Pedro Menéndez de Avilés
| Pedro Menéndez de Avilés | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born | February 15, 1519 Avilés, Asturias, Spain |
| Died | September 17, 1574. (aged 55) Santander, Cantabria, Spain |
| Nationality | Spanish |
| Occupation | Admiral |
Pedro Menéndez de Avilés (February 15, 1519 – September 17, 1574) was a Spanish admiral and explorer, best remembered for his founding of St. Augustine, Florida on August 28, 1565. This was the first successful Spanish attempt to establish a foothold in la Florida, is now the oldest continuously inhabited European-established settlement, as well as the oldest port city, in what is now the continental United States. Menéndez subsequently became the first governor of Spanish Florida.[1]
Menéndez made his career as a sailor in the service of the king. His first plans for a voyage to Florida revolved around searching for his son, Juan, who had been shipwrecked there in 1561. However, following the establishment of Fort Caroline in present-day Jacksonville by French Huguenots under René Goulaine de Laudonnière, he was commissioned to conquer the peninsula as adelantado. He established St. Augustine in 1565, and then attacked Fort Caroline, killing most of its inhabitants.[2] Now firmly established as governor, Menéndez turned his focus to exploring the area and establishing further fortifications. He returned to Spain in 1567 and was also appointed governor of Cuba. He made one further trip back to Florida. He died in 1574.
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[edit] Florida
In 1561, Menéndez commanded the galleons of the great Armada de la Carrera (Spanish treasure fleet) on their voyage from Mexico to Spain. When he had delivered the treasure fleet to Spain, he asked permission to go back in search of one lost vessel, but was refused. This was the vessel onboard which were his son, other family members, and friends. After a lengthy delay, his request was granted on the condition that he would explore and colonize La Florida as King Philip II's adelantado. He fitted out an expedition for this purpose, personally bearing the associated expenses.
When Menéndez was about to sail, orders came to him from King Philip II, commanding him to "hang and burn the Lutherans" he might find in Florida (at the time, "Lutheran" was a catchall term for Protestant).[2]
Upon arriving in the New World, Menéndez established St. Augustine. To this day, the locals of St. Augustine claim that it was here that Menéndez held the first Catholic mass in what is now the continental United States. After holding Mass, Menéndez proceeded to violently attack Fort Caroline, the stronghold of Protestant French settlers. He placed a sign over the survivors of the attack, which said: "I do this not as to Frenchmen but as to heretics." Only weeks later, Menéndez ordered the execution of over 300 survivors of a French shipwreck, at a site slightly to the south of St. Augustine. The site is now marked by a national monument, named Fort Matanzas (Spanish for "slaughters").[2]
[edit] Military
Menéndez is credited as the Spanish leader who first surveyed and authorized the building of the royal fortresses at major Caribbean ports. He was appointed Captain-General of the Spanish treasure fleet in 1554, when he sailed out with the Indies fleet and brought it back safely to Spain. This experience assured him of the strategic importance of the Bahama Channel and the position of Havana as the key port to rendezvous the annual Flota of treasure galleons.
Menéndez' military experience allowed him to surprise and destroy the French outpost of Fort Caroline on the St. Johns River, and with the help of a storm, defeat the French ships there. Due to a lack of food and the religion of the defeated French (Protestant), Menéndez ordered that the survivors of Fort Caroline be killed. The slaughter of these men led to the area of their execution being called 'Matanzas' ('Massacre' or 'Slaughters'). The Spanish later built a fort on the site of Fort Caroline, which was destroyed and the Spanish there massacred by the French in 1568. With the coast of Florida now firmly in Spanish hands, he then set to work finishing the construction of a garrison in St. Augustine, establishing missions to the natives for the Catholic Church, and exploring the east coast and interior of the peninsula.
[edit] Later years
Menéndez traveled to Southwest Florida, looking for his son. There he made contact with the Calusa tribe, an advanced maritime people. He negotiated an initial peace with their leader, King Carlos, which was solidified by Menéndez marriage to Carlos sister, who took the baptismal name Doña Antonia. The peace was uneasy, and Menéndez's use of his new wife as a hostage in negotiations with her people, as well as his negotiating with the Calusa's enemies, the Tocobagas, contributed to a decline to all out war, which continued intermittently into the next century. Menéndez was unsuccessful in locating his son Juan.
Establishing a Spanish garrison of 200 men further up the coast, he sailed to the Georgia coast making contact with the local Indians of St. Catherines Island[3] before returning to Florida, where he expanded Spanish power throughout southeastern Florida. In 1567, he marched south encountering the Ais (Jece) as he reached the Indian River near present day Vero Beach. The Ais, like the Tequesta and Calusa tribes, proved hostile to Spanish settlement as war continued on and off until 1670.[4]
He later made contact with the less hostile Tequesta at their capital in el Portal (Miami) and was able to negotiate for three chieftains to accompany him to Cuba as translators to the Arawak. Although Menéndez left behind Jesuit missionaries Brother Francisco de Villareal and Padre Rogel in an attempt to convert the Tequesta to Roman Catholicism, the tribe were indifferent to their teachings and the Jesuits returned to St. Augustine after a year. Eventually reaching Cuba, he was appointed as governor of the island shortly after his arrival. Consequently, the absence of Menéndez would see Spain's military presence in the region decay to the extent that the British began moving into the region by the end of the century. He eventually died in Santander on September 17, 1574.
[edit] Family
Menéndez was the son of Antonio Montano and Cioreto Ávila. Pedro had 16 Siblings. He had abandon his family when he was only 14 years old to enlist in the navy. At the time of his death, he left three daughters from his marriage with Maria de Solís.
[edit] Legacy
Pedro Menendez High School on State Road 206 in Saint Johns County is named after him, as well as several streets in the area.
[edit] Popular culture
In 2005, Menendez was featured the "Conquest of the Southeast" episode of The History Channel's documentary miniseries Conquest of America.
[edit] References
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Wikisource has the text of the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica article Avilés, Pedro Menéndez de. |
- ^ Viele, John (1999). The Florida Keys: True stories of the perilous straits. Pineapple Press Inc, p. 20. ISBN 1561641790.
- ^ a b c Kenneth C. Davis (November 26, 2008). "A French Connection". New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/26/opinion/26davis.html?_r=2. Retrieved 2008-11-29.
- ^ The Spanish missions
- ^ History of the Tekesta - Part 6. Late Contact Period (1565 to the Present).
