|
- History
of
Spanish
Florida
-
First
Period
-
-
When
Columbus
landed
at
"San
Salvador,
Bajamar"
in
1492,
this
"New
World"
was
opened
like
the
Greek
mythological
Pandora's
box.
It
should
be
remembered
that
this
occurred
about
13,000
years
after
the
first
Amera-Indians
are
thought
to
have
migrated
to
northern
Florida.
Columbus
did
not
discover
America;
he
only
discovered
it
for
the
Europeans.
Much
occurred
here
and
in
our
neighboring
islands
of
the
Bahamas
and
Cuba.
As
in
most
United
States
history,
there
were
multifaceted
forces
of
government
exploitation,
forced
religious
values,
class
exploitation,
lack
of
personal
freedom
and
greed.
It
does
appear
that
greed
entered
the
scene
early,
but
that
was
nothing
new.
In
1497
Italian
navigator
Amerigo
Vespucci
sailed
the
coasts
and
English
John
Cabot
made
two
trips
in
1497
and
1499.
In
1511,
Diego
Velasquez
occupied
Cuba
and
by
1515
had
established
six
settlements,
including
Havana.
Fifty-three-year-old
Juan
Ponce
de
Leon
obtained
a
patent
to
explore
and
possess
the
legendary
island
of
Bimini
and
surrounding
lands,
which
would
include
Florida.
Ponce
de
Leon
had
some
knowledge
of
the
New
World
as
he
had
sailed
with
Columbus
on
his
second
voyage.
Ponce
himself
was
not
a
navigator,
but
more
of
a
rich
conquistador
who
had
gained
Indian
experience
in
controlling
the
Tainos
and
Caribs
in
the
West
Indies.
His
pilot
was
a
self-made
Spaniard
named
Anton
de
Alaminos
who
had
also
once
sailed
with
Columbus.
Anton
sailed
the
first
Spanish
treasure
fleet
north
using
the
Gulf
Stream
in
1519.
It
was
during
the
Easter
holidays
in
1513
that
he
landed
on
the
northeast
coast
of
Florida.
This
area
is
said
to
have
been
called
"Cautio"
by
his
Lucayan
natives.
He
promptly
named
and
claimed
possession
of
"La
Florida"
for
the
King
of
Spain.
Some
early
maps
show
the
entire
present-day
eastern
United
States
as
La
Florida.
However,
Ponce
thought
Florida
was
an
island.
Later
England
and
France
also
made
claims
and
Florida
shrank
to
its
present
size
in
about
1821.
Sailing
south,
Ponce
came
upon
a
chain
of
islands
that
he
named
"Los
Martires"
(the
Martyrs)
and
now
known
as
the
Florida
Keys.
The
reason
for
this
name
is
vague,
but
it
does
give
an
early
name
that
distinguishes
the
Keys
from
other
island
groups.
The
reason
that
Antonio
de
Herrera
wrote
a
century
after
Ponce
sailed
was
because
seen
at
a
distance,
the
rocks
that
rose
seemed
like
men
suffering.
For
my
two
cents,
if
the
ship’s
log
of
Ponce
is
ever
found,
he
named
them
after
Peter
Martyr.
Martyr
on
his
a
1511
chart
depicted
Florida
as
a
large
island
called
Isla
de
Beimeni.
Ponce
named
one
of
the
Martyrs
"Palo."
It
could
have
been
any
of
the
Keys
and
is
usually
the
Key
that
any
writer
prefers.
Douglas
Peck
in
his
book
Ponce
de
Leon
(1993)
believes
it
was
Key
Largo.
Another
island
was
named
"Santa
Marta."
What
is
more
important,
Ponce
had
found
that
the
Gulf
Stream
flowed
northward,
and
thus
became
the
principal
route
for
return
voyages
to
Europe.
As
such,
many
ships
were
wrecked
on
our
reefs,
their
cargo’s
lost
and
passengers
drowned
or
captured
by
local
Indians.
Continuing
his
voyage,
Ponce
sailed
next
to
San
Carlos
Bay
on
the
west
coast
of
Florida.
There
he
named
another
island
"Matanza"
for
the
killing
of
natives.
Ponce
then
sailed
south
where
he
caught
many
turtles,
monk
seals
and
pelicans
for
food
in
an
area
he
named
"Tortugas"
a
name
we
still
use
today.
