Download The French Attempt a Florida Foothold

Lesson A-12
The French Attempt a Florida Foothold
By Scott Fields
I.
Lesson Summary
Summary
Since its discovery by Europeans in 1513, four powerful countries – Spain, France, Great Britain, and the
United States, have shaped Florida culturally, politically, and geographically. Because of the lengthy two-and-ahalf century Spanish presence in La Florida, and an influential but short-lived British occupation, the roles of
Spain and Great Britain in the early development of the state have been largely emphasized in most accounts of
Florida history. But France, too, played an important role in the early European development of Florida. This
lesson explores the origins and effects of France’s brief Florida experience.
Objectives
Students will:
1.) Become familiar with vocabulary terms and names important to France’s 16th-century attempt to
establish a New World colony in the Spanish territory of La Florida;
2.) Understand the reasons for a French settlement in Spanish-held territory, as well as the strategic
importance of the location chosen by the French for Fort Caroline; and
3.) Discuss the implications of the European Wars of Reformation on Florida history, especially their
effect on the founding of St. Augustine.
U.S. History Event or Era
This lesson can be used with any unit on the Age of Exploration, Colonization of the New World, or a World
History unit on the European Wars of Reformation in the 1500s.
Grade Level
This lesson is designed for middle school and high school; however, it can be adapted for upper elementary
school as well.
Materials
The materials needed for this lesson include: “Overhead Transparency A-12-1”; overhead projector; “Introduction”
and “Juan Ponce de León & La Florida” reading passages and questions (optional); “Spanish Attempts to Settle
La Florida”, ”French Huguenots Attempt a Florida Foothold”, and “The End of the French Presence in La Florida”
reading passages and questions; and “Processing Assignment A-12-1”.
Lesson Time
Two forty-five minute periods, or one block period.
II.
Lesson Procedures
Procedures
1.) (Optional) Depending on how familiar your students are with the 16th-century Protestant Reformation, the
wars that resulted in Europe, and the initial discovery of Florida by Juan Ponce de León, you may want to
have them read the “Introduction”, “Juan Ponce de León & La Florida”, and answer the discussion questions
on both before moving on to the information on the failures of Spain to establish a permanent settlement in
Florida prior to 1565, and the establishment and demise of Fort Caroline.
2.) As students enter the classroom (or after they have read “Introduction” and “Juan Ponce de León & La
Florida”), have them view and answer the discussion questions for Overhead Transparency A-12-1. Then,
discuss the answers as a class.
3.) Assign readings to students individually or in mixed-ability pairs. You may wish to also pass out the
“Vocabulary Checklist” (included in the Activities section) to each student to facilitate understanding of
pertinent names and terms related to this subject.
4.) Instruct students to answer discussion questions to the best of their ability. Then, allow a few minutes for
discussion of the questions for each reading passage. To make the reading easier for the students, you may
wish to lead a discussion after each passage, instead of after all students have finished all of the reading.
5.) Processing Assignment #1: this is found in the Assessment section of the lesson; have your students view
Processing Assignment A-12-1 and answer the questions.
Processing Assignment #2: have your students design a “perspective piece”; instruct them to design a
drawing or write a newspaper article to represent different perspectives on either Pedro Menéndez de Avilés
or Jean Ribault. The following are examples of perspective pieces on Hernan Cortés and Joan of Arc from
Teacher Curriculum Institute’s History Alive! Interactive Student Notebook instructional manual (1999; pg. 53).
III.
Overhead Transparency A-12-1
Activities
Look at the following map of the New World, circa 1565. After loading ships with gold, silver,
and other valuables in the ports of Veracruz and Cartegena, the ships would travel to Havana,
and then enter the Gulf Stream for the trip to Spain.
Fort Caroline, 1564
(French)
St. Augustine, 1565
(Spanish)
Gulf Stream
(to Europe)
Veracruz
Route of Spanish
treasure fleet
Havana
Cuba
Puerto Rico
Hispaniola
Route of Spanish
treasure fleet
Cartegena
1. Why would Spanish ships enter the Gulf Stream for the transAtlantic crossing to Spain?
2. The Florida peninsula was part of the larger Spanish possession
of La Florida. For what reasons would the French have built a
colony in Spanish-claimed land near the Gulf Stream?
3. The Spanish village of St. Augustine was established the year
after Fort Caroline. Why do you think that the Spanish felt that it
was important to establish a settlement so close to a French
colony?
Picture from http://i-am.org/images/caribbean.jpg
Vocabulary Checklist
Directions: As you come across words or names in your reading that are bold-faced and underlined, find the
same words or names on this sheet and write out the definition (they are in order of appearance). You may be
asked to remember these terms later!!!
1.) Mercantilism-
2.) Line of demarcation-
3.) Treaty of Tordesillas-
4.) Protestant Reformation-
5.) Juan Ponce de León
6.) La Florida-
7.) Gulf Stream-
8.) Huguenots-
9.) Jean Ribault-
10.) Rene de Laudonniere-
11.) Port Royal/Charlesfort-
12.) Fort Caroline-
13.) Pedro Menéndez de Avilés-
14.) St. Augustine15.) Matanzas Inlet-
Introduction
In the years prior to Christopher Columbus’ voyages to the New World, the nation of Portugal was Europe’s
leader in exploration. Because Portugal lacked a port on the Mediterranean Sea, and thus could not be part of
the lucrative trade between Asia and Europe in the 1400s, Portugal’s rulers and leading thinkers made attempts
to find new routes to the heart of the African gold and slave trade, and the bustling trading centers of India and
China.
By the late 1400s, Portugal had established open-ocean trading routes around the southern tip of Africa.
Colonies and trading posts were established along the eastern African coast. Portuguese fleets began to make
annual voyages to India and China, returning to port with cargoes of spices and silks that made Lisbon, the capital
city, the new marketplace of Europe. One expedition to the Orient swung so wide to the west around Africa that it
landed on the coast of South America in present-day Brazil. The leader of this trading fleet claimed all of the land
he surveyed for Portugal.
The dominant economic theory of the time, called mercantilism, held that a nation’s power was based on its
wealth. Rulers tried to increase their nation’s total wealth by acquiring gold, silver, and other expensive trade
goods. The nation’s that controlled the most trade routes and held the most territories overseas monopolized the
power. In this race for empire and wealth in Europe, Portugal had a clear advantage.
To that point, Portuguese efforts had centered on establishing trade by sailing south around the tip of southern
Africa, known as the Cape of Good Hope, and then east across the Indian Ocean to ports in Asia. This route was
full of danger, however; sudden violent storms and rough seas threatened to destroy entire fleets. The oceanic
journey from Portugal to Asia was a very long one, too. Surely, there must have been a more effective way.
Desperate to increase its wealth and its position of power in Europe, the nation of Spain, led by the Catholic
monarchs Ferdinand and Isabella, financed a voyage to establish a westward trade route to Asia. An Italian sailor
named Christopher Columbus, who had previously sailed for Portugal, led this expedition consisting of three small
ships, the Niña, the Pinta, and the Santa Maria. However, on the way to the Orient, Columbus happened upon
another continent.
Faced with this new threat to its virtual monopoly on foreign trade, Portugal sought to protect its claims from its
Spanish rivals. Because devoutly Catholic rulers led both nations, they agreed to allow Pope Alexander VI to
settle the issue on how to divide lands that were already claimed, and those that would be discovered later. In
1493, Pope Alexander VI drew a line of demarcation, an imaginary line running down the middle of the Atlantic
from the North Pole to the South Pole, to settle the dispute between Spain and Portugal, which at the time were
Europe’s only nations with the power and technology to seek possessions overseas. The pope’s decision allowed
Spain to control all the lands to the west of the line, while Portugal would possess empire in the lands east of the
line. After Portugal complained that the papal verdict was unfair to them, the two nations agreed to move the line
to the west, allowing Portugal to add Brazil to their colonies in Africa. As a result, this agreement, the Treaty of
Tordesillas, divided the entire New World between Portugal and Spain.
