Chapter I: Settlement

It all began at a little bay on the east coast of Florida during September of 1565. Two large galleons rode at anchor outside the harbor entrance, while three smaller craft with sails furled and pennants flying from each masthead were moored within. The ships were a part of the fleet of Don Pedro Menendez. They brought an expedition from Spain to establish settlements in Florida and drive out the French Huguenots, who had a fort near the mouth of the St. Johns River in this Spanish-claimed territory. The French colony, named Fort Caroline, lay only some thirty-five miles up the coast from the point where the Spanish ships were anchored. There on this very same day Jean Ribault, who had just arrived from France with reinforcements, was preparing to attack the Spaniards before they could finish landing and fortify their position.

During the late forenoon, Menendez and a group of his officers transferred from the larger of the two galleons offshore to a smaller boat alongside. Aided by a strong incoming tide, the boat entered the inlet and advanced across the bay toward the mainland, heading for a little creek that wound among the marshes to higher ground. As it neared this point, the roar of cannon and the blare of trumpets startled huge flocks of marsh birds into noisy flight.

On shore curious Indians looked out upon the scene with mingled fear and wonder. A Spanish detachment, which previously had disembarked, was drawn up along the bank to greet the landing party. From their ranks a robe-clad priest emerged holding aloft a cross and singing in a clear voice the Latin words of the _Te Deum Laudamus_.

"On Saturday, the 8th [of September]," relates the priest, Francisco Lopez de Mendoza, Chaplain of the Spanish fleet, "the General landed with many banners spread, to the sound of trumpets and salutes of artillery. As I had gone ashore the evening before, I took the Cross and went to meet him, singing the hymn _Te Deum Laudamus_. The General, followed by all who accompanied him, marched up to the Cross, knelt and kissed it. A large number of Indians watched these proceedings and imitated all they saw done. The General then took formal possession of the country in the name of his Majesty, and all the captains took the oath of allegiance to him as their leader and Governor."

Beneath the gnarled oaks festooned with moss the Spanish knelt before a rustic altar to celebrate the first parish Mass on Florida soil.

Menendez had instructed his advance landing party to select a location suitable for an entrenchment and fort. For this purpose they had taken over the Indian village of _Seloy_ and the "great house" of its cacique, which stood close to the river bank. Around it the Spaniards were hastily digging a trench and throwing up an embankment of earth. Some cannon were already mounted behind this breastwork. Menendez was well pleased with what had been accomplished. After holding a council with his officers he returned to his ships to hasten the unloading of the rest of his company, artillery, and supplies before the French might descend upon them.

When he had first come upon this little bay and inlet, chosen for his base, he gave it the name St. Augustine in honor of the Saint's day (August 28th), on which his ships first sighted the Florida coast.

_The Spanish Treasure Fleets_

At the time of St. Augustine's founding Spain was the most powerful nation in Europe. Sailing under her banner, Christopher Columbus in 1492 had initiated the discovery of strange new lands across the sea. Other intrepid explorers followed--Spanish, French, English, Dutch, and Portuguese--searching for the coveted sea-route to the Indies. The vast extent and wealth of the New World began to unfold.

Thus far only Spain, and to a lesser extent Portugal, had taken advantage of their discoveries. Almost two hundred Spanish settlements had been established in portions of the West Indies, Mexico, Central and South America by the time St. Augustine came into being. Fleets of galleons laden with riches from these colonies began to sail slowly across the Atlantic to Spanish ports. They became known as the _treasure fleets_ because they carried fortunes in gold and silver. Spain's European rivals watched this flow of fabulous wealth with bitter envy, and pirates preyed increasingly upon it. Some were genuine outlaws; others were merely adventurers, whose piracy had the tacit approval of their sovereigns.

The vessels of the treasure fleets usually assembled at Havana, Cuba. From that point their route, taking advantage of the strong Gulf Stream current, lay up along the east coast of Florida and Carolina, thence east to Spain. This was an important lifeline in the then great and powerful Spanish Empire.