From
there
he
sailed
southwest
to
Cuba.
Ponce's
ship's
log
has
never
been
found
and
most
of
Ponce's
activities
are
from
a
summary
done
by
Spain's
official
historiographer,
Antonio
de
Herrera,
in
the
early
1600s.
Francisco
de
Cordoba
after
his
defeat
in
Yucatan
in
1517
ran
aground
in
Los
Matires,
but
managed
to
free
the
ship
and
make
it
to
Cuba.
Using
data
from
Cordoba,
in
1519
Herman
Cortez
was
more
successful
and
probably
started
the
treasure
ships
route
using
the
Gulfstream
to
return
to
Europe.
Interesting,
the
aforementioned
pilot
for
Ponce
de
Leon,
Anton
de
Alaminos,
was
also
Cordoba's
pilot
on
his
first
trip
back
to
Europe.
In
1521,
Ponce
de
Leon
returned
again
to
the
west
coast
of
Florida,
where
he
and
his
men
were
vigorously
attacked
by
Indians.
Although
wounded,
he
managed
to
escape
with
a
handful
of
his
crew,
but
he
died
of
his
wounds
in
July
of
1521
in
Cuba.
Many
more
voyages
sailed
to
Florida's
west
coast
meaning
that
most
passed
by
at
least
the
lower
Keys.
Almost
all
ships
returning
to
Europe
sailed
a
few
miles
off
the
shores
of
the
Keys.
Not
much
is
written
other
than
short
references
to
these
early
stops
in
the
Keys.
Historian
Gail
Swanson
of
Grassy
Key
believes
this
began
the
maritime
shipwreck
history
of
North
America.
Moving
on
in
time,
in
1528
Pamfilo
de
Narvaez
with
300
men
landed
at
Bahia
de
la
Cruz
(assumed
to
be
Tampa
Bay)
on
Good
Friday
and
once
again
took
possession
of
Florida
for
Spain.
There
was
no
massacre
by
the
natives
this
time,
but
he
was
sent
off
on
a
wild
goose
chase
looking
for
gold.
After
wandering
for
months,
all
but
four
(Cabeza
de
Vaca,
two
companions
and
a
black
man)
of
his
ill
starred
expedition
perished
at
sea
on
crude,
homemade
boats.
One
of
the
survivors,
Estevanico
de
Dorantes,
to
my
knowledge,
was
the
first
recorded
black
person
to
come
to
America.
After
walking
3,000
miles,
the
group
finally
reached
Mexico.
There
was
disappointment
in
every
mission.
Ten
years
later
in
1539,
Hernando
de
Soto
landed
near
the
same
spot
as
Narvaez.
With
a
huge
army
of
570
men
he
conquered
the
Tocabaga
Indians
in
the
Tampa
area.
It
almost
seems
like
the
same
story,
as
the
Indians
also
sent
De
Soto
off
with
"the
gold
is
over
there"
story.
It
was
at
the
beginning
of
this
quest
that
De
Soto
found
and
rescued
the
aforementioned
captive
Juan
Ortiz.
Ortiz
more
or
less
confirmed
that
riches
were
to
be
found
inland.
De
Soto
wandered
almost
two
years
over
most
of
the
southeast
United
States
looking
for
gold
before
he
died
at
the
mouth
of
the
Arkansas
River.
Diego
Maldonado
assumed
command
and
set
sail
from
Havana
only
to
return
in
July
1542
empty-handed.
De
Soto
was
young,
rich
and
famous,
and
his
absolute
failure
in
settling
Florida
for
the
Spanish
almost
ended
the
early
expeditions.
With
the
loss
of
some
2,000
lives,
many
ships
and
much
property,
Phillip
II
of
Spain
appeared
to
have
given
up
on
settling
Florida.
There
was
one
more
attempt
though.
In
June
1559,
Tristan
de
Luna
set
sail
with
everything
necessary
to
establish
a
Florida
settlement
on
Ochuse
Bay,
which
is
modern
day
Pensacola
Bay.
The
summer
storm
season
lay
ahead
and
almost
immediately
forced
him
into
Mobile
Bay,
Alabama.
By
August
the
entire
team
was
at
Ochuse,
but
a
tropical
storm
scattered
the
ships
before
all
could
be
unloaded,
and
took
a
heavy
toll
of
supplies
and
personnel.
