Pedro Menéndez De Avilés
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Pedro Menéndez de Avilés (; ; 15 February 1519 – 17 September 1574) was a Spanish admiral, explorer and
conquistador Conquistadors (, ) or conquistadores (; ; ) were Spanish Empire, Spanish and Portuguese Empire, Portuguese colonizers who explored, traded with and colonized parts of the Americas, Africa, Oceania and Asia during the Age of Discovery. Sailing ...
from
Avilés Avilés (Asturian and ;) is a town in Asturias, Spain. Avilés is, along with Oviedo and Gijón, one of the main cities in the Principality of Asturias. The town occupies the flattest land in the municipality, partially in a land that belonged ...
, in
Asturias Asturias (; ; ) officially the Principality of Asturias, is an autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in northwest Spain. It is coextensive with the provinces of Spain, province of Asturias and contains some of the territory t ...
,
Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...
. He is notable for planning the first regular trans-oceanic convoys, which became known as the Spanish treasure fleet, and for founding St. Augustine, Florida, in 1565. This was the first successful European settlement in La Florida and the most significant city in the region for nearly three centuries. St. Augustine is the oldest continuously inhabited, European-established settlement in the continental United States. Menéndez de Avilés was the first governor of ''La Florida'' (1565–74). By his contract, or ''
asiento The () was a monopoly contract between the Spanish Crown and various merchants for the right to provide Slavery in colonial Spanish America, enslaved Africans to colonies in the Spanish Americas. The Spanish Empire rarely engaged in the trans- ...
'', with Philip II, Menéndez was appointed
adelantado ''Adelantado'' (, , ; meaning 'advanced') was a title held by some Spain, Spanish nobles in service of their respective kings during the Middle Ages. It was later used as a military title held by some Spanish ''conquistadores'' of the 15th, 16th a ...
and was responsible for implementing royal policies to build fortifications for the defense of conquered territories in ''La Florida'' and to establish Castilian governmental institutions in desirable areas.


Early years

Pedro Menéndez de Avilés was born to an old noble family in the kingdom of Asturias. He was one of the younger sons of Juan Alonso Sánchez de Avilés, who had served the
Catholic Monarchs The Catholic Monarchs were Isabella I of Castile, Queen Isabella I of Crown of Castile, Castile () and Ferdinand II of Aragon, King Ferdinand II of Crown of Aragón, Aragon (), whose marriage and joint rule marked the ''de facto'' unification of ...
in the war of War of Granada, and María Alonso y Menéndez Arango. His parents had twenty children, and Pedro was still a child when his father died. After Doña Maria remarried, Pedro was sent to live with a relative who promised to oversee his education. Pedro and his guardian did not get along, and he ran away from home. He was found six months later in
Valladolid Valladolid ( ; ) is a Municipalities of Spain, municipality in Spain and the primary seat of government and ''de facto'' capital of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Castile and León. It is also the capital of the pr ...
and taken back to his foster home. Eventually Menéndez entered the military and went off to fight in one of the wars with France. He served at sea in a small armada against the French corsairs who harassed the maritime commerce of Spain.


Military career

After two years of fighting, Menéndez returned to his family, having conceived a plan to use part of his inheritance to build his own vessel. He built a '' patache'', a small but fast row-sailer, suitable for patrolling the coast. He recruited a number of his relatives to sail with him in search of adventure. In this ship, the young Menéndez won his first victory of command in an engagement with French corsairs who had attacked three slow Spanish freighters off the coast of Galicia. By effective captainship, he separated the two swift ''zabras'' (Biscayan frigates) that pursued him and captured them both, and drove away the third. The exploits of Pedro Menéndez soon became a topic of conversation on the waterfronts of Spain and France, and in the royal courts. Meanwhile, the Seville merchants and the
Casa de Contratación The ''Casa de Contratación'' (, House of Trade) or ''Casa de la Contratación de las Indias'' ("House of Trade of the Indies") was established by the Crown of Castile, in 1503 in the port of Seville (and transferred to Cádiz in 1717) as a cro ...
(House of Trade) were chagrined by Menéndez's success and his growing influence with the Crown.


