When Pedro Menendez de Aviles landed on the shore of La Florida, he landed on ground occupied by the Timucua people. The village of Seloy was located on the grounds of the modern-day “Fountain of Youth” exhibit, just north of the Castillo de San Marco. The native people were not wholly unaware of the existence of the Europeans, as the Spanish had been in La Florida as early as 1513 with Ponce de Leon‘s entrada (Spanish word for expedition).

Menendez’s formal title was Adelantado of the expedition (the leader). The Spanish goal, regarding La Florida, was to establish cities, convert the indigenous population to Catholicism, and create profit for Spain. 

It was with trepidation that the principal chief of the local Timucua, Seloy, allowed the Spanish to establish a colony on the tribe’s land. “Allowed” is qualified here, as the Spanish outnumbered the Timucua tribe, coming ashore with some 600 people, the vast majority of whom were armed soldiers. The Jamestown colony never had this level of “cooperation”.

The Powhatan people were immediately hostile to the settlers and reluctantly accepted them, only to have the relationship deteriorate rapidly. Bad memories never truly fade, so prior contact with Europeans had a lasting impact on the Powhatan. For instance, in 1570, the Spanish Jesuits set up a mission near the future Jamestown on Chesapeake Bay.

The Spanish attempt was a failure, which left a bad taste in the indigenous peoples’ mouths. It was the myth of the heroic Pocahontas that gave the Jamestown settlers some relief.  

The very first thing Menendez did when he came ashore was to claim La Florida for God, then for Spain. He kissed the wooden cross given to him by the entrada’s priest, Father Francisco López de Mendoza Grajales. A mass of thanksgiving for a safe arrival was celebrated that day, and a Catholic mission called Nombre de Dios was established.

Negotiations with Seloy enabled the Spanish to set up camp at the village and establish St. Augustine. In a few short years, 40% of the marriages that were celebrated in St. Augustine were between Spanish men and native women. There were Spanish women there, but they were wives — already taken.

The first European child born in the United States was born in 1566 and was named Martin de Arguelles. 

A feast of thanksgiving — 1565 style — was held on Sept. 8, and the Timucua were invited to the event. Fifty-six years later, the pilgrims at Plymouth Colony held what is now the beloved American tradition of Thanksgiving dinner. But in La Florida of 1565, both the Spanish and the Timucua brought their own traditional foods.

The Spanish prepared a cocido, a stew made with pork and garbanzo beans. They brought red wine, wheat bread, olive oil and bacalao, which is salted cod. The villagers brought fresh venison and fowl. They also brought corn, pumpkins, beans, cabbage, palm hearts, wild fruits, fresh shellfish and seafood. 

The Spanish introduced horses, pigs, cattle and sour oranges to La Florida. Today, all feral hogs in the Americas can trace some of their DNA back to Iberia, Spain. True wild mustangs (not feral horses) have Spanish DNA, and modern-day Florida Cracker horses and Cracker cattle are descendants of those brought to La Florida by Spain around this time frame as well.  

Sadly, this level of harmony didn’t last long because the Spanish soon wore out their welcome. Most of the Spaniards were men who turned to the Timucua for food and women. The Spaniards also brought diseases that were fatal to many of the Timucua.

The Spanish cattle ranches were vast and relied on local tribes for labor. The cattle and hogs were running loose, destroying the crops of other Timucua villages in the area. The Spanish priests’ efforts at taming the souls of the “wild, godless, heathen people” broke the spirit of the Timucua. It was one thing to persuade the Timucua to live at the missions and adopt Catholic beliefs, but it was a whole other thing to interfere with the Timucua’s traditions and cultural practices.

Things did not end well for the Timucua. The last known Timucua, Juan Alonso Cabale, died in Cuba on Nov. 14, 1767. 

According to the royal charter granted to him by Spain, Menendez was tasked with establishing cities in La Florida. So, he found a promising spot on what is now Paris Island, South Carolina. The year was 1566, and he named the village Santa Elena.

He brought his wife and child to live with him there. An extensive archaeological site remains there today. From artifacts found at the site, it appears that Menendez and his fellow settlers managed to get by while it lasted.

Gold jewelry, Chinese Ming dynasty porcelain shards, silver coins and the like have been unearthed. But just like Jamestown and the pilgrims, the Spanish ran afoul of the local Guale tribe. After the death of Menendez in 1574, the colony floundered.

Spain sought to consolidate its power in St. Augustine, and as a result, the settlement was abandoned by 1587. 

After Adelantado Menendez’s death, the administration of La Florida was taken over by his heirs. This soon turned St. Augustine into a mismanaged mess. Nepotism, la mordida (bribery, take a bite), and plain incompetence became common.

Since La Florida’s colonists couldn’t afford luxuries, the charter was revoked, and the colony became a crown colony in 1576. This meant that there would be a local governor, who would answer directly to Spain. Menedez’s nephew, Pedro Menendez Marquez, was appointed to the position. 

St. Augustine was no longer an out-of-the-way army garrison as it became the functioning headquarters of La Florida. It was a small Spanish town that would face great challenges in its future. But as you can see today, it became a thriving historic city.

Famed Florida historian Michael Gannon had a quote made famous by countless St. Augustinian politicians: “By the time the Pilgrims came to Plymouth, St. Augustine was up for urban renewal.” 

And what was Clay County’s role in all of this? The beginning of the Camino Real—which was what the Spanish Mission Trail is called—began in Clay County at the site of Fort San Francisco de Pueblo, near the Bayard Conservation Area. 

 For more information about this topic or about anything related to Clay County history, please get in touch with the Clay County Clerk of Court’s Historical Archives Division personnel at (904) 371-0027 or by email at clayarchives@clayclerk.com. The Archives Center is part of the Old Jail at the county’s Historic Triangle, 21 Gratio Place, Green Cove Springs, and is open Monday-Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., minus holidays. Stop by to take a self-guided tour of the Old Jail or to seek research assistance from staff.