During
the
winter,
they
decided
to
move
inland,
but
this
was
also
unsuccessful.
After
another
ill-fated
settlement
attempt
the
next
year,
De
Luna
was
replaced
by
Angel
de
Villafane,
who
also
was
badly
wrecked
by
a
tropical
storm
and
gave
up
in
defeat.
Pensacola
was
abandoned
and
would
lie
forgotten
for
another
125
years.
After
50
odd
years
of
trying
to
permanently
settle
Florida,
Spain
more
or
less
gave
up.
Nothing
much
happened
in
the
Keys
other
than
shipwrecks
and
foraging
for
food
and
water.
It
has
recently
been
announced
that
what
could
be
the
oldest
shipwreck
ever
found
in
Florida
has
been
discovered
in
Pensacola
Bay.
The
ship
is
thought
to
have
been
one
of
the
seven
lost
in
a
hurricane.
It
is
thought
to
be
part
of
De
Luna's
flotilla
of
13
ships
that
attempted
to
establish
Pensacola
in
1559.
The
above
were
the
major
expeditions,
but
there
were
more:
Miruelo
(1516),
Grijalva
(1518),
Pineda
(1519),
Gomez
(1525),
Ayllon
(1526),
Verrazzano
(1529)
and
many
slaving
expeditions
by
relative
unknowns.
The
taking
of
Indians
as
slaves
to
be
used
in
the
gold
mines
of
Hispaniola
was
undertaken
quite
early.
However,
Indians
were
vulnerable
to
even
simple
European
diseases,
plus
they
did
not
work
well
as
slaves.
The
Spanish
shipped
the
first
shipment
of
blacks
to
Hispaniola
in
1502.
These
slaves
spoke
Spanish
as
they
were
first
enslaved
in
Spain.
In
1517
the
Spanish
began
importing
blacks
from
Africa
for
work
in
the
Caribbean
Islands.
The
Florida
Keys
simply
lay
on
the
route
to
and
from
all
these
voyages.
Almost
every
year
there
were
shipwrecks
along
the
Keys
from
the
Tortugas
to
Biscayne
Bay.
Survivors
making
it
to
shore
received
various
treatments
from
the
Keys
Indians
-usually
bad.
A
significant
number
of
letters
were
written
telling
of
the
murder
of
survivors.
The
building
of
forts
in
the
Keys
was
suggested
often.
Pedro
Menendez
de
Aviles
in
1567
suggested
setting
up
a
school
in
Havana,
particularly
for
the
families
of
the
chiefs.
According
to
Aviles,
the
Indian
students
would
make
good
hostages
to
deter
Indian
troubles.
Many
of
the
ships
carried
treasure
to
Spain
from
as
far
south
as
Peru.
One
of
the
Spanish
ships
in
the
mid-1500s
carried
13-year-old
Hernando
d'Escalante
Fontaneda,
mentioned
in
the
last
chapter,
to
Spain
to
attend
school.
He
was
tardy
for
his
school
classes
by
some
17
years,
which
was
the
time
he
lived
with
the
Florida
Indians
after
being
shipwrecked
on
the
Florida
coast.
Fontaneda
was
eventually
rescued
at
age
30.
When
about
thirty-years-old
Fontaneda
finally
reached
Spain
and
wrote
his
memoirs
in
1575.
His
writings
provide
early
descriptions
of
living
with
the
Indians,
but
there
seem
to
be
many
apparent
contradictions.
Usually
when
one
writes
much
later,
as
did
Herrera
about
Ponce
de
Leon,
one
injects
items
learned
since.
This
distorts
the
time
base
and
tends
to
appear
as
contradictions
to
later
readers.
To
be
history,
we
prefer
that
the
writing
be
very
near
to
the
time
that
the
incident
occurred.
There
were
specific
missions
to
the
Keys,
but
not
to
settle.
An
example
was
the
search
for
Sir.
Francis
Drake.
Drake
departed
England
in
1585
with
a
sizable
force
and
was
especially
a
threat
to
the
Spanish
treasure
shipments.
In
1586
he
wreaked
havoc
on
Santo
Domingo
and
Cartagena
and
sailed
on
to
Cuba.
Drake
anchored
near
Havana,
but
reportedly
due
to
illness
among
his
crew
never
attacked.
On
June
4,
1886
Drake
pulled
anchor
and
disappeared.