Before long, many Spanish vessels and fleets began surveying and charting the Caribbean and the Atlantic
coast of what is now the southeastern United States. Columbus returned three more times to this New World,
establishing settlements as he sailed along the coasts of Central America and the northern shores of South
America. In these early days of exploration, though, forces at work in Europe were about to have a lasting effect
on events in the New World.
One day in April 1517, a young lecturer in biblical studies named Martin Luther visited a small German market
town and was outraged by what he saw. In the town's central square, a representative of the Pope had set up a
stand and was selling absolutions from sin to a long line of eager customers. These formal documents, called
Indulgences, pardoned the bearer and his relatives - alive or dead - from any punishment for past or future sins.
"As soon as the coin in the coffer rings, the soul from purgatory springs," cried the papal representative. It was a
lucrative business.
Angered, Martin Luther composed a list of 95 reasons, called the “95 Theses”, why the practice of indulgences
defied the doctrine of the Catholic Church and sent his list in a letter of protest to his archbishop. He also nailed a
copy of the list to the door of a local church. In his list, Luther claimed that the Bible was the only true guide for
Christians. He rejected many other Catholic Church practices as well—even the authority of the Pope—because
they were not mentioned in the Bible. Luther went on to write that faith alone, rather than good deeds, was the
way to salvation. Church officials tried to get Luther to take back his statements, but he declined, saying, “I
cannot go against my conscience. Here I stand. I cannot do otherwise. God help me.”
Before Luther had voiced his beliefs, the countries of Europe had had their differences, but they had been
bound together by a common church: Roman Catholicism. Luther’s complaints, however, struck a chord of
discontent in the Church, and within a few years other protestors—Protestants—rallied to support Martin Luther's
cause. Many thousands of people began to break away from the Catholic Church and begin their own Protestant
churches. John Calvin, a French religious leader, also broke away from the Catholic Church. Like Luther, Calvin
rejected the idea that good works would ensure a person’s salvation. He believed that God had already chosen
those who would be saved. In England, King Henry VIII also left the Catholic Church because Pope Clement VII
had refused Henry’s request for an annulment of his marriage to his first wife. Henry then organized the Church
of England (the Anglican Church). The Protestant Reformation was underway and with it began decades of
religious conflict and bloodshed. Europeans born during this time in history were raised not knowing the meaning
of the words “tolerance” or “mercy”; instead, they killed in the name of the God they worshipped and were
prepared to die for believing what they believed.
As Protestantism spread throughout northern Europe, the Catholic nation of Spain began to see the defense of
Catholicism as a sacred mission. Little did anyone realize at the time that this religious struggle would soon find
its way to the Atlantic beaches of Florida.
Discussion Questions
1. Prior to 1492, which European nation was the most dominant, owing to its technological superiority and
control of the overseas trade routes to Asia?
2. How did the economic system of mercantilism affect Spain’s decision to challenge Portugal’s preeminence in
Europe as leading power?
3. Pope Alexander VI’s “line of demarcation” decision and the subsequent Treaty of Tordesillas seemed at the
time to favor both Spain and Portugal. Which nation, in the long run, benefited the most? Explain your
answer.
4. What movement that swept over Europe and caused many years of warfare did Martin Luther initiate? What
was he protesting?
5. Before Martin Luther and his followers, what had been the common thread between European nations for
hundreds of years?
6. How did the nation of Spain react to the Protestant Reformation?
Juan Ponce de León & La Florida
Two decades after Columbus’s initial voyage to the New World, a Spanish explorer and
military governor named Juan Ponce de León was chosen to lead an expedition of
discovery to the uncharted regions of this New World. De León sailed with Christopher
Columbus on Columbus' second voyage to the Americas in 1493. He and his family settled
on an island in the Caribbean named Hispaniola (present-day Dominican Republic). He
became a military commander at this post and was appointed deputy governor.
In 1506, Ponce de León discovered a nearby island named Boprinquen. While there, he
found large deposits of gold. Soon after his discovery, he left the island. He returned in 1508
on orders from the king of Spain to explore and colonize the island. He renamed the island
Puerto Rico. He was the island's governor for two years until the king replaced him with
Columbus' son, Diego.
Now rich and with plenty of time on his hands, Ponce de León accepted a charter to
discover and conquer the land to the northwest called “Bimini.” According to legend, this
Picture A-12-1: Juan
Ponce de León
claimed La Florida for
Spain.
“Bimini” contained a fountain of waters that made the old young again, a so-called Fountain of Youth. Another
reason for embarking for Bimini was the search for gold and the glory of conquest. So, in mid-March 1513, de
León led a three-ship group northwest from Puerto Rico. After several weeks of sailing across the open ocean,
interspersed with a few random islands of the Bahamas, his ships landed on Florida's east coast near present-day
St. Augustine on April 2nd. Spanish historian Antonio de Herrera y Tordesillas wrote almost a century later,
“…thinking that this land was an island, they called it La Florida [pronounced “LAH flow REE dah,” meaning
“place of flowers”], because it was very pretty to behold with many refreshing trees, and it was flat, and even: and
also because they discovered it in the time of Flowery Easter [Pascua Florida]...” Ponce de León had found
Florida. He claimed this beautiful land for Spain.
He decided to continue his exploration of this land and sailed down the coast. He encountered some rough
currents at one point near present-day Cape Canaveral. Ponce de Leon and his men had discovered the Gulf
Stream, a powerful and swift warm-water current that travels from the Gulf of Mexico to Northern Europe. Ponce
de León named this place “Cabo de las Corrientes,” or “Cape of the Currents”. Ponce de León continued down
the east coast of Florida and along the Keys until he arrived at an island that had many turtles. He named the
island “Dry Tortugas” because there was no fresh water on the island and “tortugas” means “turtle” in Spanish.
Continuing up the west coast of Florida, Ponce de León entered the Charlotte Harbor area. As he and his men
explored inland for wood and fresh water, they saw the Calusa tribal village at Mound Key. After they were
attacked on two separate occasions by the Calusa, they realized that the Calusa were an unfriendly tribe. The
explorers fled back to their ships and decided to leave the area. They sailed back to Puerto Rico.
In 1519, though, a Spanish soldier named Hernán Cortés, 500 Spanish soldiers, some horses, and a few
cannons landed on the eastern shores of Mexico, near present-day Vera Cruz. Cortés learned from some local
natives that there was a great empire to the west. These Aztecs had a capital city, Tenochtitlan (now Mexico City,
the largest city in the world), which rivaled the splendor of anything in Europe. Gold, silver, and other precious
metals were as plentiful as grains of sand on the beach, according to these natives.
Within two years, Cortés and his men had destroyed the Aztec Empire, aided by other tribes that the Aztecs
had dominated. A decade later, a similar story occurred in modern-day Peru, when Francisco Pizarro and 180
Spanish soldiers overtook the Inca Empire and took full advantage of all of the treasure they found there. These
stories of gold, silver, empires of unbelievable wealth, and easy conquest made it back to Spain quickly. Soon,
Spanish explorers sought far and wide for the riches that Cortés and Pizarro had encountered. Known as
conquistadors, these explorers received charters from the Spanish rulers. They had the right to explore and
establish settlements in the Americas. In exchange they agreed to give their rulers twenty percent of any wealth
discovered. This agreement allowed Spanish rulers to launch expeditions with little risk. If a conquistador failed,
he lost his own fortune; if he succeeded, both he and Spain gained wealth and glory.
