History of Spaniards in the U.S.

[galvez]

"The Spanish were among the first Europeans to explore what is now the United States, and the first to found a permanent settlement here (St. Augustine, Florida, in 1565)."

www.infoplease.com/spot/spanishnames.html

[alex221166]

galvez said:

"The Spanish were among the first Europeans to explore what is now the United States, and the first to found a permanent settlement here (St. Augustine, Florida, in 1565)."

www.infoplease.com/spot/spanishnames.html

The first (temporary) settlement in North America (with the exception of the Viking ones) was a Portuguese colony in Newfoundland, built around 1520. It only lasted about 2 years.

The cod fisheries of Newfoundland were known as early as the XIV century by Basque, Norman and Portuguese fishermen.

Portugal is to this day the world's largest consumer of cod, with the tasty fish being an essential part of the Portuguese cuisine - which is a pity, considering that its reserves are almost depleted.

[Silveira]

You are correct Alex, except for the geographic location of the first European settlement in North America, which was a Portuguese colony located in modern day Nova Scotia which is, like Newfoundland, located in Atlantic Canada. The Portuguese were also the first to fish for cod on the Grand Banks and the Corte Real brothers discovered and charted the mouth of the St. Lawrence river and Labrador (derived from the Portuguese word for "farmer").

St. Augustine, Florida is the oldest settlement in North America which still exists to this day. The territory of Florida was theoretically administered by Spain, through Cuba, until the 1820s, when it was sold to the United States. The bulk of this territory, however, was not under effective Spanish control, except for a few coastal settlements such as St. Augustine.