  Shortly after the French established their garrison at Natchitoches, Spanish friars traveled through what would later become Toledo Bend Country on a voyage of their own.
Led by Father Margil de Jesus, these friars trudged a thousand miles over the El Camino Real from Old Mexico to the easternmost part of old Texas (which would later become part of the State of Louisiana). Through their travels, the Spanish friars sought to establish missions among the Indians of the area.
On their long and tedious venture, the friars carried the banner of Spain and the church eastward across the plains of Texas, across the Neches River, the Brazos River and finally the Sabine River, and eventually established several missions amongst the Indians in East Texas. The easternmost of the missions was the Mission de Los Adaes near present-day Robeline (just 15 miles east of present-day Many).
 The French resented the Spanish advancement into what they deemed their territory. Within less than two years, French soldiers at Natchitoches captured the mission at Los Adaes and carried away their sacred vessels.
Though it seemed that the French action would spell an end to the Spanish stay in this territory, it only marked a brief exile for the Spaniards. The Spanish returned to this area only a few years later, arriving back at the place where the Los Adaes mission had been.
This time, a Spanish military force of about 600 traveled the King's Highway. Their expedition, complete with horses, cannons, supplies and pack trains, was the largest and most martial force to pass over the El Camino Real, historians say.
 Through their latest travels, the Spanish aimed to re-establish their mission at Los Adaes, in an effort to protect what Spain believed to be her eastern frontier. A presidio or fort was to be built to better protect this frontier against another capture by the French.
The Spaniards reached the ruins of Los Adaes in the fall of 1721 and soon built a much finer mission called the Mission San Miguel de Los Adaes.
Priests' homes surrounded the mission, and across the valley on another hilltop, the Spanish erected the Presidio Neustra Senora del Pilar de Los Adaes, complete with barracks, powder magazine, a church, guardhouse, and Commandant's quarters. The entire compound was surrounded by the homes of the colonists.
The post became one of the most important historic sites in the Southwest (some historians have said Los Adaes is only matched by San Antonio in its importance to this part of the nation), as it was to serve as the capital of the Spanish Province of Texas for half a century. With the establishment of the new mission at Los Adaes, the El Camino Real connected the frontiers of two of the greatest colonial empires of the day. Through much of the eighteenth century, these two great empires had overlapping territorial claims in the Sabine area. Resulting disputes would set the stage for one of the most colorful and most dangerous periods of history.
NOTE: Information from Many, La: Reflections of the Past, published through Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities
Los Adaes Wikipedia
     
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