Hispanics | South Carolina Public Radio

“H” is for Hispanics. Hispanics are among South Carolina’s oldest and most recent immigrant groups. Long before English settlers landed at Jamestown, Spanish explorers laid claim to the territory in what is now the southeastern United States. In 1526, Spaniards established the first European settlement in present day South Carolina—and the US—at San Miguel de Gualdape. This settlement failed, but a later one, Santa Elena, became the first capital of the Spanish colony of La Florida. It was abandoned in 1587. The term “Hispanic” and “Latino” apply to a broad category of persons of Latin American and/or Spanish descent. Tremendous diversity exists within these groups in terms of national origin, class, education, and other characteristics. In the 1990s, South Carolina was among eight states with the fastest-growing Hispanic population in the country.