The Spanish Borderlands Frontier, 1513-1821

by John Francis Bannon

Spain's frontier movement in North America planted Hispanic civilization in much of the future United States beginning with Ponce de Leon's arrival in Florida in 1513. After describing the travels of the conquistador explorers, it continues through three centuries of mission, presidio, and town development in Florida, Louisiana, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and California. As the Anglo-American frontier pushed westward, the Spanish frontier was increasingly a defensive one, and here the clashes between the two are fully explained, as are international rivalries involving the English, French, and even Russian pressures that affected the frontier.

Genres: History, Nonfiction

320 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1970

About the author

John Francis Bannon was a Jesuit and a historian of the American West, especially of matters related to the Spanish borderlands.