Back in 1513 Ponce de Leon, sailing northwestward from Puerto Rico in search of rumored wealth and, it was later said, youth-giving waters, discovered the Florida peninsula. Landing in the vicinity of St. Augustine, he claimed the territory for Spain and gave it the poetic name _La Florida_, because he first sighted its green shores during the Easter season, called by the Spaniards _Pascua Florida_.

PACIFIC OCEAN
SOUTH AMERICA
Cartagena
CENTRAL AMERICA
Panama
Portobelo
Treasure carried overland across Isthmus of Panama
CARIBBEAN SEA
RICHES FROM CHILE AND PERU
MEXICO
Veracruz
RICHES FROM MEXICO
SHIPS FOLLOWED GULF STREAM CURRENT
CUBA
Havana
BAHAMA ISLANDS
FLORIDA
St. Augustine
ATLANTIC OCEAN
ROUTE TO SPAIN

Although Florida occupied a strategic location along the route of the treasure fleets, it remained unsettled for fifty years following its discovery. Numerous Spanish expeditions, such as those of Narvaez, De Soto, and Tristan de Luna set out to explore, conquer and colonize Florida, but instead of gold and silver the conquistadores found only suffering and death in its wild interior or along its beaches.

During this period of exploration and colonization Europe was the scene of bitter religious conflict. Spain, which was solidly a Catholic country, endeavored to stamp out all deviations from its faith. While neighboring France was predominantly Catholic, there were a number of Protestants in the country. They were called Huguenots and included some Frenchmen of noble birth.

_The Huguenots Occupy Florida_

Admiral Gaspard Coligny, leader of the French Protestants, or Huguenots, dreamed of establishing colonies in the New World that might rival Spain's in riches and importance. An attempted settlement in Brazil in 1555 was destroyed by the Portuguese. In 1562 he sent out a small expedition under an able Huguenot navigator, Jean Ribault. These Frenchmen, after exploring a portion of the north Florida and lower Carolina coast and setting up columns claiming the land for France, built a small fort near Port Royal, South Carolina, which was soon abandoned by the small garrison left there.

During the next two years fighting broke out in France between the Catholics and Huguenots, preventing further colonizing activity. When peace was restored Coligny sent out a second and larger expedition in 1564, consisting of three vessels, under Rene de Laudonniere, who had accompanied Ribault on the first voyage. These colonists chose as a site for their settlement a point near the mouth of the St. Johns River in present-day Florida. There they built a fort, named Fort Caroline in honor of their boy king, Charles IX.

After searching the area in vain for evidences of gold and silver, the Frenchmen ran short of provisions and were forced to subsist mainly on food bartered or seized from the Indians. Meanwhile, some of their number mutinied and sailed away to attack Spanish shipping in the Caribbean. The rest were on the point of returning to France when Sir John Hawkins, an English freebooter, happened by and sold them one of his ships and needed supplies. They were again about to embark for France, when sails appeared off the river's mouth. They were the ships of Jean Ribault bringing strong reinforcements.

When Philip II of Spain and his advisors learned of these French Huguenot activities in Florida, they were greatly alarmed. The French fort, if allowed to remain so close to the route of the treasure fleets, would constantly expose them to attack. Manrique de Rojas was dispatched from Cuba to investigate. During May of 1564 he sailed up the Florida coast looking for signs of a French settlement, but found only one of the columns left by Ribault, the abandoned fort and a French boy at Port Royal. Laudonniere did not arrive on the coast until late June of that year.

The sovereigns of Spain and France were at the time allied by marriage. The wife of Philip II of Spain was the daughter of the Queen Regent of France, the crafty Catherine de' Medici. Philip protested to Catherine through his minister concerning the presence of her subjects in Florida, but received only evasive replies to the effect that they had merely gone to a land called _Newe France_, discovered many years before by French seamen. It became increasingly clear that to safeguard its claim to the territory, and protect the route of the treasure fleets, Spain would need to establish forts of its own in Florida and expel the French trespassers from its shores.

