Uses primary source documents, maps, charts, and statistics to trace the history and contributions of Hispanic Americans from their first travels across the Atlantic to the present day.

Presents an introduction and state-by-state study of the Spanish presence in the United States, from their arrival in 1492 to the late twentieth century.

The Hispanic heritage timeline from 1492 to 2020 evolved with Christopher Columbus and his famous discovery of America in 1492. The voyage for Columbus was sponsored by Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand and the Royal Crown of Old Castile, present-day Spain. The voyage was done under the theory of Columbus that the world was round and not flat. Columbus sailed west to reach the East Indies to buy spices for the Royal Crown. Columbus did not find a short route to the East Indies by sailing west but found America for the Royal Crown of Old Castile. America had vast lands rich in gold, silver, and precious stones and large River Valleys. It was the ideal land for a new province to the Royal Crown of Old Castile. America was indeed claimed by the Royal Crown of Old Castile in 1492. At the time, it was not known that it was not just America but also the Americas--South, Central, and North America. So it was the Royal Crown of Old Castile that claimed the Americas, making a major impact on the rest of world. The Royal Crown sent the most trustworthy citizens to the New World, as it was known then, to explore, settle, and improve the new land. In essence, it was those of Hispanic heritage who explored, settled, and improved the Americas. The first settlers in present-day Texas, USA, and present-day USA were Hispanics. Without the Royal Crown of Spain and Hispanic heritage, Texas and the USA would have had a different status in the world of today. In essence versus consequences, the Hispanic heritage was the prelude to Texas, USA, and the USA regardless of how the belief has been for centuries. The Hispanic heritage, forever it will be.

“A rich and moving chronicle for our very present.” —Julio Ortega, New York Times Book Review The United States is still typically conceived of as an offshoot of England, with our history unfolding east to west beginning with the first English settlers in Jamestown. This view overlooks the significance of America’s Hispanic past. With the profile of the United States increasingly Hispanic, the importance of recovering the Hispanic dimension to our national story has never been greater. This absorbing narrative begins with the explorers and conquistadores who planted Spain’s first colonies in Puerto Rico, Florida, and the Southwest. Missionaries and rancheros carry Spain’s expansive impulse into the late eighteenth century, settling California, mapping the American interior to the Rockies, and charting the Pacific coast. During the nineteenth century Anglo-America expands west under the banner of “Manifest Destiny” and consolidates control through war with Mexico. In the Hispanic resurgence that follows, it is the peoples of Latin America who overspread the continent, from the Hispanic heartland in the West to major cities such as Chicago, Miami, New York, and Boston. The United States clearly has a Hispanic present and future. And here is its Hispanic past, presented with characteristic insight and wit by one of our greatest historians.