How did Spain play a part in the settlement of Mississippi?

The first Europeans who entered the area now known as Mississippi were from Spain. (See Spanish Exploration) Hernando de Soto is believed to have led his expedition westward across northern Mississippi in late 1540. During the Pontotoc Battle of 1541, many of de Soto's expedition were killed due to an attack from the Chickasaws. As a result of his trek through the wilderness the Native Americans who populated the area were devestated with disease, causing their population to drop drasticaly in the years after the Spainards visit.

In 1564 the King of Spain heard that French colonists in search of freedom of religion had started a settlement Fort Caroline in that part of Spain's territory in the New World known today as our state of Florida. This was felt as a direct threat to Spain as they claimed all of North America (although at this time they didn't know how huge the continent was) as theirs. The Spanish king lost no time in sending Pedro Menendez and his band of soldiers to wipe out the tiny French colony. The only protection the French had was a small fort which they had built on the St. Johns River in Florida. It took no time for the Spanish warriors to wipe out the small colony and only a few of the French excaped by sea. The small French colony of Fort Caroline only lasted about a year. (It should be noted that this was perhaps the beginning of the fight between Spain, France, and Great Britain over the "ownership" of the area that would form the Mississippi Territory. Shortly after the annilhation of Fort Caroline, Mendez and his Spaniards built the Fort of St. Augustine (1565). However, the French effort to enjoy freedom of belief in the New World made a great impression on both Catholics and Protestants who were being persecuted for their beliefs and immigration to the New World thrived.

A period of approximately 130 years (from De Soto's trek) went by with no further exploration of the inland frontier in what is now the Deep South. In 1673 Jacques Marquette and Louis Joliet, French explorers traveled down the Mississippi River to the mouth of the Arkansas River. They were followed nine years later by another French explorer Robert Cavelier de La Salle, who also traveled down the Mississippi and claimed all the land drained by the river and its tributaries for France. La Salle named that vast region Louisiane (in English translated to Louisiana) in honor of his king, Louis IV. The Mississippi River played an important part in the settlement of this wilderness area. hope this helps