_Don Pedro Menendez_

The man destined to establish the first permanent settlement in Florida and expel the French Huguenots was a Spaniard of noble lineage, Don Pedro Menendez. Born in 1519 in the little seaport town of Aviles, on the northern coast of Spain, he was one of a large family and upon the death of his father was sent to be reared by relatives. Against their wishes he went to sea while still in his teens to fight the pirates, or corsairs, who lurked along the nearby French and Spanish coasts. Within a few years he learned to command and navigate a vessel of his own. The sea was in his blood.

His courage and expert seamanship caused him to rise rapidly in royal favor. He soon advanced to the most important naval post in Spain, that of Captain-General of the armada, or guard of heavily armed ships that accompanied the treasure fleets on their long voyages to and from the New World through pirate-infested waters, receiving this appointment directly from the King. But his rise to prominence also created jealous enemies. Among these were officials of the _Casa de Contratacion_, or Board of Trade, who formerly had appointed and controlled the armada's commander, and deeply resented loss of this authority.

When Menendez and his brother, Bartolome, returned from a voyage to the New World with the treasure fleet in 1563, they were met by armed officers of the _Casa_, arrested and imprisoned on vague charges related to smuggling or accepting bribes. Soon after this occurred, Menendez learned that his only son, Don Juan, had been shipwrecked on the coast of Florida, or vicinity of Bermuda, while returning with a portion of the fleet. He hoped and prayed that some day he might find his son alive, possibly held captive by the coastal Indians.

After over a year's delay Menendez was finally brought to trial and fined. Upon his release from prison, he immediately sought an audience with King Philip II to secure his permission for a voyage to Florida in search of his lost son, and to further explore its coast on which many Spanish ships were being wrecked. Philip II not only granted permission for his voyage, but welcomed this opportunity to commission him to undertake the settlement of Florida, and the task of dealing with the French Huguenots, who had gained a foothold there. Gratefully Menendez knelt and kissed his monarch's hand. Here was an opportunity to recoup his fallen fortunes.

As customary in such matters, a royal _asiento_, or contract, was executed. By it Menendez was bound to establish three fortified posts in Florida at his own expense, and within a specified time. In return he was to receive a substantial share of any riches that might be found there, certain privileges of trade, and the title of _Adelantado_ and Governor of the Province of Florida in perpetuity.

The contract also provided that Menendez should make every effort to convert the natives of Florida to Christianity, and for that purpose several priests were assigned to the expedition and others were to be brought over later.

_The Rival Fleets_

With characteristic vigor Menendez began collecting ships and recruiting followers for his Florida expedition. In the midst of his preparations, intelligence reached Spain that a strong French fleet under Jean Ribault was being readied to sail for Florida to reinforce Fort Caroline. More arms and soldiers would be needed. The royal arsenals were thrown open and the King agreed to furnish one vessel and three hundred soldiers at his own expense. By late June, Menendez had assembled a formidable armada of some nineteen ships and 1,500 persons, most of it concentrated at the Spanish port of Cadiz. There were scenes of parting from loved ones, the last solemn Mass at the Cathedral. Anchors were weighed and on June 29, 1565, the expedition set sail, but was driven back by a storm and put to sea several days later.

Meanwhile, the rival French fleet under Jean Ribault had sailed a month earlier, leaving the port of Dieppe, France, on May 28th, but unfavorable winds delayed its progress. The Spanish fleet put in at the Canary Islands for wood and water, and to take a muster of its forces. After leaving the Canaries, it ran into a severe Atlantic storm, which damaged some of the vessels and drove others far off their course. As a result, Menendez reached San Juan, Puerto Rico, on about August 10th with but one-third of his original force.