Bolstered by stories of vast riches to be claimed in the New World, Ponce de León returned to Florida again to
build a colony in 1521. He landed on the gulf beaches between Charlotte Harbor and Estero Bay with over 200
settlers, horses, tools, and seeds. The plan was to set up a farming colony. As they went inland for fresh water,
the Calusa ambushed them. Ponce de León was shot in the thigh by an arrow and was seriously wounded. The
settlers decided to abandon the settlement and sail back to Cuba. As a result of his wound, Ponce de León died
at the age of 61 in Cuba.
Discussion Questions
1. What were Juan Ponce de León’s credentials to lead a voyage of exploration to the New World?
2. What was the reasoning behind naming the newly discovered land that Ponce de León encountered La
Florida?
3. Looking back among Ponce de León’s discoveries, which do you think had the biggest impact for the nation of
Spain? Explain your answer.
4. Why did Ponce de León attempt to return to La Florida in order to establish a settlement? Was his attempt
successful? Why or why not?
Spanish Attempts to Settle La Florida
By the 1520s, Spain insisted that La Florida did
not just apply to the wild green peninsula north of
its colonial possessions in the Caribbean, but to the
entire landmass, both explored and unknown,
which made up eastern North America. This belief
had precedent in Pope Alexander VI’s line of
demarcation that split the colonial possessions of
Portugal and Spain in 1493, and the resulting
Treaty of Tordesillas.
Before long, many Spanish vessels and fleets
began surveying and charting the Atlantic coast of
what is now the southeastern United States. Some
ships probed the shores and the inland areas of
this new land in search of forced labor that was
needed in the developing farming enterprises of the
Spanish colonies. One particular Native American
was captured near a river named Jordan (the
Picture A-12-2: During the 1500s, Spain’s possessions in La
Santee River in present-day South Carolina) and
Florida consisted of the entire eastern half of North America,
taken to the Santo Domingo lawyer who had
stretching from Key West to Canada and west to Texas.
financed the slaving expedition. The lawyer,
named Lucas Vazquez de Ayllón, quickly became
fascinated with the stories of a place called Chicora told by this native, who he nicknamed Francisco de Chicora.
Persuaded by the captive that this land in what is now South Carolina was a “Garden of Eden”-type land of rich,
fertile soil and great wealth, Ayllón asked for and received a charter to settle Chicora. In 1526, he sailed for this
new and attractive land with six ships carrying 600 colonists (including women and children), three Dominican
friars, African slaves (the efforts to enslave Native Americans had not been successful because most had died),
and a number of surviving Indian captives, including Francisco de Chicora. The settlers eventually landed on the
Georgia coast, where on September 29, 1526, they established the first European settlement in what is now the
United States. This new settlement was named San Miguel de Gualdape. It was doomed from the start.
First, before the six ships had even dropped anchor, the largest ship in the group ran aground and went down,
along with most of the provisions for all 600 colonists. Next, upon making landfall, Francisco de Chicora, probably
the only person in the entire group who was familiar with the surroundings, escaped into the surrounding
wilderness, never to be heard from again. Then, the onset of autumn brought storms, famine, cold weather,
sickness, and Indian attacks. Within a month, 200 Spaniards had died, including Ayllón. Following a mutiny
among the remaining settlers, African slaves began deserting and found freedom in nearby native villages.
Before December had appeared on the calendar, about 150 survivors boarded a ship and headed back to Santo
Domingo. The remains of this failed settlement have never been found.
For the next four decades, Spanish expeditions to explore and settle the coasts and interior places of La
Florida met a similar fate.
•
In April 1528, Pánfilo de Narváez landed near Tampa Bay with 600 Spaniards and an unknown number of
African slaves. The Spanish government had given him permission to settle and rule the land along the Gulf
Coast from Northern Mexico to the Florida peninsula and as far inland as he was able to control. The
settlement was quickly hit by hurricanes and supply losses. The entire enterprise failed miserably. Four
survivors spent the next eight years wandering along the Gulf Coast, eventually reaching Mexico and the
Pacific Ocean.
•
Hernando de Soto outfitted ships in Spain in 1539 for an expedition to explore Florida and the
southeastern United States. As with many other expeditions, this also resulted in failure, including De Soto’s
own death near the banks of the Mississippi River. After four years, the survivors had traveled six hundred
miles and through ten of the modern United States. They finally made it to Mexico City in 1543 “dressed only
in animal skins.”
•
In June 1559, Tristán de Luna y Arellano led 1,500 soldiers and settlers from the Mexican Gulf Coast in
thirteen ships. Their mission: settle three areas of La Florida in order to establish a permanent Spanish
presence and discourage increasingly bold attacks on the Spanish treasure fleets (twice a year, these ships
left Mexico in route to Spain weighed down with gold, silver, and jewels found in the New World) by French
and English pirates along the North American coast; convert the natives to Catholicism; and find gold, silver,
mercury, and precious gems. The fleet did not arrive in Pensacola Bay until August, an unusually long
voyage. Food supplies were already running low when disaster struck in September: a hurricane killed an
unknown number of colonists and destroyed all but three of the expedition’s ships. Half of the supplies were
lost, including most of the remaining food. The surviving settlers were soon forced to eat acorns, tree leaves,
wild roots, and the leather of their own shoes. Their horses became so weak that they could not walk more
than three miles a day in search of food. Finally, supply ships appeared and returned most of the remaining
colonists to Mexico. Only Luna and several soldiers stayed to complete their mission, but Luna was
eventually removed in favor of Angel de Villafañe, who abandoned the settlement in April 1561.
Soon after the Luna fiasco, King Philip II of Spain discouraged any further attempts at conquering La Florida;
he wanted to waste no more of his vast treasury or resources on sand and swamps, fever and hurricanes, or wild
animals and hostile natives. He agreed with a trusted advisor that because La Florida’s shoreline was too low
and sandy, her countryside too poor in resources, and her harbors too shallow to permit useful settlement, no
other nation would attempt to establish themselves there or challenge Spain by taking possession, even though it
had been reported that French fishermen had been going ashore to prepare their catch and mend their nets. King
Philip II’s advisor’s name was Pedro Menéndez de Avilés…
Discussion Questions
1. How large was the Spanish territory of La Florida? What would be some difficulties in governing a territory
this large?
2. Why were African slaves used by the Spanish settlers of the Americas instead of Native American slaves?
3. Where was the first European settlement in what is now the United States located, and what was it called? Is
it still there today? Why or why not?
4. Were Spanish attempts to settle La Florida generally successful or unsuccessful? For what reasons?
5. As a result of the various Spanish attempts to settle La Florida, what decision did King Philip II make
regarding this New World territory?
French Huguenots Attempt a Florida Foothold
Even as King Philip II of Spain and his advisors were deciding to no longer attempt to settle La Florida, a
French expedition was on its way to the St. Johns River. Since Pope Alexander VI had divided the New World
between Spain and Portugal in 1493, and the Treaty of Tordesillas had established Spanish hegemony over
colonial lands in North America, no other European power had dared to challenge this Spanish monopoly. In the
mid-1500s, however, other nations began to see the wealth Spain was gaining from its overseas empire and
decided to challenge Spanish holdings in the New World.
In France, the Catholic king Charles IX decided that in order to gain wealth from the Americas, prey on the
Spanish treasure fleets riding the Gulf Stream from Cuba to Spain, and rid his nation of troublesome French
Protestants (called Huguenots), a new colony would be started in Florida. In the winter of 1562, during a period
of peace between French Catholics and Huguenots, over 150 Huguenots boarded three French ships and set out
for the New World to establish a Protestant state in which they could practice their religion freely, with no fear of
persecution. Jean Ribault (last name pronounced REE-bow), a devoted Protestant, led them. Not long after the
ships left France for La Florida, the entire country again erupted in religious warfare between Roman Catholics
and Huguenots.