Treasure fleet

Menéndez is credited as the Spanish leader who first surveyed and authorized the building of the royal fortresses at major
Caribbean The Caribbean ( , ; ; ; ) is a region in the middle of the Americas centered around the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, mostly overlapping with the West Indies. Bordered by North America to the north, Central America ...
ports. He was appointed by the Crown in 1554 as Captain-General of the Fleet of the Indies, the Spanish treasure fleet; that year he departed with the fleet and brought it back safely to Spain. He was affirmed in his belief of the strategic importance of the Bahama Channel and that
Havana Havana (; ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...
, was the key port to conduct a rendezvous of the annual ''Flota'' of treasure galleons. The appointment was highly prestigious, and it was unusual for the Crown to make the appointment. In the past the Casa de Contratación had controlled this position. King Phillip II and Menéndez maintained a close relationship. The Crown invited him to be a part of the Royal Party when Phillip married Mary I, Queen of England. In 1559, Philip II again appointed Menéndez as Captain General, and his brother Bartolomé Menéndez as Admiral, of the Fleet of the Indies. He sailed for the Indies that October as captain general and commanded the
galleon Galleons were large, multi-decked sailing ships developed in Spain and Portugal. They were first used as armed cargo carriers by Europe, Europeans from the 16th to 18th centuries during the Age of Sail, and they were the principal vessels dr ...
s of the great ''Armada de la Carrera'', or
Spanish Treasure Fleet The Spanish treasure fleet, or West Indies Fleet (, also called silver fleet or plate fleet; from the meaning "silver"), was a convoy system of sea routes organized by the Spanish Empire from 1566 to 1790, which linked Spain with its Spanish Empi ...
, on their return voyage from the Caribbean and Mexico to Spain. Menéndez determined the route they followed, which led through the Florida Strait () and up the east coast of Florida, taking advantage of the current of the
Gulf Stream The Gulf Stream is a warm and swift Atlantic ocean current that originates in the Gulf of Mexico and flows through the Straits of Florida and up the eastern coastline of the United States, then veers east near 36°N latitude (North Carolin ...
. In 1561, however, Menéndez was jailed by Casa officials for alleged smuggling, but he got his case transferred to court and won his release. Menéndez is credited as the chief planner of the formalized
Spanish treasure fleet The Spanish treasure fleet, or West Indies Fleet (, also called silver fleet or plate fleet; from the meaning "silver"), was a convoy system of sea routes organized by the Spanish Empire from 1566 to 1790, which linked Spain with its Spanish Empi ...
convoy system that became the main link between Spain and her overseas territories. In 1561, he designed and built a twelve-ship flotilla of 230-ton
galley A galley is a type of ship optimised for propulsion by oars. Galleys were historically used for naval warfare, warfare, Maritime transport, trade, and piracy mostly in the seas surrounding Europe. It developed in the Mediterranean world during ...
-like
galleon Galleons were large, multi-decked sailing ships developed in Spain and Portugal. They were first used as armed cargo carriers by Europe, Europeans from the 16th to 18th centuries during the Age of Sail, and they were the principal vessels dr ...
s (''galeones agalerados'') inspired by the Atlantic
galleass A galleass was a warship that combined the sails and armament of a galleon or carrack with the maneuverability of the oared galley. While never quite matching up to the full expectations for its design, the galleass nevertheless remained in us ...
es built by
Álvaro de Bazán the Elder Álvaro de Bazán, called ''the Elder'' (1506–1558), was a Spanish admiral and Shipbuilding, shipbuilder, General-Captain of the Galleys of Spain for Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor. He was a successful naval commander and ship designer, innovati ...
. The ships were used to escort the treasure fleet, being soon known as the "
Twelve Apostles In Christian theology and ecclesiology, the apostles, particularly the Twelve Apostles (also known as the Twelve Disciples or simply the Twelve), were the primary disciples of Jesus according to the New Testament. During the life and minist ...
" for their reliability and success at hunting down foreign piracy and privateering. They were also used in combination with two heavy, 800-ton galleasses built by Cristóbal de Barros. Furthermore, in partnership with Bazán the Younger, he helped design the great galleons that carried the trade between Cadiz in Spain and Vera Cruz in Spanish
Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...
. Later, in his capacity as ''
adelantado ''Adelantado'' (, , ; meaning 'advanced') was a title held by some Spain, Spanish nobles in service of their respective kings during the Middle Ages. It was later used as a military title held by some Spanish ''conquistadores'' of the 15th, 16th a ...
'', Menéndez was required to explore this vast territory, which extended from the Gulf coast of present-day western Florida around the Florida keys to Newfoundland. He also was commanded by the king to establish two or three fortified '' presidios'' and settle them with settlers and slaves, and to begin the conversion of the Indians to Catholicism.