Knowing
that
Drake
was
a
serious
threat,
Havana
sent
two
search
missions
to
the
Keys
seeking
his
whereabouts.
Failing
to
locate
Drake,
Alonso
Suarez
of
one
of
the
search
parties
recorded
various
encounters
with
the
Keys
Indians.
Part
of
his
report
is
as
follows:
“Monday:
On
the
9th
of
the
said
month
[June,
1586]
I
arrived
at
the
town
of
Mateconbe
[sic]
an
spoke
with
an
Indian
who
came
aboard,
and
he
told
us
that
five
days
before
we
arrived,
they
had
found
some
planks….
Tuesday,
the
tenth,
I
arrived
at
some
Keys
further
on
from
Mateconbe
and
spoke
with
some
Indians….
Wednesday,
the
11th
day
of
the
said
month,
sailing
for
the
town
of
Tequesta
[Miami],
a
canoe
with
Indians
came
along
side….”
The
search
was
for
naught
as
Drake
had
sailed
north
for
Virginia.
In
route
he
spotted
St.
Augustine,
landed
on
June
7
and
burned
the
town.
The
name
Matecumbe
with
various
spellings
appear
in
many
Spanish
writings.
One
of
the
early
writings
was
about
the
1622
shipwrecks
of
the
Atocha
and
the
Margarita.
They
were
described
of
having
been
sunk
in
Los
Cayos
de
Matecumbe.
Naturally
when
the
modern
day
salvors
began
searching
for
these
ships
they
searched
off
of
Lower
and
Upper
Matecumbe.
Dr.
Eugene
Lyon
found
data
in
Spain
indicating
the
described
Cayos
de
Matecumbe
were
between
Key
West
and
the
Tortugas.
Dr.
Lyon
sent
this
data
to
the
late
Mel
Fisher
who
soon
found
the
ship
wrecks
in
the
Marquesas,
just
where
the
Spanish
said
they
were.
Since
gold
and
silver
were
not
found
in
Florida
it
was
of
no
importance
to
Spain.
Later
some
attempts
to
establish
Catholic
missions
were
made,
but
these
too
were
short
lived.
An
example
is
in
1675,
Spanish
Bishop
Calderon
inspected
the
Florida
Catholic
missions
located
in
north
Florida.
Although
he
writes
of
Keys
Indian
groups
such
as
the
Matecumbes,
Bayahondos
and
Cuchiagaros,
records
indicate
that
he
did
not
actually
visit
the
Keys.
Another
Keys'
visit
by
the
Spanish
was
recorded
in
1697.
Spain
had
sent
priests
to
Florida's
west
coast
to
Christianize
the
native
inhabitants.
Havana
sent
Francisco
Romero
as
pilot
to
check
on
five
priests.
The
priests
had
not
been
welcomed
and
were
sent
off
in
canoes.
Romero
found
the
priests
in
the
Keys
and
returned
with
them
to
Havana.
Spain's
insistence
on
good
sailing
records
is
largely
responsible
for
this
early
knowledge.
The
wreck
of
the
Spanish
Plate
Fleet
in
1733
and
its
recovery
operations
provided
us
with
the
earliest
detailed
map
of
the
Florida
Keys.
Since
the
wrecked
ships
were
strung
along
the
reefs
of
the
Middle
and
Upper
Keys,
most
of
the
principal
Keys
were
named
and
located.
We
leave
early
Florida
under
Spanish
ownership
as
it
remained
until
1763.
With
the
close
proximity
of
the
Keys
to
Havana
and
the
Gulf
Stream,
I
fail
to
understand
why
the
Keys
were
not
considered
not
just
important,
but
very
important.
Yet
until
the
1800s
the
history
of
the
Keys
were
sporadic
events
similar
to
the
above.
There
were
thousands
of
transitory
events
such
as
stopping
for
water,
reconnoitering,
lumbering,
fishing,
salvaging
and
the
occasional
shipwreck
with
survivors
reaching
land.
The
Florida
Keys
shipwrecks
of
1622
and
1733,
where
almost
entire
Spanish
fleets
were
lost,
occurred
in
this
period.
What
we
are
missing,
and
will
probably
never
get,
is
the
accounts
made
by
the
Native
Americans.
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value, and your purchase helps our marine environment. If you are not
completely satisfied with your Mile Marker
Discount Card, please contact us for details for a
full refund. Click Here |
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