A council of war was held. Should they go on or wait until the rest of the fleet might arrive? Menendez convinced his officers that it would be best to press on before the French had time to further strengthen their position. Sailing northwestward, the Spaniards sighted the shores of Florida on August 28th. It was St. Augustine's day and _Te Deums_ were sung. On the same day Ribault's fleet reached the mouth of the St. Johns River.

Ignorant of the location of the French fort, the Spanish ships crept cautiously up the Florida coast, sailing by day and anchoring at night. On the fifth day Indians were sighted on shore. A party landed, followed by Menendez himself, and learned from the Indians that the French fort lay thirty leagues (90 miles) to the north. Continuing on up the coast, the Spaniards paused at the inlet and harbor of St. Augustine, where Menendez decided to establish his base. They sailed northward again the next day, and about three in the afternoon their lookouts sighted four ships on the horizon. A sudden thunder shower obscured them temporarily from view, followed by a calm that lasted until evening. Then a light breeze enabled the Spaniards to bring their ships within hailing distance.

About midnight Menendez ordered trumpets sounded. "Whence comes this fleet," he demanded, "and what is it doing here?"

"From France," a French spokesman replied, "and it brings infantry, artillery, and supplies for a fort the King of France has in this land, and to equip many more."

Menendez then informed them of his mission, stating that he had no choice but to carry out his King's commands. The French Huguenots answered him with threats and jeers, and dared the Spaniards to come on. Angered by this, Menendez prepared to board the French vessels, but instead of waiting to meet the attack the French put to sea. The Spaniards opened fire, raised anchor, and sailed in pursuit, but could not overtake them because the masts and rigging of their ships had been damaged in the Atlantic storm.

The following morning Menendez returned to the mouth of the St. Johns River to reconnoiter the French position. Finding it too strong to assault, he sailed back down the coast to the inlet and harbor chosen for his base. There on September 8, 1565, as previously related, he landed with fitting pomp to take possession of Florida and found the fortified settlement of St. Augustine. A French vessel hovered a short distance out at sea to watch the Spaniards' movements.

_The Turn of the Tide_

Menendez next began the task of completing the unloading of his vessels. People, heavy artillery, arms, building implements, kegs of powder, boxes and hogsheads of supplies, casks of wine and olive oil, chests of clothing and personal effects all had to be transferred to smaller boats to be brought ashore. Two of his vessels, his _Capitana_ or flagship, the _San Pelayo_, and another galleon proved too large to enter the shallow inlet. They were ordered to leave for Cuba to secure reinforcements as soon as most of their heavy cargo could be removed.

Before daybreak on the morning of September 11th, Menendez watched the two galleons set sail. With a sloop and smaller craft, loaded with 150 soldiers and supplies, he waited outside the inlet for a favorable breeze and for the tide to turn. Out of the early morning mist the ghostly shapes of French ships loomed. Ribault had come to attack St. Augustine before it was barely three days old. Ordering the anchor cables of his boats cut, Menendez managed to pilot them to safety across the dangerous bar, which the French vessels could not navigate until about flood tide.

On shore the Spaniards prepared desperately to meet the threatened attack. Then, seemingly, a miracle occurred. The weather, which up to this time had been relatively fair, abruptly changed. Strong northerly winds arose, preventing the French from entering the inlet or returning north to their fort on the St. Johns. One of those northeast storms, common to this section of the coast in the fall, whipped up high waves on the bay and sea. A driving rain fell and dark clouds raced overhead.

_Capture of Fort Caroline_

Menendez knew that the French vessels would be driven helplessly before the raging storm. He also correctly surmised that Ribault had taken aboard most of the French fighting force, leaving Fort Caroline weakly garrisoned. He called a secret council of his officers to outline his next step. Since rough weather made it impossible to reach the French fort by sea, he proposed the daring course of marching overland to surprise Fort Caroline before Ribault could return to its assistance.