The French ships landed near the Cape Canaveral area on April 30, 1562.
Continuing north, they entered the mouth of the St. Johns River on May 1st. Ribault
immediately named the waterway the “River of May” and built a stone monument to
mark his visit and claim the surrounding land for France on a small island he named
“Mayport”. Ribault and his men spent the next two days trading with some friendly
natives. Afterwards, Ribault continued north to a place in present-day South Carolina
that he called Port Royal. Here, the Huguenots built a wooden fort and named it
“Charlesfort”, in honor of their king. Then, Ribault left about thirty men to defend Port
Royal, with provisions for several months. Before departing for France with the rest of
his men, including Rene de Laudonniere (his second-in-command), Ribault promised
to return within six months with more supplies and men.
Things did not go according to plan. Upon returning to France, they found their
homeport of Dieppe under siege by a Catholic army. Ribault fled to England, where he
had his report to King Charles IX, “The Whole and True Discovery of Terra Florida,”
published in English. He also met Queen Elizabeth I, who listened absorbedly to this
fellow Protestant and enemy of Spain. After offering to return Ribault to La Florida with
Englishmen in English ships, Ribault began to suspect that Elizabeth might have had
designs on making Florida an English colony. When he tried to leave England, the
queen had Ribault arrested and thrown in prison in the Tower of London for over a
Picture A-12-3: A replica of
year. With the imprisonment of Ribault and continuing disturbances in France,
the monument erected by
reinforcements were not sent to Port Royal until April 1564.
Jean Ribault near the
For the group of French Huguenots that were left at Port Royal by Jean Ribault,
mouth of the St. Johns
things quickly went wrong. Fire destroyed most of the food and supplies. The group’s
River in May 1562.
commander, Captain Albert de la Pierria, slowly went insane, hung a drummer boy with
his own hands, and sentenced another man to death by exiling him to a nearby island where he would slowly
starve. The men under his command finally revolted, killed him, and built a makeshift boat out of pine, vines, and
moss in order to sail back to France. All of the men except one, 17-year-old Guillaume Rouffi, climbed in the boat
and left Port Royal and Charlesfort behind. Rouffi stayed, saying that he would rather take his chances with the
local natives than risk drifting back to Europe with no navigator or compass.
The overloaded boat sailed into the open Atlantic, where it drifted with almost no wind for three weeks. The
men resorted to eating their own clothing and leather shoes until there was none left. At that point, deciding that it
was better for one to die for the benefit of the others, the men drew straws and a man named Lachere, the same
man who had been sentenced to death by starvation by Captain de la Pierria, “won.” His prize: his flesh would be
divided up equally between the others on the boat. Just before Lachere was to be killed, an English ship sighted
the wretched craft and rescued all aboard. All of the men were returned to France.
Meanwhile, the Spanish authorities at Havana had learned of the French Huguenot settlement at Port Royal
and dispatched an expedition to investigate in the spring of 1564. The Spanish soldiers who arrived weeks later
found a deserted settlement and quickly burned every trace of it to the ground. While there, the local natives
brought Rouffi to the Spaniards, who questioned him and then departed with him for Havana, satisfied that the
last hint of Protestantism in the Spanish Catholic territory of La Florida had been destroyed.
During this time in France, an interval of peace interrupted the religious warfare that had consumed the nation
for many months. A new commander was chosen to lead a renewed effort to settle an area of La Florida: Rene
de Laudonniere, Ribault’s former lieutenant. On April 22nd, twenty days before a large Spanish contingent was
dispatched to obliterate Port Royal, de Laudonniere set sail from France with three ships, 300 men, four women,
livestock, supplies, and various items to trade with the natives they encountered. Among the new French settlers
was Jacques Le Moyne de Morgues, an artist who had been commissioned by the French government to prepare
an account of what he saw in the New World. His Narrative of Le Moyne included text and forty-two separate
drawings of native Floridians. Le Moyne’s drawings and descriptions are by far the best accounts that exist to this
day of the natives of Northeast Florida that lived in the St. Johns area prior to rampant European colonization.
When they arrived at the St. Johns River in Florida, they
stopped about five miles upstream and built a triangle-shaped
fort overlooking the river for protection. They named it “Fort
Caroline” in honor of their fourteen-year-old king, Charles IX.
At first the colony prospered as de Laudonniere explored the
interior of what he called “New France”. Good relations were
established with the local Timucuan Indians, who traded with
the colonists, helped them build shelters, and gave them food
for a time. With this apparent success, Laudonniere called for
music and a feast to celebrate their good fortune on June 30,
1564. Of this celebration he wrote, "We sang a psalm of
Thanksgiving unto God, beseeching Him that it would please
His Grace to continue His accustomed goodness toward us."
This was 57 years before the better-known Thanksgiving
celebration at Plymouth, Massachusetts.
But it soon became clear that most of the colonists had not
come to Florida to “settle” anything; instead, they had come to
Picture A-12-4: Fort Caroline; the side of the
get rich from either the gold or silver rumored to be in the
fort facing the river was built with planks. The
vicinity, or at the expense of the Spanish treasure ships sailing
other two sides were constructed of earth.
by in the nearby Gulf Stream on their way to Europe. Food
The oven was built outside the fort to reduce
quickly became scarce during the ensuing winter, and de
the risk of fire. (Engraving originally by
Laudonniere imposed rations on everyone. Restless and
Jacques Le Moyne)
adventurous members of the group staged a mutiny and stole
two vessels. They then set out to sea to plunder Spanish
ships and raid Spanish colonies in the Caribbean, killing any and all Catholics that they could find. Instead, these
mutineers alerted the Spanish authorities to the renewed French presence in La Florida. A Spanish fleet captured
and killed one group of the French pirates, but another small group made it back to Fort Caroline at the helm of a
Spanish ship that they had captured. De Laudonniere had all of them executed and had their bodies hung up on
display as a deterrent for any other would-be mutinies.
By the summer of 1565, de Laudonniere’s health had begun to fail and his leadership was being questioned
again. Many of the discouraged Huguenots began making preparations to return to France if the opportunity
presented itself. In August, that opportunity finally appeared: four English ships sailed upriver to Fort Caroline,
commanded by Sir John Hawkins and led by a Frenchmen who had deserted with the others months before that
Hawkins had picked up in the Caribbean while selling slaves to the Spanish.
Hawkins and de Laudonniere quickly struck a deal: the French gave the English guns, a cannon, and
gunpowder; in return, the English gave their Protestant brethren a ship. Before setting out to sea two days later,
Sir Hawkins even threw fifty pairs of shoes into the deal. The French colonists now impatiently waited for the
wind and tide to change so that they could depart La Florida once and for all.
Several days later, seven more ships arrived along the Florida coast with 500 soldiers, artisans, and seventy
women, and sailed down the River of May to Fort Caroline. The astonished Huguenots were amazed at what
they saw, but were even more amazed at who they saw leading this group of ships: at the helm of the flagship
stood Jean Ribault, who had finally returned to La Florida.
Discussion Questions
1. For what three reasons did French king Charles IX decide to establish a colony in Spanish-claimed La
Florida?
a.
b.
c.
2. True or false (if “False”, make it correct by crossing out the incorrect part of the statement and rewriting it with
the correct part): The first French settlement in La Florida was Fort Caroline, near present-day Jacksonville,
Florida.
3. What happened to the French Huguenot settlement at Port Royal?
4. Who was chosen to lead France’s second attempt at settlement in La Florida? Was this person an effective
leader? Explain your answer.
5. How did Spanish authorities in the Caribbean discover that Huguenots had established a permanent
settlement on the St. Johns River?
6. Though the Huguenots at Fort Caroline had received a ship in trade with Sir John Hawkins, why did they not
use it to sail back to France?
