Lots of the Spanish and the French decided to explore Georgia. This was because Hernando de Soto did not find anything valuable on his expedition, and he never returned. Many say he died. Anyways, the Spanish AND the French went exploring to find colonies. The reason this took place on the Barrier Islands was because the Spanish had set up missions on the Barrier Island as well as around it. Why were there missions? There were missions because the Spanish wanted to convert everyone to Christianity. None of the missions ended up going well.