America is Beautiful, Corrections and Additions

I was looking over one of my other articles (“Colonialization of the Americas, and the Growth of the American Empire”: http://notesfromtheninthcircle.blogspot.com/2011/08/colonialization-of-americas-and-growth.html) and found information that I need to correct an error and to make a couple of additions.

First, the Norse outpost in Newfoundland, which they called Vinland, began as a permanent settlement that lasted ten years.  It was first founded about 1000 CE.

Second, while the Spanish were indeed the first Europeans to settle in the Age of Exploration, the colony founded in 1559 by Tristan de Luna was not the first.

In 1526, Luca Vazquez de Ayllon established the colony of San Miguel de Gualdape at or near Sapelo Island, Georgia, with 600 settlers.  However, hardships including a harsh winter and trouble with natives led to the effort being deserted after three months.  They did, however, bequeath a lasting legacy in that they were the first to name the region Carolina, for Charles I & V of Spain and the Holy Roman Empire.

More notable, especially this month of February in its role as Black History Month, were events connected to a portion of the San Miguel de Gualdape population.

A hundred of these settlers were slaves brought from Africa to help build the colony.  One of the main reasons for the colony’s failure was the first slave revolt in American history, by its first African slaves.  Victorious, the slaves faded into the forest and from history.  There is no record of what became of them, but those that survived are the first non-native Americans in the later United States.

If you happen to look at the original entry again (“America is Beautiful”: http://notesfromtheninthcircle.blogspot.com/2014/02/america-is-beautiful.html), you will find I have made the corrections there.