Enterprise of ''La Florida''

In 1562, a group of
Huguenots The Huguenots ( , ; ) are a Religious denomination, religious group of French people, French Protestants who held to the Reformed (Calvinist) tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, ...
led by Jean Ribault arrived in territory claimed by Spain and called La Florida. They explored the mouth of the St. Johns River in Florida, calling it ''la Rivière de Mai'' (the River May). The French sailed northward and established a settlement called Charlesfort at Port Royal Sound in present-day South Carolina. On 19 August 1563, Pedro Menéndez and his brother Bartolomé were imprisoned by the Casa de Contratación, accused of accepting bribes and smuggling silver into Spain. In September, he received news that ''La Concepción'', flagship of the New Spain fleet and commanded by his son Admiral Juan Menéndez, had disappeared off the coast of South Carolina, and was assumed to be dead. The ship was lost in a hurricane that scattered the fleet as it was returning to Spain, at the latitude of
Bermuda Bermuda is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. The closest land outside the territory is in the American state of North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. Bermuda is an ...
off the coast of South Carolina. Menéndez conceived a plan for a voyage to ''La Florida'' to search for his son, who he believed might have reached there, but he was powerless to initiate it from prison, and his petitions to King Philip II went unanswered. Spain learned of the French expedition to Florida through its spies at ports on the Atlantic coast of France. Philip II was alarmed when Dr. Gabriel de Enveja reported that Jean Ribault had been appointed as "Captain-General and Viceroy of New France". He also said that a large expedition of ships, soldiers and supplies was being fitted at
Dieppe Dieppe (; ; or Old Norse ) is a coastal commune in the Seine-Maritime department, Normandy, northern France. Dieppe is a seaport on the English Channel at the mouth of the river Arques. A regular ferry service runs to Newhaven in England ...
for a voyage to Florida: it was to have more than 500 arquebusiers, and many dismounted bronze cannons were loaded aboard the vessels. After his release from prison, Menéndez was available again to serve the king's purposes. He was appointed as ''adelantado'' of ''La Florida'', with the promise of a large land grant and the title of marquis if he was successful. He advised the king of the strategic importance of exploring the Florida coast for discovery of trade passages to the riches of China and Molucca. There was the hope that such waterways might also lead to the mines of New Spain in central Mexico and to the Pacific. He proposed colonizing several areas to defend the territory against incursions by the Indians and foreign powers. Menéndez expected to make vast profits for himself and to increase the royal treasury with this Florida enterprise, as it was to include the development of agriculture, fisheries, and
naval stores Naval stores refers to the industry that produces various chemicals collected from conifers. The term was originally applied to the compounds used in building and maintaining wooden sailing ships. Presently, the naval stores industry are used to ...
. This ambitious venture was supported materially and politically by his kinship alliance of seventeen families from northern Spain, all tied by blood relations and marriage. They pledged their persons and fortunes to the adelentado, hoping to enrich themselves later with large grants of lands and royal honors of civil and military offices in ''La Florida''. This support gave Menéndez a loyal cadre of lieutenants and officials who had blood connection to him, and had invested their own futures in his success. In early 1564 Menéndez asked permission to go to Florida to search for ''La Concepcion'' and his son, Admiral Juan Menéndez, who had been its commander. As noted above, they were lost in 1563 in a hurricane. The crown continued to refuse his request. René de Laudonnière, a Huguenot aristocrat who had participated in the first Jean Ribault expedition, returned to Florida in 1564 with three ships and 300 Huguenot colonists. He reached the River May on 22 June 1564, sailed up it a few miles, and founded Fort Caroline. The Crown was alarmed by these encroachments on Spanish territory in such proximity to the course of the Spanish treasure fleet. Desiring to protect its claimed territories in North America against further incursions by European powers, the
Spanish Crown The monarchy of Spain or Spanish monarchy () is the constitutional form of government of Spain. It consists of a Hereditary monarchy, hereditary monarch who reigns as the head of state, being the highest office of the country. The Spanish ...
issued an ''
asiento The () was a monopoly contract between the Spanish Crown and various merchants for the right to provide Slavery in colonial Spanish America, enslaved Africans to colonies in the Spanish Americas. The Spanish Empire rarely engaged in the trans- ...
'' to Menéndez, signed by Philip II on 20 March 1565, granting him expansive trade privileges, the power to distribute lands, and licenses to sell 500 slaves, as well as various titles, including that of ''
adelantado ''Adelantado'' (, , ; meaning 'advanced') was a title held by some Spain, Spanish nobles in service of their respective kings during the Middle Ages. It was later used as a military title held by some Spanish ''conquistadores'' of the 15th, 16th a ...
'' of Florida. Menéndez was commissioned to reconnoiter North America from the
Florida Keys The Florida Keys are a coral island, coral cay archipelago off the southern coast of Florida, forming the southernmost part of the continental United States. They begin at the southeastern coast of the Florida peninsula, about south of Miami a ...
to present-day Canada, and report on its coastal features, with a view to establishing a permanent settlement for the defense of the
Spanish treasure fleet The Spanish treasure fleet, or West Indies Fleet (, also called silver fleet or plate fleet; from the meaning "silver"), was a convoy system of sea routes organized by the Spanish Empire from 1566 to 1790, which linked Spain with its Spanish Empi ...
