Santa Elena, a Spanish settlement on what is now

Parris Island, South Carolina Parris Island is a district of the city of Port Royal, South Carolina on an island of the same name. It became part of the city with the annexation of the Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island on October 11, 2002. For statistical purposes, th ...

, was the capital of Spanish Florida from 1566 to 1587. It was established under Pedro Menéndez de Avilés, the first governor of Spanish Florida. There had been a number of earlier attempts to establish colonies in the area by both the Spanish and the French, who had been inspired by the earlier accounts by

Chicora Chicora was a legendary Native American kingdom or tribe sought during the 16th century by various European explorers in present-day South Carolina. The legend originated after Spanish slave traders captured an Indian they called Francisco de C ...

and Hernando de Soto of rich territories in the interior. Menéndez's Santa Elena settlement was intended as the new capital of the Spanish colony of La Florida, shifting the focus of Spanish colonial efforts north from St. Augustine, which had been established in 1565 to oust the French from their colony of

Fort Caroline Fort Caroline was an attempted French colonial settlement in Florida, located on the banks of the St. Johns River in present-day Duval County. It was established under the leadership of René Goulaine de Laudonnière on 22 June, 1564, follow ...

. Santa Elena was ultimately built at the site of the abandoned French outpost of

Charlesfort The Charlesfort-Santa Elena Site is an important early colonial archaeological site on Parris Island, South Carolina. It contains the archaeological remains of a French settlement called Charlesfort, settled in 1562 and abandoned the following y ...

, founded in 1562 by

Jean Ribault Jean Ribault (also spelled ''Ribaut'') (1520 – October 12, 1565) was a French naval officer, navigator, and a colonizer of what would become the southeastern United States. He was a major figure in the French attempts to colonize Florida. A H ...

. In 1565 Menéndez destroyed the French Fort Caroline and then founded Santa Elena. This colony had a sizeable population, including missionaries and soldiers. The settlement housed a sizeable community, and became the base of operations for the Jesuits and military working in the northern zone of Spanish Florida. From this base the Spanish founded six other forts during the Captain Juan Pardo expedition into the interior and the

Appalachian Mountains The Appalachian Mountains, often called the Appalachians, (french: Appalaches), are a system of mountains in eastern to northeastern North America. The Appalachians first formed roughly 480 million years ago during the Ordovician Period. They ...

. But local Native American tribes resisted, killing the garrisons and destroying all the forts in 1568. Spain abandoned thoughts of colonizing this area. In 1586 Francis Drake led an English force in a raid on St. Augustine. The Spanish abandoned Santa Elena the following year, and its remaining settlers were relocated to St. Augustine to strengthen it. The Spanish never pressed their colonial claims to the area again, focusing on other areas of the American continent.

History

Interest in the area was piqued following exploration of some part of what is now the coastal southeastern United States by Francisco Gordillo and Pedro de Quejo in 1521. Accounts of the region's abundance from Quejo and

Francisco de Chicora Francisco de Chicora was the baptismal name given to a Native American kidnapped in 1521, along with 70 others, from near Winyah Bay by Spanish explorer Francisco Gordillo and slave trader Pedro de Quexos, based in Santo Domingo and the first Europ ...

, one of the 70 Indians whom the expedition brought to Hispaniola, inspired

Lucas Vázquez de Ayllón Lucas Vázquez de Ayllón (c. 1480 – 18 October 1526) was a Spanish magistrate and explorer who in 1526 established the short-lived San Miguel de Gualdape colony, one of the first European attempts at a settlement in what is now the United State ...

to establish the short-lived colony of

San Miguel de Gualdape San Miguel de Gualdape (sometimes San Miguel de Guadalupe) is a former Spanish colony in present-day Georgetown County, South Carolina, founded in 1526 by Lucas Vázquez de Ayllón.In early 1521, Ponce de León had made a poorly documented, disas ...

. This was abandoned after a few months. In 1540 Hernando de Soto's expedition found European goods in the wealthy chiefdom of

Cofitachequi Cofitachequi was a paramount chiefdom founded about 1300 AD and encountered by the Hernando de Soto expedition in South Carolina in April 1540. Cofitachequi was later visited by Juan Pardo during his two expeditions (1566–1568) and by Henry W ...

(in present-day South Carolina), and determined they were near the site of Ayllón's colony. Their accounts of wealthy lands inspired further colonial ambitions. In 1559,

Tristán de Luna y Arellano Tristán de Luna y Arellano (1510 – September 16, 1573) was a Spanish explorer and Conquistador of the 16th century.Herbert Ingram Priestley, Tristan de Luna: Conquistador of the Old South: A Study of Spanish Imperial Strategy (1936). http://palm ...

established a settlement at present-day Pensacola, Florida, as a base for future colonization of Santa Elena, but this mission failed. The French also heard the early accounts and took an interest in the area; in 1562

came to modern-day Parris Island and set up the short-lived settlement of

there. However, this was abandoned the following year after a Spanish attack. Governor Pedro Menéndez de Avilés founded St. Augustine in 1565 in response to the French building of

the previous year in what is now

Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the List of United States cities by area, largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the co ...

