Presidios

Spain wanted to protect its gold and silver mines from the English, French, and Dutch colonists in North America. Spain created a buffer north of New Spain. The buffer was an area of land that was a barrier to the gold and silver mines. The Spanish buffer became known as the Spanish Borderlands. The Spanish Borderlands stretched across what is today known as northern Mexico and the southern United States.

Spanish soldiers built forts or presidios in the borderlands. When the Spaniards established a settlement, soldiers built a presidio or fort. The presidio began as a wooden or stockade fence where the settlers could have protection from attack. Later they built stone walls around the wooden fort. The largest and most important presidio was named the Castillo de San Marcos. It was built on the Atlantic coast of Florida, where the city of St.
Augustine stands today.

Florida was first explored by Ponce de Leon in 1513. He was looking for the Fountain of Youth. The Spanish settlement at St. Augustine, Florida, became the first permanent European settlement in North America. It was started 42 years before the English landed at Jamestown. And 43 years before the French began their settlement at Quebec.

The Castillo de San Marcos at St. Augustine became one of hundreds of presidios that protected the Spanish settlers. The presidios stretched across the southern United States from Florida to California.

St. Augustine - St. Augustine is the oldest continuously occupied city in North America. In 1586, the English sea captain, Francis Drake attacked St. Augustine, but the Spanish fort survived.

Credits

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