The history of Hispanics and Latinos in the United States is wide-ranging, spanning more than four hundred years of American colonial and post-colonial history. Hispanics (whether criollo, mulatto, afro-mestizo or mestizo) became the first American citizens in the newly acquired Southwest territory after the Mexican–American War, and remained a majority in several states until the 20th century.
As late as 1783, at the end of the American Revolutionary War, SpainPeña, Lorenzo. Un puente jurídico entre Iberoamérica y Europa:la Constitución española de 1812. Instituto de Filosofía del CSIC held claim to roughly half of today's continental United States. In the Treaty of Paris France ceded Louisiana (New France) to Spain from 1763 until it was returned in 1800 by the Treaty of San Ildefonso. In 1775, Spanish ships reached Alaska. From 1819 to 1848, the United States and its army increased the nation's area by roughly a third at Spanish and Mexican expense, gaining among others three of today's four most populous states: California, Texas and Florida.
Spanish expeditions
Spanish expeditions that took place in the South and East of North America The first confirmed landing in the continental United States was by a Spaniard, Juan Ponce de León, who landed in 1513 at a lush shore he christened La Florida. Within three decades of Ponce de León's landing, the Spanish became the first Europeans to reach the Appalachian Mountains, the Mississippi River, the Grand Canyon and the Great Plains. Spanish ships sailed along the East Coast, penetrating to present-day Bangor, Maine, and up the Pacific Coast as far as Oregon.
From 1528 to 1536, four castaways from a Spanish expedition, including a "black" Moor, Estevanico, journeyed all the way from Florida to the Gulf of California, 267 years before Lewis and Clark embarked on their much more renowned and far less arduous trek.
In 1540 Hernando de Soto undertook an extensive exploration of the present US, developing expeditions in Georgia, The Carolinas, Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Texas and Louisiana; and in the same year Francisco Vásquez de Coronado led 2,000 Spaniards and Mexican Indians across today's Arizona–Mexico border. Coronado travelled as far as central Kansas, close to the exact geographic center of what is now the continental United States and he was the first European that saw the Canyon's Colorado. Other Spanish explorers of the US make up a long list that includes among others, Lucas Vásquez de Ayllón, Pánfilo de Narváez, Sebastián Vizcaíno, Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo, Gaspar de Portolà, Pedro Menéndez de Avilés, Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca, Tristán de Luna y Arellano and Juan de Oñate. All of them explored the South of the present-day USA. On the other hand, Esteban Gomes led expeditions along the eastern coasts of North America as far as Nova Scotia.
The Spanish settled within the area, creating the first permanent European settlement in the continental United States, at St. Augustine, Florida in 1565. Santa Fe, New Mexico also predates Jamestown, Virginia (of Pocahontas fame, founded in 1607) and Plymouth Colony (of Mayflower, Pilgrims and Thanksgiving fame). In 1566 Pedro Menendez established Fort San Felipe on Santa Elena- which is present day Parris Island near Beaufort, South Carolina. The fort was part of the Spanish King's ongoing effort to establish a “Window on the Atlantic”. Spain needed a presence on the east coast of America to provide protection for the Spanish treasure galleons traveling back to Europe. From Santa Elena inland explorations, led by Captain Juan Pardo, were conducted in an attempt to establish an overland route from Mexico to Santa Elena, avoiding the pirate and French threat in the Caribbean. By 1571 Menendez had brought settlers, including farmers and craftsmen, and his own family to the settlement. Santa Elena was now the first European capitol on the American mainland, with Mendez as Governor. Santa Elena was a functioning settlement for 21 years, ending when Spain consolidated its Florida colony to St. Augustine.Rowland, L. S, 1990. "Window on the Atlantic. South Carolina Department of Archives Later came Spanish settlements in San Antonio, Tucson, San Diego, Los Angeles and San Francisco, to name just a few. The Spanish even established a Jesuit mission in Virginia's Chesapeake Bay 37 years before the founding of Jamestown.
As a result of the persistent contributions made by Latinos to American culture, essential changes have resulted in the development of a complex national minority group that is now an important part of US society.Laird W. Bergad, and Herbert S. Klein. Hispanics in the United States : a Demographic, Social, and Economic History, 1980–2005. Cambridge UP, 2010. eBook Collection (EBSCOhost), lpclibrary.idm.oclc.org/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nlebk&AN=344670&site=ehost-live.
Two iconic American stories have Spanish antecedents, too. Almost 80 years before John Smith's alleged rescue by Pocahontas, a man by the name of Juan Ortiz told of his similar rescue from execution by an Indian girl. Spaniards also held a thanksgiving, 56 years before the Pilgrims, when they feasted near St. Augustine with Florida Indians, probably on stewed pork and garbanzo beans.
