Latin America and the Caribbean islands nonetheless played a significant role in shaping colonial American history and the region's cultural, economic, and agricultural foundations. It was the Spanish, after all, who introduced the New World to both domesticated animals and a number of foreign crops, from sugar cane and citrus fruit to wheat, barley, and oats. This book details the role of the Spanish empire in early southeast North America and its contact with Native Americans who lived on this land, beginning almost five centuries ago during el siglo de oro de Espana, or the "Golden Century of Spain." Topics include the celebrated voyages of Christopher Columbus; the Ponce de Leon, Narvaez, Hernando de Soto, Luna and Juan Pardo expeditions; and the contributions of modern archaeology in unlocking the secrets of the conquistadors' distant past and the intrepid Indian tribes they encountered.