Don Melendez was an explorer for Spain who established the town of Fort Perales in Kansas in 1765.
Biography[]
Don Melendez was born in Cadiz, Spain, and he joined the Spanish Army. Melendez set out for the New World with a group of Spanish colonists after Spain acquired the Louisiana Territory from the Kingdom of France in 1764 following the Seven Years' War, and he established the colony of Fort Perales in Kansas in 1765. However, his colony was destroyed by the Sioux and Comanche, and Melendez was killed shortly after as he headed to scout the area around the Sioux village of Yamnichun.