On the morning of September 16th Menendez and 500 picked men attended Mass. Then through the wind and rain they plunged into the wilderness, guided by two Indians who had been at the French fort a few days before. Menendez and a small party of axmen went ahead to clear a trail and blaze the trees so that the men following would not lose their way. At places they waded through swamps flooded waist-deep by the storm, at night seeking higher ground on which to camp and build a fire. Some became exhausted; others lost courage and turned back. On the evening of September 19th the Spaniards reached the vicinity of the enemy fort. They were drenched to the skin, their powder damp and useless. It was still raining and the wind whistled weirdly through the pines.

With the first light of dawn a Spanish detachment, guided by a French deserter, advanced into the clearing that surrounded Fort Caroline. A few Frenchmen quartered outside the stockade fled in alarm. Hearing their cries, a soldier within opened the wicket, or little door, of the main gate to admit them. He was quickly killed by the advancing Spaniards, who broke into a run and poured into the enclosure, shouting "Santiago! Victory!"

The surprise was complete. Sleepy-eyed Frenchmen, some still in their night clothes, became the easy victims of Spanish arms. Laudonniere and some fifty of the garrison managed to escape to the surrounding swamps, and thence to French boats anchored in the river. Among them was the artist Le Moyne, whose drawings of Fort Caroline, and the early Florida Indians were later engraved and published by De Bry.

Leaving most of his force to garrison the captured fort, which he renamed San Mateo, Menendez set out with a small detachment to return to St. Augustine.

_Atlantic Ocean_
Fort Caroline
_on St. Johns River_
St. Augustine
_Anastasia Island_
Matanzas Inlet
_where French were massacred_
_Ribault's Ships wrecked somewhere along this shore_
Cape Canaveral

_The Victor Returns_

At St. Augustine work continued on strengthening its defenses. A week passed without news of the attacking expedition. Only exhausted stragglers returned with terrifying reports of the swamps and other difficulties encountered. Gloom and despair settled over the camp until one afternoon a ragged Spaniard burst out of the woodland, shouting "Victory! Victory! the harbor of the French is ours!"

"Four priests who were there [at St. Augustine] immediately set out, holding aloft the Cross, followed by all the sea and land forces, the women and children in procession, singing the _Te Deum Laudamus_. They received the Adelantado with great rejoicing, everyone laughing and weeping for joy, praising God for so great a victory. And so they escorted the Adelantado in triumph to the encampment and settlement of San Agustin."

_Fate of the Shipwrecked French_

No word had yet been received as to Ribault's fleet, which had been caught in the storm off St. Augustine. His ships, driven aground many miles down the coast, were being pounded to pieces in the surf. Most of the men aboard had reached shore safely with their arms. Hungry and constantly harassed by Indians, they were endeavoring to make their way up the beaches back to their fort. How they longed to be back in their beloved France!

Four days after Menendez returned from Fort Caroline, Indians made known by signs that a party of men were marooned on the shores of an inlet fifteen miles south of St. Augustine. He immediately set out with a small force of soldiers and, on reaching the inlet at dawn, saw two hundred Frenchmen gathered on the opposite shore. One of their number swam across the inlet and was told to inform his comrades of Fort Caroline's fate. They at first refused to believe that the Spaniards could have taken it, but as proof were shown captured French arms and clothing. Fruitless parleys followed. Faced with starvation or probable death at the hands of the Indians, the entire French band unconditionally surrendered.

A boat was sent over to bring back their weapons and standards. Then the French captives were ferried across the inlet ten at a time. As each group landed, their hands were bound behind them with matchcords, and they were led up the beach out of sight and hearing behind high dunes. As they reached a fatal line drawn by Menendez in the sand, their captors slew them with swords and daggers, and then returned to the inlet to escort another group of ten to their doom. Only a few were spared.

