Philip II, the King of Spain, who commissioned Menéndez to settle Florida, and later supervised the colony during its early years.
The sovereigns of Spain and France were at the time allied by marriage. The wife of Philip II of Spain was the daughter of the Queen Regent of France, the crafty Catherine de’ Medici. Philip protested to Catherine through his minister concerning the presence of her subjects in Florida, but received only evasive replies to the effect that they had merely gone to a land called Newe France, discovered many years before by French seamen. It became increasingly clear that to safeguard its claim to the territory, and protect the route of the treasure fleets, Spain would need to establish forts of its own in Florida and expel the French trespassers from its shores.
Don Pedro Menéndez
The man destined to establish the first permanent settlement in Florida and expel the French Huguenots was a Spaniard of noble lineage, Don Pedro Menéndez. Born in 1519 in the little seaport town of Avilés, on the northern coast of Spain, he was one of a large family and upon the death of his father was sent to be reared by relatives. Against their wishes he went to sea while still in his teens to fight the pirates, or corsairs, who lurked along the nearby French and Spanish coasts. Within a few years he learned to command and navigate a vessel of his own. The sea was in his blood.
His courage and expert seamanship caused him to rise rapidly in royal favor. He soon advanced to the most important naval post in Spain, that of Captain-General of the armada, or guard of heavily armed ships that accompanied the treasure fleets on their long voyages to and from the New World through pirate-infested waters, receiving this appointment directly from the King. But his rise to prominence also created jealous enemies. Among these were officials of the Casa de Contratación, or Board of Trade, who formerly had appointed and controlled the armada’s commander, and deeply resented loss of this authority.
When Menéndez and his brother, Bartolomé, returned from a voyage to the New World with the treasure fleet in 1563, they were met by armed officers of the Casa, arrested and imprisoned on vague charges related to smuggling or accepting bribes. Soon after this occurred, Menéndez learned that his only son, Don Juan, had been shipwrecked on the coast of Florida, or vicinity of Bermuda, while returning with a portion of the fleet. He hoped and prayed that some day he might find his son alive, possibly held captive by the coastal Indians.
After over a year’s delay Menéndez was finally brought to trial and fined. Upon his release from prison, he immediately sought an audience with King Philip II to secure his permission for a voyage to Florida in search of his lost son, and to further explore its coast on which many Spanish ships were being wrecked. Philip II not only granted permission for his voyage, but welcomed this opportunity to commission him to undertake the settlement of Florida, and the task of dealing with the French Huguenots, who had gained a foothold there. Gratefully Menéndez knelt and kissed his monarch’s hand. Here was an opportunity to recoup his fallen fortunes.
As customary in such matters, a royal asiento, or contract, was executed. By it Menéndez was bound to establish three fortified posts in Florida at his own expense, and within a specified time. In return he was to receive a substantial share of any riches that might be found there, certain privileges of trade, and the title of Adelantado and Governor of the Province of Florida in perpetuity.
The contract also provided that Menéndez should make every effort to convert the natives of Florida to Christianity, and for that purpose several priests were assigned to the expedition and others were to be brought over later.
