Pedro Menéndez de Avilés (provided by Florida Museum of Natural History)

Born in 1519 in the Asturias region of Spain, Pedro Menéndez soon distinguished himself as a sea captain and privateer of the greatest skill. In 1561 he was entrusted by King Philip II to deliver the treasure fleet safely from Mexico and was rewarded by an appointment as Adelantado of Florida. By this government-licensed and personally-funded arrangement, Menéndez contracted to explore and establish settlements in the new land, with promise of great profits. Florida was becoming increasingly important for protecting the annual flotas carrying treasure along her Atlantic coast. When word reached the King in 1565 that French Protestants had established a threatening colony, Fort Caroline, at the mouth of the St. Johns River, and that 2,000 French reinforcements would soon sail, the purpose of the Menéndez expedition changed dramatically.

Menéndez was efficient in his destruction of the struggling French outpost and his execution of its Huguenot soldiers, as much on religious as political grounds. His original charge, to explore and settle, was taken up with equal diligence, first at St. Augustine, then to the Keys and southwest Gulf Coast where he met the powerful chief Carlos, establishing an uneasy alliance cemented by marriage to Carlos’ sister. He was able to rescue Hernando de Escalante Fontaneda and other shipwreck survivors who had been held captive among the Calusa for 20 years. Menéndez returned along the Atlantic coast of the peninsula, stopping in St. Augustine to find the garrison near rebellion. Reinforcements from Havana allowed Menéndez to sail northward to Parris Island (South Carolina) where he established another settlement, Santa Elena. By 1567, when he left Florida, Pedro Menéndez de Avilés had done more to settle thousands of miles of Florida frontier than a half dozen prior expeditions over half a century. However, growing a colony is as difficult as establishing one, and Spain would struggle to maintain its Florida enterprise long after Menéndez’ death in 1574.

- James J. Miller