​Go to: 16th Century   ​17th Century

COMING SOON: 1750 San Fernando Cathedral
COMING SOON: 1769 Gaspar de Portola expedition
COMING SOON: 1775-76 Mission San Juan Capistrano 
COMING SOON: 1776 The Dominguez-Escalante expedition ​
COMING SOON: 1787 - La Misión de La Purísima Concepción 

Hispanic-American History Timeline
Cronología de la Historia Hispano-Americana

1513
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Ponce de Leon
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Garrido

1559 Tristan de Luna

Tristan de Luna leads an 11-ship, 1,500-person expedition to settle Santa Maria de Ochuse in present-day Pensacola, Fl. Although the settlement was wiped out by a fierce hurricane shortly after it was established, Pensacola still calls itself "America's First Settlement."
Read: Beyond St. Augustine
1564
Spanish missionaries introduce grapes to California.

Misioneros españoles introducen las uvas a California.
1565
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Pedro Menendez de Aviles
Pedro Menendez de Aviles establishes St. Augustine.

Pedro Menéndez de Avilés establece St. Augustine.
1565
Birth of Martín de Argüelles - the first child of Europeans born in present-day United States. He was born of Spanish parents in St. Augustine 21 years before Virginia Dare, the first American child of English parents.

Nacimiento de Martín de Argüelles - el primer hijo de europeos nacido en lo que ahóra es Estados Unidos. Nació de padres españoles en San Agustín 21 años antes que Virginia Dare, la primera hija Americana de padres ingleses.
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Martín de Argüelles
1573
Franciscan missionaries begin building missions in Florida.

Misioneros franciscanos comienzan la construcción de misiones en la Florida.
1585
Roanoke Colony - the first English settlement (not permanent) in North America, on Roanoke Island in present-day North Carolina.

Roanoke Colony - el primer asentamiento de Ingléses (no permanente) en América del Norte, en la isla de Roanoke, en la actual Carolina del Norte.

1570
Father Juan Baptista de Segura establishes a Jesuit mission near Chesapeake Bay
Aug. 18, 1587
Birth of Virginia Dare, the first child of English parents born in North America.

Nacimiento de Virginia Dare, la primera hija de padres ingleses nacida en América del Norte.
1590-1592
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Juan de Fuca
Juan de Fuca, a Greek explorer who sailed for Spain, explores the Pacific Coast and locates the passage that separates Washington State from Canada's Vancouver Island. It's now called "The Strait of Juan de Fuca."

Juan de Fuca, un explorador griego que navegaba para España, explora la costa del Pacífico y localiza el paso que separa el estado de Washington de isla canadiense de Vancouver. Ahora se llama "El estrecho de Juan de Fuca."
1598
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Juan de Oñate
Juan de Oñate founds New Mexico colony, introduces livestock breeding to the American Southwest.

Juan de Oñate funda la colonia de Nueva México, introduce la cría de ganado al suroeste de Estados Unidos.
1607
Jamestown established - the first permanent English settlement in North America.

Jamestown establecido - el primer asentamiento permanente inglés en América del Norte.

1673-81

Spanish build fort on St. Catherines Island (Santa Catalina), Ga. During the 17th century, the mission of Santa Catalina de Guale, located on the island from 1602 to 1680, was the center of the Guale missionary province of Spanish Florida.1681) After a British attack in 1680, Spanish abandon St. Catherines Island, and move the garrison to Sapelo Island, Ga.
Santa Catalina de Guale (1602-1702) was a Spanish Franciscan mission and town in Spanish Florida. Part of Spain's effort to convert the Native Americans to Catholicism, Santa Catalina served as the provincial headquarters of the Guale mission province. It also served various non-religious functions, such as providing food and labor for the colonial capital of St. Augustine. The mission was located on St. Catherines Island from 1602 to 1680, then on Sapelo Island from 1680 to 1684, and finally on Amelia Island from 1684 to 1702.

By Catherine Loredo, Lehman College​

1689
Explorer Alonso de Leon reaches Fort St. Louis, and finds it abandoned, during an expedition planned to reestablish Spanish presence in Texas.

1731

The civilian settlement, San Fernando de Bexar, (now San Antonio, Tx.) established.

By July Torres, Lehman College

1769

Spanish explorer Gaspar de Portola leads the first overland expedition to alta California. explores the area to open up a land route to the port of Monterey and establishes the first Spanish settlement in the area. The settlers name the local river Rio de Nuestra Senora la Reina de los Angeles de Porciuncula (River of Our Lady Queen of the Angels of Porciuncula)

By Maria Cardenas, Lehman College

1774

Juan Bautista de Anza leads and expedition from Southern Arizona to San Francisco.


















By Hector Bello, Lehman College
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Juan Bautista de Anza, San Francisco

1776

The Dominguez Escalante expedition produces the first map of Colorado and the Southwest.

By Catherine Nuñez, Lehman College

1783
 Twenty years later, it took another Treaty of Paris -- in 1783 -- to return Florida to Spain.
This second Treaty of Paris brings an end to the American Revolution, after the Americans colonies defeated the British with the help of Spain.