"S" is for Spanish

"S" is for Spanish. Some of Spain’s earliest efforts at exploration, evangelization, and settlement in the present-day United States took place within South Carolina’s boundaries. The first documented appearance was 1521 when a slave-raiding expedition stopped in Winyah Bay. In 1526, Lucas Vàsquez de Ayllón founded the short-lived settlement, San Miguel de Gualdape, on the coast of present-day South Carolina. Hernando De Soto and his army of six hundred came into contact with the chiefdom of Cofitachiqui marching through what is South Carolina in 1540. In 1566 Spain established Santa Elena on Parris Island. And, that little town was the first capital of the Spanish province of La Florida. In 1566 and 1567, Juan Pardo led expeditions from Santa Elena northwestward to the interior. Spain abandoned Santa Elena in 1587, but traces of its influence remained.