. He was ordered as well to drive away any intruders who were not subjects of the Spanish crown. On 28 July 1565, Menéndez set sail from
Cádiz Cádiz ( , , ) is a city in Spain and the capital of the Province of Cádiz in the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia. It is located in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula off the Atlantic Ocean separated fr ...
with a fleet led by his 600-ton flagship, the ''San Pelayo'', accompanied by several smaller ships, and carrying over 1,000 sailors, soldiers, and settlers. On the feast day of St. Augustine, 28 August, the fleet sighted land and anchored off the north inlet of the tidal channel that the French called the River of Dolphins. This was developed as the site of the present-day city of St. Augustine. Menéndez sailed north and confronted Ribault's fleet outside the bar of the River May in a brief skirmish. On 6 September, he returned to his first landfall, naming the site it after the Catholic saint, disembarked his troops, and quickly constructed fortifications to protect his people and supplies. Father Francisco López de Mendoza Grajales, the chaplain of the expedition, celebrated the first Thanksgiving
Mass Mass is an Intrinsic and extrinsic properties, intrinsic property of a physical body, body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the physical quantity, quantity of matter in a body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physi ...
on the grounds. The formal
Franciscan The Franciscans are a group of related organizations in the Catholic Church, founded or inspired by the Italian saint Francis of Assisi. They include three independent Religious institute, religious orders for men (the Order of Friars Minor bei ...
outpost, Mission Nombre de Dios, was founded at the landing point, perhaps the first mission in what would become the continental United States. The mission served nearby villages of the Mocama, a Timucua group, and was at the center of an important
chiefdom A chiefdom is a political organization of people representation (politics), represented or government, governed by a tribal chief, chief. Chiefdoms have been discussed, depending on their scope, as a stateless society, stateless, state (polity) ...
in the late 16th and 17th century. Menéndez marched his soldiers overland from St. Augustine to destroy the French settlement at Fort Caroline on the St. Johns River. On 20 September 1565, they made a surprise attack and killed all the adult men they encountered, but spared women and children; 132 Frenchmen were killed. Laudonnière and several score Frenchmen escaped into the woods. Menéndez left a Spanish garrison at the captured fort, now renamed San Mateo. (In 1568 French soldiers led by Dominique de Gourgues returned and destroyed it, killing the Spanish garrison in retaliation for the 1565 massacre.) Menéndez pursued Jean Ribault, who had already left with four ships to attack the Spanish at St. Augustine. After Ribault had put out to sea, he was surprised by a storm that wrecked three of his ships near what is now the Ponce de Leon Inlet. His flagship was grounded near present-day Cape Canaveral. Informed by Indian allies that the French survivors were walking northward on the coast, Menéndez began to search for them, finding the party at the banks of the Matanzas River's south entrance. After several parleys with the Spanish, Ribault and the 150–350 Frenchmen with him (sources differ) surrendered. The Spanish executed nearly all of them in the dunes near the inlet. It was later known as ''Matanzas'' (Spanish for "slaughters"). Having taken control of the Florida coast, Menéndez had his soldiers complete the fort in St. Augustine. He also established missions to the natives for the Catholic Church, and explored the east coast and interior of the peninsula. In May 1566, as relations with the neighboring Timucua Indians deteriorated, Menéndez moved the Spanish settlement to a more defensible position on the north end of the
barrier island Barrier islands are a Coast#Landforms, coastal landform, a type of dune, dune system and sand island, where an area of sand has been formed by wave and tidal action parallel to the mainland coast. They usually occur in chains, consisting of an ...
between the mainland and the sea, building a wooden fort there. In 1572, the settlement was relocated to the mainland, in the area just south of the future town plaza. Secure as governor, Menéndez explored the area and built additional
fortification A fortification (also called a fort, fortress, fastness, or stronghold) is a military construction designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Lati ...
s. He also commissioned the Juan Pardo expedition, to travel from Santa Elena, at Port Royal Sound in present-day South Carolina, into the interior of the Southeast. Captain Pardo was to find and supply an alternate overland route to the Spanish silver mines in central Mexico, as the Spanish mistakenly thought the Appalachian Mountains were part of a range extending that far. In the next couple of years, Pardo and his men traveled into present-day South Carolina and
Western North Carolina Western North Carolina (often abbreviated as WNC) is the region of North Carolina which includes the Appalachian Mountains; it is often known geographically as the state's Mountain Region. It contains the highest mountains in the Eastern United S ...
, stopping at the Mississippian chiefdom of Joara, where they built Fort San Juan and wintered over. In total, his expedition built six forts along this route, including one known as San Pedro at Olamico, the principal town of Chiaha in southeastern Tennessee. Pardo left the expedition for other business. In 1568 all the Spanish men but one in the garrisons were killed by Native Americans resisting their treatment, and the forts were destroyed. The Spanish did not attempt other colonization in this region. Confident that he had fulfilled his primary contract with the King, including construction of forts along the coast of ''La Florida'', Menéndez returned to Spain in 1567. He was appointed governor of
Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...
, in October of that year. After several more transatlantic crossings, Menéndez fell ill and died on 17 September 1574.


