St. Augustine in Florida was established as a Spanish fort in 1565, the first permanent settlement in what would become the United States. The impact of this settlement was slight, however, since it served primarily as a base camp for other exploratory ventures and also as the center of efforts to convert the area's natives to Roman Catholicism.
Oñate believed that he could find silver or gold to make himself rich and he believed that he knew how to conquer the Native Americans. Oñate's goal was to establish a permanent colony.