Spanish expeditions to the Pacific Northwest
Spanish claims to Alaska and the west coast of North America date to the Papal bull of 1493, and the Treaty of Tordesillas. In 1513, this claim was reinforced by Spanish explorer Vasco Núñez de Balboa, the first European to sight the Pacific Ocean when he claimed all lands adjoining this ocean for the Spanish Crown. Spain only started to colonize the claimed territory north of present-day Mexico in the 18th century, when it settled the northern coast of Las Californias (California). In the last decades of the 18th century a series of Spanish expeditions were undertaken along the north-west coasts of North America, including Oregon, Washington, British Columbia and Alaska. In the 19th century the Spanish explorer Manuel Lisa, first settler of Nebraska, left St. Louis, Missouri to head northwest toward Montana, inaugurating the Oregon Trail. The Spanish moved from Western Missouri to eastern Montana, and along the Yellowstone to western and southern Montana.Goodwin, 152.
Hispanic American presence in the former British colonies of the United States at the end of the eighteenth century
1790 U.S. AncestryBased on Evaluated census figuresEdited by Loretto Dennis Szucs and Sandra Hargreaves Luebking. The Source: A Guidebook to American Genealogy. Published in 1984. Third Edition, 2006. Ancestry. Page 361. Ancestry group Number(1790 estimate) % of totalEnglish1,900,00047.5 African750,00019.0 Scotch-Irish320,0008.0 German280,0007.0 Irish200,0005.0 Scottish160,0004.0 Welsh120,0003.0 Dutch100,0002.5 French80,0002.0 Native American50,0001.0 Spanish20,0000.5In the eighteen century, Spanish America and the Philippines belonged to the Spanish Crown. So the inhabitants of Latin America and Filipinas were considered "Spanish". Possibly, many of the people registered as "Spanish" en the 1790 Census were from these places. Indeed, some of the Latin Americans living in the former British colonies at end of eighteen century were Venezuelans. Swedish and other20,0000.5 Total4,000,000U.S 1790 Census100
Some Hispanics emigrated to some of the future British colonies of North America in the early of the 17th century. Among these immigrants was the Dominican Juan Rodriguez, who arrived in present-day New York City in 1613, as he was a member of the crew of a Dutch ship, and lived there for some time. He was the first non-Native American to reside in the region.Ricardo Kaulessar (October 12, 2021). Records shed light on earliest residents of Hispanic, Latino ancestry in NYC, Delaware. Published on northjersey.com Many others emigrated in the 18th century. Migration to eastern North America continued when the colonies gained independence from the UK. So between end of this century and early of nineteenth century emigrated people of origins such as the Spanish, Venezuelan and Honduran to the United States. A notable case is that of the Spanish merchant Pedro Casanave, who emigrated to Georgetown, in present-day Washington DC, in 1785. He served as the fifth mayor of Georgetown and presided over the ceremonial laying of the cornerstone of the White House, on October 12, 1792. Another member of the Casanave family, Juan de Miralles, was a prominent Spanish arms dealer who lived in New Jersey.
Using comparative approaches developed for urban areas, researchers compare and statistically model changes in the family income established Hispanic, rapidly growing Hispanic, rapidly growing non-Hispanic, and slow-growth or declining counties. The findings support perspectives that emphasize growing social heterogeneity in understanding how minority population growth contributes to inequality, including changes in human capital and industrial restructuring.Parrado, Emilio A., and William A. Kandel. "Hispanic Population Growth and Rural Income Inequality." Social Forces, vol. 88, no. 3, 2010, p. 1421+. Gale in Context: Opposing Viewpoints, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A224989314/OVIC?u=live10669&sid=bookmark-OVIC&xid=ff0e694e.
According to the United States Census of 1790, which was the first census of the whole United States, there were 20,000 people of Hispanic origin living in the former British colonies in that year. However, the census Bureau estimated the origins of the population based on their surnames.From many strands: ethnic and racial groups in contemporary América By Stanley Lieberson, Mary C. Waters
On the other hand, between 1779 and 1783 several Spanish troops provided aid to the Americans in their fight against the British Crown's troops in the American Revolutionary War.Thomas E. Chavez. Spain and the Independence of The United States. An Intrinsic Gift. University of New Mexico, 2002. In addition, some Spaniards living in the U.S. joined the American troops during the war. Maybe the more notable case was starred by Jorge Farragut, the Spanish lieutenant of the South Carolina Navy in the war. He settled in Tennessee and his son, David Farragut, stood out in the American Civil War.
Florida
Juan Ponce de León, a Spanish conquistador, named Florida in honor of his arrival there on April 2, 1513, during Pascua Florida, a Spanish term for the Easter season. From that date forward, the land became known as "La Florida." (Juan Ponce de León may not have been the first European to reach Florida. At least one native that he encountered in Florida in 1513 could speak Spanish.Smith, Hale G., and Marc Gottlob. 1978. "Spanish-Indian Relationships: Synoptic History and Archaeological Evidence, 1500-1763." In Tacachale: Essays on the Indians of Florida and Southeastern Georgia during the Historic Period. Edited by Jerald Milanich and Samuel Proctor. Gainesville, Florida: University Presses of Florida. Alternatively, the Spanish-speaking native could have been in contact with areas where Spanish settlements already existed, and Ponce de León found Florida first).