About two weeks later another party of Frenchmen, who had been shipwrecked farther down the coast, arrived at the same inlet. Some eighty, including their brave leader, Jean Ribault, gave themselves up and were disposed of in the same manner as before. A number refused to place themselves at the Spaniards' mercy and withdrew to the south. When Menendez returned to St. Augustine his brother-in-law, Solis de Meras, observed that "some people considered him cruel, and others that he had acted as a very good captain should."

The Spanish word _Matanzas_, meaning slaughters, became the name of the inlet near which the massacres occurred.

_Other Difficulties_

The French attempt to occupy Florida was thus effectively shattered. Other difficulties threatened the permanence of its settlement and remained to be overcome--the unyielding wilderness, the treacherous Indians, the colonists' lust for gold, and hunger, that cause of so many early colonizing failures. Food supplies diminished with each passing day. The buildings at Fort Caroline, renamed San Mateo by the Spaniards, accidentally burned down with all their contents shortly after its capture. The other vessels of the Spanish fleet, scattered by the storm while crossing the Atlantic, failed to arrive with expected supplies and reinforcements. To relieve the situation Menendez decided to go to Cuba for aid. On his way down the coast he picked up the remaining French survivors, who were too few to prove a threat and were kindly treated.

At Cuba jealousy and intrigue still dogged his footsteps. The officials of the _Casa_, by whom he had been imprisoned in Spain, seem to have succeeded in injuring his prestige and reputation. He was coolly received by the Governor of Cuba, Garcia Osario, and refused aid. The belated arrival of several of his ships enabled him to send his Florida posts some relief. On his way back he visited the Indians of Carlos, or Caloosa Indians, who then occupied south Florida. They made a practice of enslaving shipwrecked Spaniards who fell into their hands, sacrificing some of these victims in their pagan rites. Menendez found several Spanish survivors among them, but looked in vain for the familiar features of his son, Don Juan.

During his extended absence from St. Augustine dissension broke out among his followers. When a vessel arrived with supplies mutineers seized it and prepared to sail away. A similar situation developed at San Mateo. Many had joined the expedition only because they expected it might lead to easy riches. Failure to find any signs of gold and silver in Florida proved a bitter disappointment. Or, they had secretly planned to desert it at the first opportunity, and seek passage to other Spanish colonies from which fabulous wealth flowed to Spain. Now that the French had been defeated there was little glory to be gained in the hardships of fort building, and threatened starvation in this distant wilderness. A number of the mutineers eventually embarked for the Caribbean, and thence some went to Spain, where they circulated damaging reports of Menendez and the Florida settlements.

_Gunpowder Versus Arrows_

The Indians meanwhile, though at first outwardly friendly, became an increasing threat to the new colony. Spanish mutineers at San Mateo inflamed their hatred by the unprovoked murder of three of their chiefs. They held a great council and declared their enmity.

Huddled within their stockades, the Spaniards could not venture out in search of food without fear of attack. The savages lurked everywhere in the swamps and woodlands, and shot their arrows with such force as to penetrate a soldier's coat of mail. The crude firearms of the day were not entirely suited to Indian warfare. When a Spaniard paused to reload his slow-firing arquebus, an operation requiring several minutes, Indians rose from their hiding to shower him with arrows. When they saw the flash of burning powder in the primer of his gun, they crawled through the tall grass and appeared in another place after it had been discharged. Over one hundred Spaniards were thus killed by the Indians during the first year of the colony's existence.

Indian attacks became so serious as to cause the removal of the settlement to another site. One night, when Menendez was absent on an exploring trip, yelling savages broke through the Spanish lines at St. Augustine, and set fire to the storehouse with flaming arrows, destroying precious powder and supplies.

When Menendez returned he called a council of his officers. "It was resolved that they should move from there and erect a fort at the entrance of the bar ... because there the Indians could not do them so much harm ... and there they could better defend themselves against the vessels of enemies that might want to enter the harbor."

Working in shifts, the Spaniards rushed the construction of a stockade and fort at the new location.

