Los Caminos Reales (English: The Royal Roads). The expression El Camino Real was a term that originated in medieval Spain, and originally referred to a route used for passage for royal orders or royal arms of the then Spanish Empire.

The Spanish Empire, under decree from the crown, created along the route of these roadpaths, settlements with fortifications which were called Presidios where in the King′s Soldier were to find barraca, or quarters. Further, from these Presidios, such roadpaths were policed by soldiers of the kings army to keep travelers safe from highwaymen and other perils.

In time, the roadpaths that were most frequently traveled were called El Camino Real or even later, just Camino and eventually, the term, which had long meant The King′s Highway came to be called Camino and mean principal road.

In New Spain, (colonial Mexico), the first road building most likely resulted directly from royal administration and subjects of the Spanish Crown likely considered these road to be the King′s Highways.

Before long, the royal road led from Mexico City to other regional capitals such as Guadalajara, Queretara, Zacatecas, and then by branch roads to Durango, Saltillo and others areas.

Finally, the Royal Roads were extended to include other cities on the frontiers as well as the missions and presidios. However, the connection between the Camino Real and the mission was incidental. In fact, the North American royal roads were not an adjunct or aid for the missions, but were built primary as the means of travel in order to expand the Spanish empire and for supporting the established presidios.

The missions, however, were built to help convert, control and stabilize the conquered populace. It does seem that these two institutions, the presidios and the missions came to be the two cornerstones for the success of Spain′s colonial expansion into North America.

The following are the stories of those who mostly traveled from continental Spain, made the voyage across the Atlantic oceans, likely settled in Spanish New Spain, of which Mexico City, as it is now known, and thereafter was commissioned or volunteered to travel into the unexplored country now know as North America, more specifically those location now known as the United States.

There are four separate Royal Roads roadpath journeys, at least in the central and western lands now known as the United States and Mexico and these four roadpaths are collectively know as Los Caminos Reales. With the exception of the forth road, El Camino Real de Baja California, the remaining three road paths, as southbound travel on them proceeded, would eventually merge into fewer and fewer paths the further south they would proceed. In fact, all three of these separate roadpath journeys would eventually merge into one road path upon arriving in Querétaro just northwest of Mexico City.

The fourth Royal Road, the El Camino Real de Baja California, is one that began in Lorento, Baja California Sur and continued northbound until connecting with the Royal Road that already existed in San Diego, California. From San Diego, travelers from Baja would then connect to the existing El Camino Real de Alto California and from there, travel eastward across California, then southward and eventually arrive in Mexico City.

The first El Camino Real, originally established by the Spanish, extended from Mexico City, north through Quereatero, northeast to Zacatecas, then northeast again to Durango and ended here for a while because this is were the wagons would come to retrieve the silver from the mines in the area and return with wagons loaded to Mexico City. Not long after that, the road path was extended northward to Chihuahua and then on to Santa Fe.

Some time later, a second route, was developed, which after leaving Mexico City soon after turned northeast towards Saltillo and then continued northeast into the then Spanish territory of Texas and continue as far as the Red River located in Louisiana. This was, I believe the Spanish effort to connect with the settlements in Florida. The last El Camino Real established was the route that departed from the central de Tierra Adentro, leaving from Durango, traveled northwest to Hermosillo, then north to Tucson and then west through Arizona to California in order to connected to the existing trails along the west coast where there were missions, prisidios and pueblos already being developed.

Furthermore, although not discuss here within this section, there are a few other Royal Roads in other parts of the Spanish controlled areas of the past including: Florida, Panama, and several area of Mexico,.

Historically, the story taught in the school history classes throughout the United States (at least when I was in grade school), about the exploration and settlement of North America has always been told as an advancement from east to west, and filled with the ethnic characters of the European Caucasian, particularly from the British settlement of Jamestown, Virginia in 1607, or the French settlement four years earlier in 1603 at Port Royal, Nova Scotia and other locations on the Maine coast, or even from the Dutch settlement in 1620 at Plymouth Rock Colony in New England.

In fact, if the truth be told, the Spanish settled North America much earlier. Long before the settlements began by the English, French and Dutch, the Spanish arrived in what is now Florida and established the first permanent European settlement in the United States.

Long before any other Europeans establish settlements on this continent, the Spanish explorer and adventurer Juan Ponce de León stepped ashore sometime during the first week of April of 1513 along the northeast coast of Florida, possible near the site of present day San Augustine. He returned again in 1521, landed on the southwestern coast and together with about 200 people, 50 horses and other beasts of burden, he began a colony in Florida. Even though this colony subsequently failed due to attacks by native people, his attempt to colonize only served to identify Florida as an extremely desirable place to seek fame and riches.

Not long after that expedition, in 1539, Hernando de Soto arrive in search of gold and silver, which quest took him on a long four year journey by foot and horseback though Florida and much of the southeastern US. Although De Soto died near the Mississippi River in 1542, many survivors from this expedition eventually reached Mexico City.

Another Spanish explorer, Pedro Menéndez de Avilés, arrived in 1565 and began to build his settlement, establishing the first permanent European settlement in what is now the United States, and this was more than forty years earlier than any other of the European settlements were begun. With this, their first settlement in North America, the Spanish began their own east to west exploration of the continent. Soon after, in the area of San Augustine, the Spanish built the fortifications known as Castillo De San Marcus.

However, not only did the Spanish begin the traditional east to west exploration across North America, but in 1519, a Spanish army lead by Hernán Cortés invaded and defeated the Aztec Empire. In 1546, with the discovery of silver in the area of what is now Zacatecas, Mexico, this conquest of the Nahuatl speaking indigenous people subsequently lead to a massive exploration from Mexico City, northbound into the North American continent.

Thus, with the discovery of Silver came the development of a network of Los Caminos Reales (The Royal Roads) to serve the transportation and communications need of the growing region now under the control of the Spanish Crown.

Along these royal roads, the Spanish continue with a pattern of constructing forts and Roman Catholic missions in order to control all of the indigenous peoples.

Now, with so much known about this alternate settlement epoch along the Royal Roads, which in fact is now a recognized bi-national trail, this Roadpath Journey, most of which winds through the Basin and Range of Mexico, much of which is in the Mesa Central (central plateau) in Mexico, tracks an entirely different aspect of the European settlement story, one that emphasizes the shared history and heritage of Spain, Mexico and the American Southwest.

Too, the 1500s origins of The Royal Road pre-date Jamestown, Port Royal and Plymouth Rock and have historic importance as well as a long legacy of multiethnic and cultural connections, all of which offers new touchstones for teaching the real history in schools on the American continent.

Since 13 September 2000, with the designation of El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro as a National Historic Trail, the US government have given credence to an alternative path for the schools to teach the understanding that this continent has more than an east to west development and in fact has a very diverse international history and cultural heritage story to be told.