Later years

Menéndez traveled to southwest Florida, looking for his son. There he made contact with the Calusa tribe, an advanced maritime people, at what is now known as Charlotte harbor. He negotiated an initial peace with their leader, Carlos, which was solidified by Menéndez's marriage to Carlos's 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 Calusas' enemies, the Tocobagas, helped cause the decline of relations 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 what is today the Georgia coast making contact with the local Indians of St. Catherines Island before returning to Florida, where he expanded Spanish power throughout southeastern Florida. His position as governor now secure, Menéndez explored the area and built additional
fortification A fortification (also called a fort, fortress, fastness, or stronghold) is a military construction designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Lati ...
s. In 1567, he marched south and encountered the Ais (Jece) as he reached the Indian River near present-day Vero Beach. He returned to Spain in 1567 and was appointed governor of
Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...
, in October of that year. In December 1571, Menéndez was sailing from Florida to Havana with two frigates when, as he tells it, "I was wrecked at Cape Canaveral because of a storm which came upon me, and the other boat was lost fifteen leagues further on in the Bahama Channel, in a river they call the Ais, because the ''
cacique A cacique, sometimes spelled as cazique (; ; feminine form: ), was a tribal chieftain of the Taíno people, who were the Indigenous inhabitants of the Bahamas, the Greater Antilles, and the northern Lesser Antilles at the time of European cont ...
'' (chief) is so called. I, by a miracle reached the fort of St. Augustine with seventeen persons I was taking with me. Three times the Indians gave the order to attack me, and the way I escaped them was by ingenuity and arousing fear in them, telling them that behind me many Spaniards were coming who would slay them if they found them." The Ais, like the Tequesta and Calusa tribes, proved hostile to Spanish settlement as war continued on and off until 1670.History of the Tekesta – Part 6. Late Contact Period (1565 to the Present)
Menéndez later made contact with the less hostile Tequesta at their capital in '' El Portal'' (in what is now 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. The Jesuits returned to St. Augustine after a year. Menéndez voyaged to ''La Florida'' for the last time in 1571, with 650 settlers for Santa Elena, as well as his wife and family. In August 1572, Menéndez led a ship with thirty soldiers and sailors to take revenge for the killing of the Jesuits of the Ajacán Mission in present-day Virginia. At the end of his life, he was appointed as governor of Cuba shortly after his arrival. Menéndez died of
typhus Typhus, also known as typhus fever, is a group of infectious diseases that include epidemic typhus, scrub typhus, and murine typhus. Common symptoms include fever, headache, and a rash. Typically these begin one to two weeks after exposu ...
Secrets of Spanish Florida – A Secrets of the Dead Special
pbs.org (26 December 2017)
at
Santander, Spain Santander ( , ; ) is the capital of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Cantabria, Spain. It has a population of 172,000 (2017). It is a port city located in the northern coast of the Iberian Peninsula, facing the Cantab ...
, on 17 September 1574.


