| 1492 | On October 12, Columbus and his crews land on an island in the eastern Bahamas. Later, Columbus discovers the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico. |
| 1494 | After establishing the first permanent European settlement in the New World, Columbus sets sail and encounters Jamaica. |
| 1513 | Juan Ponce de León lands on the shores of Florida, exploring most of the coastal regions and some of the interior. At the time, there were an estimated 100,000 Native Americans living there.
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| 1519 | Alonso Alvarez de Pineda claims Texas for Spain.
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| 1520 | Explorer Alvarez de Pineda settles the question of Florida's geography: He proves it is not an island, but part of a vast continent.
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| 1537 |
Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca returns to Spain and
spends some three years writing La relación,
an account of his wanderings in the North American continent and
the first descriptions about the flora, fauna, and inhabitants of what
became the United States.
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| 1539 | Hernando de Soto sets sail for Florida and begins exploring the present-day U.S. Southeast.
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| 1541 | Coronado sets out to reach Quivira—thought
to be the legendary City of Gold—near present-day Great Bend, Kansas.
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| 1564 | Spanish missionaries introduce grapes to California.
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| 1565 | The city of Saint Augustine, Florida, the earliest settlement in North America, is founded. It remains a possession of Spain until 1819.
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