The End of the French Presence in La Florida
After more than a year imprisoned in the Tower of London, Jean Ribault was released and went home to
France. In the spring of 1565, the French Crown prepared to send Ribault back to La Florida to strengthen the
French presence there. A Spanish spy in the French town of Dieppe, on the English Channel, made King Philip II
of Spain aware of the ships, soldiers, and supplies being readied for the voyage. Of particular interest to Philip II
was the military equipment (guns and cannons) that was loaded for the trans-Atlantic journey.
To Philip II of Spain the French were not only trespassing on land assigned by the Holy Catholic Church to the
Spanish Crown, but they were also heretics violating the faith he was sworn to uphold. Already furious that
French Huguenots had established a second settlement in La Florida, Philip II instructed a
trusted advisor to sail with a large fleet to the New World, establish a permanent Spanish
presence in La Florida, convert the natives he encountered to Catholicism, and drive the
French “heretics” out of Spanish lands “by what means you see fit.” The advisor’s name was
Pedro Menéndez de Avilés, the very same advisor who three years before had recommended
that Spain abandon all efforts to settle La Florida.
Menéndez had gained royal favor years before by taking action against French pirates in
the waters surrounding Spain. Later, he was placed in charge of escorting the Spanish
treasure fleets from Havana to Spain. In his service to the Spanish Crown, he had gained a
reputation for prompt and decisive action. Now, he was entrusted with the largest armada of
Picture A-12-5:
ships and colonists that had ever left Spain for the New World. In late June 1565, Menéndez
General Pedro
set sail for La Florida with nineteen ships containing over 1,500 people, including soldiers,
Menéndez de Avilés,
sailors,
locksmiths, millers, silversmiths, tanners, sheepshearers, and farmers. Many of
the founder of St.
these men had wives and children who joined them.
Augustine
Shortly after the voyage began, the ships were scattered by a hurricane. After the storm
had passed, Menéndez could only account for five of the nineteen ships that had begun the journey. He
continued without the others to Puerto Rico, where they found four vessels from the previous nineteen-ship group
that had preceded them. With this diminished force, Menéndez moved against the French. Leaving most of the
settlers who had joined him in Puerto Rico, Menéndez left for Florida with five ships, 500 soldiers and 200 sailors.
On August 28th, after two weeks at sea, Menéndez and his forces reached Cape Canaveral and headed north.
They stopped at the French-named “River of Dolphins” and renamed the area “St. Augustine” in honor of arriving
in Florida on the Catholic feast day of San Augustín. That same day, Ribault had arrived at Fort Caroline. As
Menéndez crept up the Florida coast, Ribault took over for the sickly de Laudonniere and set the colony of Fort
Caroline to work strengthening the French settlement on the River of May, which we now call the St. Johns River.
The Spanish headed north as quickly as they could, hoping to get to Fort Caroline before Ribault arrived with
French reinforcements. On September 4th, Menéndez sailed up to the mouth of the St. Johns and immediately
saw four large French ships at anchor on the other side of the sandbar that marked the entrance to the river.
Despite seeing other French ships further upriver, Menéndez ignored the warnings of his officers and decided to
challenge the French. As the wind died and night fell, the Spanish ships glided in among the French vessels.
They anchored within speaking distance of the French ships at the bar, and after a long silence Menéndez hailed
the nearest vessel. He was answered, "France." "And what are you doing in the territories of King Philip of
Spain?" he asked. "Begone!" was the reply. Menéndez then asked, "Are you Catholics or Lutherans?" and was
answered, "Lutherans of the new religion." The French officer then inquired who his questioner was and what
was his errand, and was answered, "I am Pedro Menéndez, commander of this armament, which belongs to the
king of Spain, Philip the Second. I have come here to hang and destroy all the Lutherans whom I shall find either
on land or sea, according to my orders received from the king, …and these orders I shall execute to the letter; but
if I should meet with any Catholic on board your vessels, he shall receive good treatment. As for the heretics,
they shall die.”
The threat of Menendez, coupled with an attempt by some Spanish sailors to board a French vessel, caused
the captains of the French vessels to cut their cables and put to sea. The Spanish ships followed, firing their
heavy bow-cannons at the French boats. They chased them far, but could not catch them. "These enraged
devils," wrote a member of Menéndez’s fleet, "are such capable seamen, and maneuvered so well, that we could
not take one of them." The Spaniards finally turned back toward the coast, followed by the Frenchmen, who saw
the smaller Spanish vessels enter a river about thirty miles south of the St. Johns River, and the larger ones,
including Menéndez’s flagship, anchor at its mouth. They also saw Spanish soldiers and provisions landed not far
above that anchorage. With this important news the Frenchmen hastened back to Fort Caroline and reported to
Ribault all they had seen. He immediately prepared to attack his enemies with his ships and his whole land force.
For the next three days after arriving back at St. Augustine, Menéndez put all available men to work unloading
the rest of the supplies from the ships and built a fortification around the council house of a local Indian chief.
Finally, on September 8th, amid trumpets, cannons, and flags, Menéndez came ashore and claimed all of the
surrounding land in the name of God and King Philip II. Mass was said, and Menéndez’s men took oaths of
loyalty to him as governor of the new colony and military commander. Local natives took part in the ceremony
and the feast that followed. Thus, the town of St. Augustine was born. It is now the oldest surviving settlement in
the United States.
Meanwhile, on the St. Johns River, a war council was held in Laudonniere’s quarters as he lay sick in bed.
Ribault decided to pursue Menéndez south before he could build any fortifications, despites de Laudonniere’s
objections. On September 10th, Ribault left Fort Caroline with 400 soldiers, 200 sailors, and twelve ships, leaving
behind 240 men to defend the settlement, most of which were too ill to be depended on to fight if the need arose.
The next day the Huguenots found the Spanish ships anchored just off St. Augustine, about thirty miles to the
south of the entrance to the St. Johns River. Noticing that the largest ship was missing, Ribault ordered his boats
to pursue the missing vessel instead of attacking the Spanish at their hastily built base. This turned out to be a
fatal mistake; an unexpected hurricane (they were all unexpected in those days) soon bore down from the north,
scattering Ribault’s ships before smashing them along the beaches as far south as Cape Canaveral.
Menendez, unaware of the extent of the French disaster, realized that Ribault would have no way of returning
to Fort Caroline as long as hurricane-force winds and rain continued from the north. He seized the opportunity to
take Fort Caroline. With twenty axemen to clear the way,
300 harquebusiers (soldiers who carried large primitive
muskets called harquebuses) and 180 other soldiers,
Menéndez marched through intermittent driving rain for three
days to cover the forty swampy miles to the Huguenot
settlement, sometimes through water so deep that swimming
was required. It was raining furiously at dawn on September
Picture A-12-4: an example of a harquebus
20th when Menéndez pointed at Fort Caroline and gave the
order to attack with the cry of “Santiago!”
The French who had been left to guard the fort overnight had been relieved by their commanding officer due to
the inclement weather. As a result, the fort had been left defenseless. The French were completely taken by
surprise. Said a survivor later, “They vied with one another to see who could best cut the throats of our people.”
In an hour, 132 Frenchmen were killed and almost sixty women and children were taken prisoner; fifty others,
including de Laudonniere, Le Moyne, and Ribault’s son Jacques, escaped through the dark woods to two small
ships that Ribault had left behind. They immediately set a course for France, never to return to La Florida.
Renaming the captured fort “San Mateo” (St. Matthew), Menéndez left 300 men there to guard it, and headed
back to St. Augustine, where he arrived on September 24th. Four days later, local Indians brought word of a large
group of Frenchmen walking along the shore several miles south of the Spanish settlement. Immediately,
Menéndez set out with 50 men to meet their avowed enemies.
