<P> Prisoners and prisons appeared in North America simultaneous to the arrival of European settlers . Among the ninety or so men who sailed with the explorer known as Christopher Columbus were a young black man abducted from the Canary Islands and at least four convicts . By 1570 , Spanish soldiers in St. Augustine , Florida , had built the first substantial prison in North America . As other European nations began to compete with Spain for land and wealth in the New World , they too turned to convicts to fill out the crews on their ships . </P>
<P> Prisoners and prisons appeared in North America simultaneous to the arrival of European settlers . Among the ninety or so men who sailed with the explorer known as Christopher Columbus were a young black man abducted from the Canary Islands and at least four convicts . By 1570 , Spanish soldiers in St. Augustine , Florida , had built the first substantial prison in North America . As other European nations began to compete with Spain for land and wealth in the New World , they too turned to convicts to fill out the crews on their ships . </P>
when was the first prison built in the united states
when was the first prison built in the united states
1570
1570