Early settlements in the New World: Determining the conditions of success

Florida’s history of exploration and colonization is lengthy, complex, And filled with failure. Beginning with the 1513 discovery of Florida by Ponce de Leon, Spanish explorers and colonists embarked on a trip to incorporate the North American Southeast into the ever-expanding Spanish colonial empire. This period of time filled with voyaging is now sometimes referred to as the '"Enterprise of Florida". Following Ponce's expeditions in 1513 and 1521 were Alonso Álvarez de Pineda 1519, Lucas Vásquez de Alloyó (1526), Pánfilo de Narváez (1528), Hernando de Soto (1539-43), and Luis Cáncer de Barnastro (1549). All of these conquistadors and explorers failed and most of them died harsh deaths by Native American attacks or disease. The next Spaniard to brave the Florida borderland was Tristan de Luna y Arellano, His expedition lasted for two years and was the longest settlement at this point in history (from 1559-1661). In 1565, reports of European powers settling among the land forced King Philip II to send Pedro Menéndez de Avilés to colonize and deter the presence of other powers. Alter decades of trying to tame and colonize Florida, Menéndez succeeds and names his establishment St. Augustine which goes down in history as the first continuous European settlement in North America