THE SPANISH:

References to the Spanish occupation of the islands are somewhat sketchy. In fact, the Spanish largely ignored this whole area, after its initial exploration, until spurred into action by French settlement.

Jesuit missionaries were brought to the Guale coast by Menendez de Ariles after he expelled the French from Fort Caroline. They stayed only until 1570 when, after an Indian uprising, the Guale missions were abandoned. There appears to be no firm evidence of a Jesuit mission on Sapelo although popular literature refers to one.

The Franciscans arrived in 1573 and there is a reference to the presence of the convent of San Jose de Zapala (the first mention of the name to become Sapeloe/Sapelo), which in 1616 housed six priests, on subsequently being martyred by the Indians. It is assumed that with the abandonment of Santa Catalina de Guale on St. Catherines in 1686, the area became too fraught with risk and that San Jose was also deserted.

Spanish ceramics have been found at Kenan Field, Bourbon Field, to the north of the large shell ring, and at High Point. An unusual occurrence is the absence of cultigens, particularly maize, contrasting with other Spanish sites in the surrounding counties.