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. *The
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
Liberty Ship Liberty ships were a ship class, class of cargo ship built in the United States during World War II under the Emergency Shipbuilding Program. Although British in concept, the design was adopted by the United States for its simple, low-cost cons ...
was named in his honor. *A new F110-class frigate of the Armada will be named after him.


See also

* El Portal, Florida *
History of Florida The history of Florida can be traced to when the first Paleo-Indians began to inhabit the peninsula as early as 14,000 years ago. They left behind artifacts and archeological remains. Florida's Recorded history, written history begins with the ar ...
* Roman Catholic Diocese of St. Augustine * St. Augustine, Florida *
Spanish Florida Spanish Florida () was the first major European land-claim and attempted settlement-area in northern America during the European Age of Discovery. ''La Florida'' formed part of the Captaincy General of Cuba in the Viceroyalty of New Spain, and th ...


Notes


References

*Forbes, James Grant (1821). ''Sketches, Historical and Topographical, of the Floridas: More Particularly of East Florida''. C.S. Van Winkle. *Green, R. Edwin. (2004). ''St. Simons Island: A Summary of Its History''. The History Press. . *Henderson, Richard R. (March 1989). A Preliminary inventory of Spanish colonial resources associated with National Park Service units and national historic landmarks, 1987. United States Committee, International Council on Monuments and Sites, for the U.S. Dept. of the Interior, National Park Service. *History of the Tekesta – Part 6. Late Contact Period (1565 to the Present). *Laudonnière, René Goulaine de (1853). ''L'histoire notable de la Floride: situèe es Indes Occidentales''. P. Jannet *Lowery, Woodbury. (1911). ''The Spanish settlements within the present limits of the United States: Florida, 1562–1574''. G.P. Putnam. *Lyon, Eugene (1983). ''The Enterprise of Florida: Pedro Menéndez de Avilés and the Spanish Conquest of 1565–1568''. University Press of Florida. *Lyon, Eugene (1996). ''The New History of Florida''. Gainesville: University Press of Florida. . *Lyon, Eugene (1991). "Pedro Menéndez de Avilés". Edited by Gary Mormino (in English and Spanish). ''Spanish Pathways in Florida: 1492–1992/Los Caminos Espanoles En La Florida 1492–1992''. Ann L Henderson (1st ed.). Pineapple Press Inc. . *Mallios, Seth. (2006) ''The Deadly Politics of Giving: Exchange And Violence at Ajacan, Roanoke, And Jamestown''. University of Alabama Press. . *Manucy, Albert C. (1992). ''Menéndez, Pedro Menéndez de Aviles, Captain General of the Open Sea''. Sarasota, Florida: Pineapple Press, Inc. . *Pickett, Margaret F. ; Pickett, Dwayne W. (2011). "Four". The European Struggle to Settle North America: Colonizing Attempts by England, France and Spain, 1521–1608. McFarland. . *''Ponce De Leon's Discovery'', Written History section at http://augustine.com * *Rouse, Irving. ''Survey of Indian River Archaeology''. Yale University Publications in Anthropology 45. . *Sáinz Sastre, María Antonia. (1992). La Florida, Siglo XVI: Descubrimiento y Conquista. Editorial Mapfre. . *Viele, John (1999). ''The Florida Keys: True stories of the perilous straits''. Pineapple Press Inc. . *Voltaire, Francois Marie Arouet (1773). ''Essais sur les Moeurs et l'esprit des Nations''.


Primary resources


''Pedro Menéndez de Avilés Sailing Order''
1572 July 3. From the Collections at the
Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is a research library in Washington, D.C., serving as the library and research service for the United States Congress and the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It also administers Copyright law o ...


Further reading

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Menendez de Aviles, Pedro Spanish explorers of North America Governors of Cuba Spanish admirals 1519 births 1574 deaths People from Asturias People from Avilés 16th-century Spanish people People from Spanish Florida Knights of Santiago People involved in anti-piracy efforts Explorers of Florida Deaths from typhus Spanish city founders