Timeline: Pre-1585
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Lucas Vasques de Ayllon (1475-1526) Encyclopedia
A lawyer and nobleman from Spain, Lucas Vasques de Ayllon sponsored the first Spanish explorations (three total) of what became North Carolina. He also discovered Chesapeake Bay and established San Miguel de Guandape, a settlement near what would be Jamestown. The wild horses of Shackleford Banks (near Beaufort) are reminders of Ayllon's explorations and failed attempts to settle in the land.De Soto Expedition Encyclopedia
Although scholars disagree regarding the exact path of Hernando De Soto’s expedition in the Southeast, all agree that the Spaniard passed through Piedmont and western North Carolina.Exploration in North Carolina (Spanish) Encyclopedia
Sixty years before England established settlements on the North Carolina coast, the Spanish had explored the land, interacted with Native Americans, and constructed forts. The Spanish effort to claim the land eventually failed, and by the late 1580s, England had only to battle the Indians for control of the land.Mother Vine Encyclopedia
Known as the “oldest cultivated vine in America,” the Mother Vine on Roanoke Island is reportedly over 400 years old. Historians debate the exact age of the vine, and one claims that its history rests mainly on unsubstantiated yarns. But one thing is certain: no one knows of another vine in the United States older than the Mother Vine in Roanoke Island.Roanoke Island Encyclopedia
In 1584, 1585, and 1587, Sir Walter Raleigh funded expeditions to Roanoke Island (located on what is now called the Outer Banks). On March 25, 1584, Queen Elizabeth I issued a charter allowing Raleigh to “discover, search, find out, and view such remote heathen and barbarous Lands, Countries, and territories … to have, hold, occupy, and enjoy.”