OSHER 888 - Intro To The History Of Spanish Colonization In US Borderlands

In the early 1500s, Spanish Americans in New Spain began to explore regions of what became portions of the United States. These regions are now historically known as the Spanish Borderlands and include portions of Florida, Georgia, the Carolinas, Virginia, Louisiana, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, Colorado, and Utah. Following major expeditions into these Borderlands, Spanish priests, soldiers, and settlers began to colonize much of the areas that had been explored. Settlement included missions, forts (presidios), towns (pueblos), and ranches. Spanish control over the Borderlands ended in the early 19th century as the result of a revolution that created the nation of Mexico. The history of the Spanish Borderlands' process of exploration and settlement is a fascinating, complex/ and important part of the history of what is now the United States.