Eighteen miles south of St. Augustine, the salty waters of the river that flow past the city bend eastward and
meet the Atlantic Ocean at a lovely inlet with a menacing name—Matanzas, which means “the slaughters” in
Spanish. Here, at dawn on September 29th, Menéndez and his soldiers met the French survivors. The French
had no way to cross the river. Knowing this, and believing that the Frenchmen were tired and hungry, Menéndez
demanded that they all surrender to the Spanish. A French sergeant replied that they would surrender on the
condition that their lives would be spared. As Father Francisco Lopez, Menéndez’s chaplain who was present on
the beach that morning, later wrote:
“…our brave captain-general answered 'that he would make no promises, that they must
surrender unconditionally, and lay down their arms, because, if he spared their lives, he wanted
them to be grateful for it, and, if they were put to death, that that there should be no cause for
complaint.' Seeing that there was nothing else left for them to do, the sergeant returned to the
[French] camp; and soon after he brought all their arms and flags, and gave them up to the
general, and surrendered unconditionally. Finding they were all Lutherans, the captain-general
ordered them all put to death; but, as I was a
priest, and had… mercy, I begged him to grant me
Picture A-12-5: Menendez orders the execution of the
the favor of sparing those whom we might find to
French “heretics.”
be Christians. He granted it; and I made
investigations, and found ten or twelve of the men
Roman Catholics, whom we brought back. All the
others were executed, because they were
Lutherans and enemies of our Holy Catholic faith.”
In order to carry out the executions, Menéndez had the
Huguenots ferried across the river ten at a time. They
were then given food and drink until all of them were
accounted for. Then, he ordered the prisoners’ hands to
be bound and for them to be marched behind the dunes
near the beach. Once out of view of the other prisoners,
the unlucky Huguenots were put to the knife.
On October 10th, word came that another large group of
Frenchmen were stranded on the same spot. Menéndez marched to Matanzas Inlet with several soldiers the next
day, where they found 320 French soldiers under the command of Jean Ribault. Upon seeing the Spaniards led
by Menéndez, 170 Huguenots refused to surrender and marched south, leaving Ribault and 150 of their
comrades at the mercy of the Spanish. The French commander was brought over the river to speak with
Menéndez. Finally, the two leaders met. It was later said that Ribault offered a large ransom for his life, but
Menéndez had him executed like all of his men, with the exception of four professed Catholics and a dozen
drummers and trumpeters.
The Frenchmen who had refused to surrender marched as far south as Cape Canaveral. Once there, they
used the wood from one of their wrecked ships to build a fort and a small boat. After learning of their
whereabouts, Menéndez set out by land and sea to capture them. Some men marched along the shore while
others moved along at about the same pace (25 miles a day) in ships just offshore. Finally, on November 26th,
the Spanish reached the French and persuaded all but twenty to surrender without a fight. In return, Menéndez
promised to make them all prisoners and send them back to Europe, a promise that he kept. There is no
historical record about what happened to the twenty Huguenots that did not surrender on the beach.
Many months later, when King Philip II of Spain read Menéndez’s report of such complete victory in La Florida,
he wrote a cramped little note in the margin: “As to those he killed, he has done well.” This rout of the “heretical”
Huguenots seemed to suggest to Philip II that their cause had been righteous and that God favored the Catholic
nation of Spain. The massacre of the two groups of Huguenots brought condemnation upon Menéndez and the
Spanish monarch. Indeed, the French ambassador to Spain reported to Paris that Philip II and his advisors were
more pleased about the result of Menéndez’s actions against the French than if the victory had been against
Muslim invaders.
Defenders of Menéndez, and the Spanish commander himself, maintained that his victims were foreigners
without any right to be in Florida, that they were not soldiers but pirates intent on preying on Spanish ships, and
that they were Lutherans—the name given to all Protestants by 16th-century Catholics—and therefore heretics
who should be put to the sword for blasphemy. Another point in Menéndez’s favor was that he did not have the
resources to take 350 Huguenot prisoners: he did not have enough ships to transport them, enough men to guard
them, nor enough food to sustain them and his own colony. Besides, as long as these Frenchmen remained, they
would remain a threat to the security of St. Augustine. His defenders also pointed out that if Menéndez was a
cold-blooded murderer, then why did he spare 150 Huguenots near Cape Canaveral? Their answer is because
these men posed no threat to St. Augustine or its food supply.
With his total victory over the French in Florida, Menéndez set to work building the town of St. Augustine,
establishing Catholic missions for the Indians throughout La Florida, and building forts to prevent any further
intrusion by foreign powers, most especially the Protestants of France or England. St. Augustine would go on to
serve as an important Spanish colony by providing protection and supplies for the Spanish gold fleets that sailed
from Havana, Cuba, to Spain each spring. It also provided a base for missionaries and traders who explored as
far north as the Appalachian Mountains and Chesapeake Bay, establishing outposts in the Sea Islands of Georgia
and South Carolina (including the settlement of Santa Elena, which was a stone’s throw away from the prior
French settlement of Port Royal), and across northern Florida. With England’s creation of the Carolina colony in
the 1660s and Georgia in 1733, St. Augustine would become a base for attacks on these Protestant rivals and a
refuge for Indians fleeing English slaving raids and Africans escaping plantation slavery until England was given
Florida by the Spanish as a result of the Seven Years’ War in 1763.
As for the French, they dropped any further plans to challenge Spanish authority in the southeastern part of La
Florida, instead choosing to settle parts of the far northern regions of North America in order to take advantage of
the fur and timber trade in what is now Canada. Menéndez had been extremely fortunate in his dealings with a
numerically superior French force: if things had worked out a little differently, Jacksonville (the present-day site of
Fort Caroline), and not St. Augustine, might now be known as the oldest permanent settlement in the United
States.
Discussion Questions
1. For what two reasons was King Philip II of Spain angry about the French Huguenot settlement at Fort
Caroline, on the St. Johns River?
a.
b.
2. Who did King Philip II send to La Florida, and what were his instructions?
3. In his first action against the Huguenots at Fort Caroline, why do you think that Menéndez did not take any of
the settlers who had journeyed with him to the New World?
4. Using the information in the text, create a brief timeline (on a separate sheet of paper) of the three months of
events from August 28-November 26, 1565, starting with Pedro Menéndez de Avilés first reaching the Florida
coast.
5. For what reasons did the Spanish consider Menéndez successful in his mission to La Florida?
6. What were the lasting effects of the establishment of St. Augustine and the decimation of the French
Huguenots in Florida in 1565?
Answer Key to Discussion Questions for “Introduction”
1. Prior to 1492, which European nation was the most dominant, owing to its technological superiority and
control of the overseas trade routes to Asia? Portugal
2. How did the economic system of mercantilism affect Spain’s decision to challenge Portugal’s
preeminence in Europe as leading power? Mercantilism held that a nation’s power was based on its
wealth; therefore, seeing how advantageous overseas exploration and trade had been in increasing
Portugal’s wealth, and consequently power, Spain also wanted to expand its commercial enterprises
and overseas possessions.
3. Pope Alexander VI’s “line of demarcation” decision and the subsequent Treaty of Tordesillas seemed
at the time to favor both Spain and Portugal. Which nation, in the long run, benefited the most?
Explain your answer. Answers will vary, but students should be left with the idea that Spain benefited
the most because, in the next couple of centuries, the Spanish empire expanded across the globe,
while Portugal’s weakened. Because Spain gained possession of North and South America (with the
exception of Brazil), they also reaped the rewards of the resources that they found in these places (it
should be noted that no one at the time knew how much territory there actually was in the Americas,
a fact that may help explain why Portugal agreed to the Treaty of Tordesillas).
