Abstract
Among the numerous steps taken by Spain during the sixteenth century in its efforts to establish dominion over the New World, none are deserving of greater attention from the standpoint of our own national history than the founding of St. Augustine in the year 1565. The fact that this little settlement which was only one of approximately 200 Spanish towns and cities then existing in the Indies, remained a Spanish colony for nearly two centuries and was always an indispensable factor in the defensive strategy employed by Spain for safe-guarding its commerce as well as in perpetuating its control over the rich provinces adjacent to the Carribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico, gives it a place of distinction in the history of the American colonial period sometimes overlooked by those who have chosen to regard it merely as a prelude to the story of English and French colonization of the North American mainland.
Recommended Citation
Chatelain, Verne E.
(1940)
"Spanish Contributions in Florida to American Culture,"
Florida Historical Quarterly: Vol. 19:
No.
3, Article 4.
Available at:
https://stars.library.ucf.edu/fhq/vol19/iss3/4
