Pardo, Juan, active 16th century

Juan Pardo was a Spanish explorer who was active in the latter half of the 16th century. He led a Spanish expedition from the Atlantic coast through what is now North and South Carolina and into eastern Tennessee on the orders of Pedro Menéndez de Avilés, in an attempt to find an inland route to a silver-producing town in Mexico. In 1566 Menéndez had built Fort San Felipe and established Santa Elena on present-day Parris Island; these were the first Spanish settlements in what is now South Carolina. While leading his expedition deeper into the interior, Pardo founded Fort San Juan at Joara, the first European settlement in the interior of North Carolina, and five additional forts in what are the modern U.S. states of North Carolina, Tennessee, and South Carolina. These five forts were Fort San Pedro near Chiaha, Fort San Pablo on the French Broad River, Fort Santiago near modern Morganton, North Carolina, Fort Santo Tomás near Cofitachequi, and Fuerta de Nostra Señora north of Santa Elena.