As European nations struggled for trade routes and territory in the Americas, they established military forts - called presidios in Spanish - to protect their claims from both other European nations and unfriendly indigenous groups.
In the 16th century, Spanish trading posts and settlements remained primarily in the Caribbean and densely populated regions of Central Mexico and Peru. Around 1598, early settlement attempts were made by the British and French in what is now the United States - far from direct Spanish control of indigenous trade. The Spanish crown and governors in the colony of New Spain initiated formal military campaigns and advancements into the north, creating settlements in what is now Texas and New Mexico.
Source: U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service
