The History of Saint Augustine, Florida

by William W. Dewhurst

The honor of having discovered Florida has been assigned by different writers to Columbus, Cabot, and De Leon.

In 1492, Columbus terminated his venturesome voyage across the Atlantic by landing at the island of St. Salvador, so called by the great Genoese explorer in remembrance of his salvation. It is said that from this island his people, on his return from Europe, ventured with him to the shores of Florida, being impressed, as were the Aborigines, with a belief that the continent possessed waters calculated to invigorate and perpetuate youth and vitality.

The date 1497 is assigned as the year in which Amerigo Vespucci discovered the western continent. Vespucci was encouraged by Emanuel, King of Portugal, and, though probably lacking the inspiring genius and sublime courage of Columbus, through the accident of fortune he has perpetuated his name in the designation of half a hemisphere. Doubtless, Vespucci was the first to reach the mainland of the western continent, as Columbus did not touch the mainland until his third voyage in 1498, when he landed at the mouth of the Orinoco in South America. So entirely unsuspicious was the world at this time of a second continent, that the transcendent genius of Columbus never suspected the magnitude of his discovery, and he died in the belief that he had landed on the eastern shore of Asia.

The next to essay a voyage to the New World was also a native of Southern Europe. John Cabot, the son of Giovanni Gabota, a native of Venice, who had settled in Bristol, was commissioned by Henry the Seventh of England to sail on a voyage of discovery and conquest. Though the inception and authority for the expedition antedated the sailing of Columbus by a year, Cabot did not leave England until May, 1498. His landing on America was at or near the river St. Lawrence, from whence he sailed southward along the coast, landing only for observation, and making no attempt to form a settlement. It is doubtful if Cabot ever sailed as far south as Florida, though it is claimed that to him belongs the honor of its discovery.

Fourteen years afterward, the first landing was made on the sandy shores of Florida, and possession claimed in the name of the King of Spain.

The mystic fountain of youth, first pictured in the days of mythology, whose waters would stay the devastating march of time, endow perpetual youth, even restore vigor to the decrepitude of age, was said to exist in the New World.

This fable, with which the European had become familiar from an Egyptian or Hellenic source, found confirmation in the traditions of the Indians of the Caribbean Islands. To the mind of the Spanish knight, eager to continue his youthful prowess and the enjoyment of the adjuncts of power and authority already achieved, the belief, thus strengthened by concurrence of a tradition in the New World, seemed an authentic reality, and the sufficient foundation for great labor and sacrifice.

In this materialistic age we may laugh at the credulousness of the Spanish chevalier, whose faith in the story of an Indian girl led him to expend his wealth and sacrifice his life in such a chimerical search; yet the history of our own day will recount equal faith and as fruitless ventures.

Juan Ponce de Leon seems to have been a person of influence in Spain, possessed of a unique character, a chivalrous nature, and a comprehensive and trained mind. Born in an age when personal valor and knightly habits were the surest paths to distinction and authority, his career seems to have been that of an adventurer. When past the meridian of life, he landed in the Bahamas seeking for the spring of youth. In vain was his search, but his hopes and his ardor were undaunted. “Upon the mainland the wished-for waters flowed as a river, on whose banks lived the rejuvenated races in serene idleness and untold luxuriance.” Leaving the Bahamas he steered northwest for the coast. While some accounts make his first landing at a spot north of St. Augustine, it is more probable that his course was to the west of the Bahama Islands, and that he first disembarked at or near the southernmost part of Florida, at a place called Punta Tanchi, now Cape Sable.

It was on March 27th, 1512, Palm Sunday (Pasqua Florida), and from this accidental date of discovery did the country receive its name, and not from its abundance of flowers. While the Latin adjective floridus signifies “full of flowers,” soldiers of fortune like De Leon did not make a practice of using the Latin tongue except in their litany. After erecting a cross, celebrating a solemn mass, and proclaiming the sovereignty of the Spanish crown, De Leon coasted along the Florida shore into the Gulf of Mexico, making various attempts to penetrate the interior of the country. In this he was unable to succeed, owing to the swampy nature of the land, and its barrenness of food products. After the loss of many of his men, the rest, greatly suffering for food, re-embarked. According to some historians De Leon returned to Spain, and demanded to be made governor of the new dominions; while others declare that he withdrew only to the islands, from whence he sent a description of the newly-discovered province, and begged a grant of the same. His request was acceded to by the Spanish crown on condition that he should colonize the country.