During the summer of 1566, the lonely Florida settlers were heartened by the arrival of substantial reinforcements. A fleet of fourteen vessels under Sancho de Arciniega brought 1,500 persons and welcome supplies. Part of this force was assigned to bolster the Florida garrisons. Menendez was ordered to employ the remainder against pirates, or corsairs, who were plundering Spanish shipping and colonies in the Caribbean.

By this time, in accordance with the terms of his contract. Menendez had established three fortified posts in Florida--St. Augustine in about its present location, San Mateo near the mouth of the St. Johns River, and Santa Elena still farther north on the coast of Carolina. He had thoroughly explored the Florida coasts, and gone up the St. Johns River almost to its source. He had traveled among the Indians of South Florida, and of _Guale_, or southeastern Georgia, endeavoring to win their friendship and subject them to Spanish authority. One of his lieutenants, Juan Pardo, had penetrated inland with a few soldiers a distance of 450 miles to the mountains of western North Carolina. Possibly always in the back of his mind lurked the hope that he might come upon some news of his lost son and once more embrace him in his arms.

_Menendez Goes to Spain_

In 1567 Menendez deemed it necessary that he go back to Spain to render in person a report on the condition and needs of the Florida and West Indian colonies. The little garrison at St. Augustine continued to cling precariously to its narrow beach-head. In the spring of 1568 the settlement shuddered when a small French force under Dominique de Gourges, aided by Indians, wiped out the Spanish posts near the mouth of the St. Johns. Captured Spaniards were hanged from the limbs of the liveoaks in revenge for the Frenchmen killed at Fort Caroline and Matanzas three years before.

_On the Brink of Failure_

During Menendez' continued absence in Spain, the condition and morale of Florida posts grew steadily worse. Supplies were dangerously low, clothing was worn to shreds, and the shelters thus far constructed afforded little comfort. Efforts to grow corn and other grains in the sandy soil resulted in discouraging failure.

The summer of 1570 brought no relief. The blazing sun scorched the beaches and swamps. Mosquitos and other insects made life miserable. Esteban de las Alas, one of Menendez' trusted lieutenants in charge of the post at Santa Elena, sailed with 120 men for Spain, arguing that those remaining would have a better chance for survival on the limited supplies. The garrison at St. Augustine mutinied, burned its fort, and began building a crude boat in which to leave. The settlement of Florida hovered on the brink of failure.

At this crucial point Don Pedro Menendez Marques assumed command. He was a nephew of the founder and had served with him in the treasure fleets. In a letter written from San Mateo, he pleaded with the mutineers at St. Augustine to remain at their post, promising to transport them to Cuba if supplies failed to arrive by a specified time. His arguments prevailed and St. Augustine lived on.

_Death of Menendez_

Events in Europe continued to keep Menendez occupied in Spain, or on voyages to the Caribbean, during which he again visited his Florida posts. The Low Countries, Holland and Belgium, which had long been under Spanish domination, were in revolt.

In 1574 Menendez received the crowning honor of his career. He was chosen by Philip II of Spain to take command of a great armada of ships and men being assembled in the harbor of Santander, presumably for operation against the Low Countries, and possibly the English coast. On the day he assumed this important command he fell ill with a raging fever. The usual remedies of purging and blood-letting proved of no avail, and he died on September 17, 1574, at the age of 55.

The day before the beginning of his fatal illness he wrote a letter to his nephew, Marques, expressing his desire to return to Florida, and stating that he hoped to do so in the spring, when he was confident the affair in Flanders would be settled.

"Then," he wrote, "I shall be at liberty to go at once to Florida, never to leave it as long as I live, for that is my longing and my happiness."

Storms prevented burial in his native Aviles, to which his remains were later removed. There an inscription on his tomb eulogizes him as "the illustrious Adelantado of the Province of Florida ... and Captain-General of the Oceanic Seas."

His death was a blow to Spain. No outstanding naval figure arose to take his place, and the great armada he was to have commanded never sailed.