4. What movement that swept over Europe and caused many years of warfare did Martin Luther initiate?
What was he protesting? The Protestant Reformation; Luther was protesting supposed abuses of
power by the Catholic Church in Europe, especially in cases where he felt that the Catholic Church
was following policies opposite to Scriptures.
5. Before Martin Luther and his followers, what had been the common thread between European nations for
hundreds of years? The Catholic Church
6. How did the nation of Spain react to the Protestant Reformation? It saw the defense of Catholicism as a
sacred mission.
Answer Key to Discussion Questions for “Juan Ponce de León & La Florida”
1. What were Juan Ponce de León’s credentials to lead a voyage of exploration to the New World?
He had sailed with Christopher Columbus on Columbus’ second voyage to the New World; he
had served as military commander and deputy governor of Hispaniola; and he had discovered
and served as governor on the island of Boprinquen (now Puerto Rico).
2. What was the reasoning behind naming the newly discovered land that Ponce de León encountered
La Florida? It was seen for the first time during the season of Pascua Florida (“the Feast of Flowers”),
and it looked to be a lush and flowery land.
3. Looking back among Ponce de León’s discoveries, which do you think had the biggest impact for the
nation of Spain? Explain your answer. Answers may vary, but should include either the Gulf Stream
or Florida.
4. Why did Ponce de León attempt to return to La Florida in order to establish a settlement? Was his
attempt successful? Why or why not? Answers may vary, but could include that Ponce de León was
probably motivated by the riches encountered by Cortés in the Aztec Empire; his attempt would most
likely not be considered successful, since he was killed by natives and the rest of the settlers fled
back to Cuba.
Answer Key for Discussion Questions for
“Spanish Attempts to Settle La Florida”
1. How large was the Spanish territory of La Florida? What would be some difficulties in governing a territory
this large?
La Florida included the entire eastern half of North America, stretching from Key West to Canada
and west to Texas; answers will vary, but could include something about how hard it would be to
govern and protect people over such a vast area without modern conveniences.
2. Why were African slaves used by the Spanish settlers of the Americas instead of Native American slaves?
The Native Americans were dying at an alarming rate, necessitating the use of African slaves.
3. Where was the first European settlement in what is now the United States located, and what was it called? Is
it still there today? Why or why not?
The first European settlement in the present-day United States was called San Miguel de
Gualdape, and was located somewhere on the coast of Georgia; no recognizable trace of it
remains; all of the settlers deserted San Miguel de Gualdape
4. Were Spanish attempts to settle La Florida generally successful or unsuccessful? For what reasons?
They were generally unsuccessful because of poor leadership, bad weather, hostile natives, lack
of supplies, and general misfortune.
Answer Key for Discussion Questions for
“French Huguenots Attempt a Florida Foothold”
1. For what three reasons did French king Charles IX decide to establish a colony in Spanish-claimed La
Florida?
a. Gain wealth from the Americas;
b. Prey on Spanish treasure fleets riding the nearby Gulf Stream;
c. Rid France of Huguenots (Protestants)
2. True or false (if “False”, make it correct by crossing out the incorrect part of the statement and rewriting it with
the correct part): The first French settlement in La Florida was Fort Caroline, near present-day Jacksonville,
Florida. False; the first French settlement in La Florida was Port Royal, on the coast of South Carolina.
3. What happened to the French Huguenot settlement at Port Royal?
The leader lost his mind, the colonists revolted and killed the leader, and then all of the colonists
except one made a boat out of resources found nearby and attempted to sail back to France.
4. Who was chosen to lead France’s second attempt at settlement in La Florida? Was this person an effective
leader? Explain your answer.
Rene de Laudonniere; answers will vary
5. How did Spanish authorities in the Caribbean discover that Huguenots had established a permanent
settlement on the St. Johns River?
After several deserters of the French colony at Fort Caroline became pirates of Spanish shipping
in the Caribbean.
6. Though the Huguenots at Fort Caroline had received a ship in trade with Sir John Hawkins, why did they not
use it to sail back to France?
They had to wait for a favorable wind and tide to leave for France; Jean Ribault arrived before
that could happen.
Answer Key for Discussion Questions for
“The End of the French Presence in La Florida”
1. For what two reasons was King Philip II of Spain angry about the French Huguenot settlement at Fort
Caroline, on the St. Johns River?
a. the French were trespassing on land assigned by the Holy Catholic Church to the Spanish Crown;
b. the French that were trespassing on his lands were Protestants.
2. Who did King Philip II send to La Florida, and what were his instructions?
Pedro Menéndez de Avilés; his instructions were to sail with a large fleet to the New World, establish
a permanent Spanish presence in La Florida, convert the natives he encountered to Catholicism, and
drive the French Huguenots out of Spanish lands by whatever means necessary.
3. In his first action against the Huguenots at Fort Caroline, why do you think that Menéndez did not take any of
the settlers who had journeyed with him to the New World?
Answers will vary, but might include something about Menéndez perhaps feeling that non-military
colonists would slow down his first objective, which was to drive the French out.
4. Using the information in the text, create a brief timeline (on a separate sheet of paper) of the three months of
events from August 28-November 26, 1565, starting with Pedro Menéndez de Avilés first reaching the Florida
coast. Answers will vary.
5. For what reasons did the Spanish consider Menéndez successful in his mission to La Florida?
Menéndez established the settlement of St. Augustine, which became the first permanent
European settlement in the United States, and because he successfully ended the French
attempt to colonize La Florida.
6. What were the lasting effects of the establishment of St. Augustine and the decimation of the French
Huguenots in Florida in 1565?
Answers will vary, but will probably include the importance of St. Augustine to the Spanish Empire
of the 16th and 17th centuries.
IV.
Assessment
Matching: match the following terms/names with the correct definitions to the right.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
Mercantilism
Line of demarcation
Treaty of Tordesillas
Protestant Reformation
Juan Ponce de León
La Florida
San Miguel de Gualdape
Huguenots
Jean Ribault/Rene de Laudonniere
Port Royal/Charlesfort
Fort Caroline
Pedro de Menéndez de Avilés
St. Augustine
Matanzas Inlet
a. The first European settlement in the present-day United
States; located somewhere on the coast of Georgia
b. Spanish general who was responsible for driving the
Huguenots out of La Florida and establishing Spanish
authority
c. French Protestants
d. Spaniard credited with being the first European to see
Florida; also discovered the Gulf Stream
e. Economic theory of the 1500s; a nation’s power was based
on its wealth; the nation’s that controlled the most trade
routes and held the most territories overseas monopolized
the power
f. Place of “the slaughters”, just south of St. Augustine; this is
where Spanish soldiers executed French Huguenots on two
separate occasions
g. Oldest settlement in the United States; once the capital of
Spanish Florida
h. Agreement between Portugal and Spain in 1494 to divide
all New World territories between them
i. Huguenot leaders who established settlements in Spanishcontrolled La Florida
j. Huguenot settlement established in 1564 on the St. Johns
River, inside the city limits of modern Jacksonville, FL
k. Boundary established by Pope Alexander VI in 1493 to
settle territorial dispute between Portugal and Spain
l. Movement inspired by Martin Luther; thousands of Luther’s
followers broke away from the Catholic Church and
established their own churches in protest of some policies
of the Catholic Church; resulted in years of warfare in
Europe
m. First Huguenot settlement in La Florida, established in 1562
and located in present-day South Carolina
n. Spanish territory in the New World which consisted of the
present-day eastern half of North America
15. In modern Latin America (Mexico, Central America, South America, and the Caribbean), Spanish is the
dominant language spoken, Catholicism is the major religion practiced, and Spanish customs are long
established. How did Pope Alexander VI’s line of demarcation and the Treaty of Tordesillas in the 1490s lead
to a predominantly Hispanic part of the world over five hundred years later?