, by

René Goulaine de Laudonnière Rene Goulaine de Laudonnière (c. 1529–1574) was a French Huguenot explorer and the founder of the French colony of Fort Caroline in what is now Jacksonville, Florida. Admiral Gaspard de Coligny, a Huguenot, sent Jean Ribault and Laudonnière ...

. Menéndez burned Fort Caroline and dislodged the French from Florida. In 1566 the Spanish shifted their efforts back to colonizing Santa Elena, and a settlement was founded in 1566. Menéndez ordered Captain Juan Pardo, to lead an expedition from Santa Elena to the interior of Southeast North America. Pardo's mission was to pacify and convert the natives and find an overland route to silver mines in central

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

. The Spanish mistakenly thought that the Appalachian Mountains were connected to a range there. The initial Pardo expedition left in December 1566 with 125 men. They created the first Spanish and European settlement in the interior of what became

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and ...

. Pardo led his men to

Joara Joara was a large Native American settlement, a regional chiefdom of the Mississippian culture, located in what is now Burke County, North Carolina, about 300 miles from the Atlantic coast in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Joara is n ...

, a large chiefdom of the Mississippian culture north of present-day Morganton. Pardo renamed the town as Cuenca, after his home town, claiming it for Spain. The Spanish built Fort San Juan here and made a base for the winter. Pardo left a contingent of 30 men. In an expedition the following year, Pardo built five more forts, leaving garrisons along the Appalachian spine as far as

Chiaha Chiaha was a Native American chiefdom located in the lower French Broad River valley in modern East Tennessee, in the southeastern United States. They lived in raised structures within boundaries of several stable villages. These overlooked the ...

in southeastern modern Tennessee. He returned to Santa Elena without returning through Joara. In 1568 the natives attacked the soldiers, killing all but one of the 120 in these garrisons and burning all the forts. The Spanish never returned to press their colonial claim in the interior. (The sites of Joara and Fort San Juan were identified through excavation, which continues, and announced in the early 21st century. In 1576, natives of the nearby Orista and Escamacu settlements burned Santa Elena. The Spanish abandoned Fort San Felipe, which was also burned. A year later, the Spanish returned and rebuilt the mission settlement, at the same time constructing Fort San Marcos. In 1580, the Spanish repelled an attack on the island by 2,000 natives. In May 1586 Francis Drake led an English force to raid and burn St. Augustine in La Florida. The Spanish feared another raid, and concluded that their settlements were being overstretched, undermanned and underarmed. Governor

Pedro Menéndez Márquez Pedro Menéndez Márquez (c.1537 – 1600) was a Spanish military officer, conquistador, and governor of Spanish Florida. He was a nephew of Pedro Menéndez de Avilés, who had been appointed ''adelantado'' (an elite military and administrative p ...

conferred with the

Council of the Indies The Council of the Indies ( es, Consejo de las Indias), officially the Royal and Supreme Council of the Indies ( es, Real y Supremo Consejo de las Indias, link=no, ), was the most important administrative organ of the Spanish Empire for the Amer ...

Seville Seville (; es, Sevilla, ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula ...

(who received confirmation of St. Augustine's destruction by July) and King Philip II of Spain. They decided to concentrate their colonial efforts at St. Augustine. Mendendez abandoned Santa Elena and

Parris Island Parris is both a given name and surname. Notable people with the name include: Given name * Parris Afton Bonds, American novelist * Parris Campbell (born 1997), American football player * Parris Duffus (born 1970), retired American ice hockey go ...

. This marked the end of the permanent Spanish presence in what today is South Carolina. The Spanish retreated to present-day Florida, deciding to focus on colonizing other areas of the continent. The Escamacu people, who converted to Roman Catholicism before the Spaniards abandoned the site in 1587, kept their religion. They survived as a tribe into the early 17th century; after that they assimilated into larger tribes. During the 21 years of Spanish occupation, Santa Elena was the site of several forts, including Fort San Salvador, built by Menéndez in 1566; Fort San Felipe, established after the arrival of additional troops and supplies; and Fort San Marcos, erected during the second occupation at Santa Elena. Since the late 20th century, the site of Santa Elena has been extensively studied through archaeological studies and multi-disciplinary investigation.Stanley South and Chester DePratter, ''Discovery at Santa Elena: Block Excavation.'' South Carolina Institute of Archaeology and Anthropology, Research Manuscript Series 222. University of South Carolina, Columbia, 1996.

Governors

* Vicente González and Tomás Bernaldo de Quirós: 1577 to 1580 * Juan de Posada: 1588-1589

References

Spanish Missions in La Florida: Santa Elena

* ttp://www.sciway.net/hist/indians/ SCIway: South Carolina Indians

External links

"Santa Elena- History and Archaeology"
University of South Carolina
Santa Elena Foundation and History Center, Beaufort, SC
{{coord, 32.3063, -80.6755, display=title Spanish missions in the United States Spanish forts in the United States Beaufort County, South Carolina Archaeological sites in South Carolina Pre-statehood history of South Carolina Spanish missions in Florida 1566 establishments in New Spain 16th-century disestablishments in New Spain 1566 establishments in North America 16th-century disestablishments in North America Spanish Florida Populated places established in 1566

History

Governors

See also

References

Further reading

External links