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Submitted
by Linda Barber
Admiral Pedro Menendez de Aviles grew up in the seaports of northern
Spain and was a veteran of combat and naval strategy. He and his
brother Alvaro Sanchez had both served terms as captain general
of the yearly treasure fleet of the Indies.
When
Phillip II learned of the French incursion into South Carolina,
he issued a three year contract to Menendez, naming him Adelantado
of Florida. This position corresponded to a kind of lord of the
marches. At Menendez's own expense, he was ordered to drive out
all French interlopers from Spain's land, which started at Terranova
(Newfoundland) and continued to St. Josephs Bay on the Gulf of
Mexico.
Before
the expedition left, the King was informed that the French had
built Fort Caroline at the mouth of the St. Johns River and French
reinforcements were being sent. Preparations escalated and King
Phillip II added his financial backing to Menendez and his brothers.
The expedition grew so large that multiple seaports were necessary.
Separate fleets sailed from Cadiz, Asturias, and Vicaya. They
were to rendezvous in the Canary Islands.
Menendez's
fleet reached the Canary Islands first and instead of waiting
for the other fleets departed for Puerto Rico. While in route,
storms scattered the ships with him. He pushed on with only five
of his ships. This included 600 people, of which twenty-six were
women with their accompanying children.
Pedro Menendez first discovered a protected harbor below Fort
Caroline in August of 1565. He named the safe harbor, St. Augustine,
for the Bishop of Hippo who was also the patron saint of Menendez's
hometown, Aviles, Spain.
The
location of the camp took advantage of the terrain, with the only
access by land from the north. A shallow sand bar, which ran across
the inlet, would admit only the smaller of Spanish vessels. Menendez's
900-tun flagship San Pelayo, had to be anchored out in the channel.
The
first company to disembark fortified the camp by digging a trench
around the council house of the Seloy Indians, near the North
River. This structure was to serve as a temporary warehouse and
fort. The supplies for the colony stored in the ships' holds were
transferred to land. These supplies included: 200 fishnets, 6
tons of iron, 8 church bells, a medicine chest and 24 reams of
paper.
Menendez
determined the French reinforcements had already arrived at Fort
Caroline and after a brief encounter with the French ships, he
fell back to the safe harbor he had originally found to unload
his heavy laden ships.
The
Spanish had a flair for pomp and pageantry and Menendez's landing
on the 8th of September was certainly a ceremonious affair.
The
Seloy Indians watched Menendez and his gentlemen step from their
launch, announced by trumpets and artillery. Chaplain Francisco
Lopez de Mendoza Grajales walked forward to greet the landing
party carrying a cross. The men knelt and kissed the cross under
flying banners and heard a mass in honor of the Nativity of Our
Lady. Menendez then proclaimed Florida as a possession of His
Most Catholic Majesty and as lord of the land, received fealty
from his men.
On
that day St. Augustine became a Spanish municipality. Menendez
's contract with Phillip required him to " found, fortify,
and populate at least two cities as the bases from which to explore
and conquer the great lands of Florida." He was to govern
from the east Gulf coast around the Keys and up the Atlantic coast
to chilly Newfoundland.
Excepts
from "The Noble and Loyal City, 1565-1668 by Amy Bushnell
from the book, The Oldest City.
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Los Floridanos Society