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[[Image:Downtownpcola.jpg|right|thumb|250px|Pensacola was the first European-inhabited settlement in what would later become the United States of America.]]
The first European settlement in the continental United States was Pensacola, which was established on [[Santa Rosa Island]] at Emanuel Point in East Hill, a small neighborhood in modern Pensacola, by conquistador Don [[Tristán de Luna y Arellano]] in 1559. Two years later, in 1561, the settlement and its fleet were destroyed by a hurricane and the site was abandoned. Two survivors managed to walk the arduous journey to Mexico City. Pensacola was permanently reestablished by the Spanish in 1698 and became the largest city in Florida and the capital of the colony of West Florida. Another important Spanish settlement was established at Saint Marks in Wakulla county (San Marcos de Apalache). The Spanish settlers established a unique [[Louisiana Creole people|Creole]] culture in the region and brought in the first African slaves to the area and introduced the Roman Catholic Church.
Pensacola was the first settlement of Europeans in what is now the United States. The area was first sighted by a European in 1513 by Spanish explorer [[Juan Ponce de León]]. Three years later, [[Don Diego Miruelo]] became the first European to sail into [[Pensacola Bay]].