16. For what reasons did King Philip II at first abandon attempts to settle La Florida in the mid 1500s?
a. Other European nations were already establishing colonies there;
b. All other previous attempts had resulted in failure, draining Spain’s treasury;
c. He wanted to concentrate on the Wars of Reformation in Europe;
d. The pope had told him not to.
17. Why did King Charles IX of France agree to send colonists to Spain’s La Florida territory in 1562?
a. To rid France of the Protestant Huguenots;
b. To capitalize on raids of Spanish treasure fleets sailing by in the offshore Gulf Stream;
c. To take advantage of whatever resources could be found in the Americas;
d. All of the above.
18. Take the following terms and write them under the appropriate heading, “Spain” or “France”: Huguenot,
Catholic, Pedro Menéndez de Avilés, Jean Ribault, Fort Caroline, St. Augustine, La Florida, Port Royal.
Spain
France
19. Read the following exchange between Pedro Menéndez de Avilés and the Huguenots:
“…the Spanish ships glided in among the French vessels. They anchored within speaking
distance of the French ships at the bar, and after a long silence Menéndez hailed the nearest
vessel. He was answered, ‘France.’ ‘And what are you doing in the territories of King Philip of
Spain?’ he asked. ‘Begone!’ was the reply. Menéndez then asked, ‘Are you Catholics or
Lutherans?’ and was answered, ‘Lutherans of the new religion.’ The French officer then inquired
who his questioner was and what was his errand, and was answered, ‘I am Pedro Menéndez,
commander of this armament, which belongs to the king of Spain, Philip the Second. I have
come here to hang and destroy all the Lutherans whom I shall find either on land or sea,
according to my orders received from the king, …and these orders I shall execute to the letter;
but if I should meet with any Catholic on board your vessels, he shall receive good treatment. As
for the heretics, they shall die.’”
Based on this encounter, one can deduce that:
a. Pedro Menéndez was a Catholic;
b. Pedro Menéndez had orders to kill any Huguenot he found in La Florida;
c. Pedro Menéndez and his soldiers killed hundreds of Huguenots at Matanzas Inlet;
d. Pedro Menéndez established St. Augustine.
e. A & B only
20. Put the following events in the proper sequence:
a. Pedro Menéndez and his soldiers kill over 300 Huguenots at Matanzas Inlet, south of St. Augustine;
b. Juan Ponce de León explores Florida;
c. French Huguenots set up the settlement of Fort Caroline on the St. Johns River;
d. The Treaty of Tordesillas divides the New world between Spain and Portugal, with Spain later
claiming all of the lands of North and South America;
e. Spanish soldiers and settlers led by Menéndez establish St. Augustine;
f. French Huguenots set up the settlement of Port Royal, on the coast of present-day South Carolina;
g. Spanish explorers and settlers fail at establishing lasting colonies in La Florida and decide to give up
any future attempts at settlement.
Answer Key for Assessment Questions
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
Mercantilism-e
Line of demarcation-k
Treaty of Tordesillas-h
Protestant Reformation-l
Juan Ponce de León-d
La Florida-n
San Miguel de Gualdape-a
Huguenots-c
Jean Ribault/Rene de Laudonniere-i
Port Royal/Charlesfort-m
Fort Caroline-j
Pedro de Menéndez de Avilés-b
St. Augustine-g
Matanzas Inlet-f
15. In modern Latin America (Mexico, Central America, South America, and the Caribbean), Spanish is the
dominant language spoken, Catholicism is the major religion practiced, and Spanish customs are long
established. How did Pope Alexander VI’s line of demarcation and the Treaty of Tordesillas in the 1490s lead
to a predominantly Hispanic part of the world over five hundred years later? Answers will vary
16. For what reasons did King Philip II at first abandon attempts to settle La Florida in the mid 1500s?-b
17. Why did King Charles IX of France agree to send colonists to Spain’s La Florida territory in 1562?-d
18. Take the following terms and write them under the appropriate heading, “Spain” or “France”: Huguenot,
Catholic, Pedro Menéndez de Avilés, Jean Ribault, Fort Caroline, St. Augustine, La Florida, Port Royal.
Spain
Catholic
Pedro de Menéndez de Avilés
St. Augustine
La Florida
19. B or E are acceptable
20. D, B, G, F, C, E, A
France
Huguenot
Jean Ribault
Fort Caroline
Port Royal
Processing Assignment A-12-1 (the engraving and narrative pictured here
was supplied by the Museum of Arts and Sciences in St. Augustine, FL)
In this 1655 German engraving, French commander Jean Ribault (kneeling) is shown pleading to Pedro
Menéndez de Avilés (seated) for the lives of his fellow Huguenots, shown in the background being
massacred at the hands of the Spanish. The English translation of the narrative that accompanies this
engraving describes how the Spanish pretended not to understand Ribault.
Questions: Martin Luther, who led the Protestant Reformation against the Catholic Church, was German.
Germany and France were both areas of Europe that had strong Protestant support during the Wars of
Reformation. Spain, however, was a strong Catholic nation that persecuted any citizens (or others, for that
matter) who were suspected of practicing the new “Lutheran” religion. How does the German artist that produced
this picture portray the Spanish? How does he portray the French? Do you think that this is an entirely accurate
portrayal of the events on Matanzas Inlet in 1565? Why or why not?
V.
Resources
“UNTITLED VIEW OF JEAN RIBAULT PLEADING FOR HIS LIFE BEFORE PEDRO MENENDEZ IN ST
AUGUSTINE” by Theodor DeBry (1528-1598). Museum of Arts and Sciences (St. Augustine) acquisition
made possible in part by a grant from The Bureau of Historical Museums, Division of Historical
Resources, Florida Department of State.
Appleby, Joyce, et al. The American Journey. Glencoe McGraw-Hill: New York, NY. 2003.
Gannon, Michael, Ed. The New History of Florida. University Press of Florida: Gainesville, FL. 1996.
Judge, Joseph. “Between Columbus and Jamestown: Exploring Our Forgotten Century.” National Geographic,
March 1988; 330-63.
Tebeau, Charlton W. A History of Florida. University of Miami Press: Coral Gables, FL. 1971.
http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/national_parks/fort_caroline_sea_lanes.jpg -map of Florida, Fort Caroline, St.
Augustine, and the routes of the Spanish fleets
http://www.nps.gov/timu/education_guide/clash_cultures/cc_background_info.htm - info on Fort Caroline
http://www.nps.gov/timu/indepth/foca/foca_home.htm - info on the Timucuan Reserve Nat’l Park in Jacksonville
http://fcit.usf.edu/florida/lessons/ribault/ribault1.htm - elementary school-themed lesson on Jean Ribault
http://fcit.usf.edu/florida/photos/military/caroln/caroln.htm - photos of Fort Caroline replica in Timucuan Preserve
http://www.mikestrong.com/fortcar/ - independent website on Fort Caroline
http://photo.itc.nps.gov/storage/images/foca/foca-Thumb.00001.html
http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/spanishmassacre.htm -Father Francisco Lopez’s account of the massacre at
Matanzas Inlet
http://www.jayikislakfoundation.org/millennium-exhibit/pics/time/0144.jpg -picture of the massacre at Matanzas
Inlet
http://www.nps.gov/foma/home/home.htm - Fort Matanzas National Park website
http://www.keyshistory.org/FL-Fla-Fr.html - info on the French in the Florida Keys
http://www.publicbookshelf.com/public_html/Our_Country_Vol_1/frenchco_ch.html -19th-century history on Fort
Caroline and the establishment of St. Augustine
http://www.keyshistory.org/FL-Fla-Fr.html -“1st Thanksgiving” at Fort Caroline
http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/maps/maps.cfm#16c -maps of the New World, including La Florida