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Funding for this publication and website were provided through grants from the
Florida Humanities Council with funds from the National Endowment for the
Humanities and from NTE Solutions LLC. Any views, ndings, conclusions or
recommendations expressed in this publication and website do not necessarily
represent those of the Florida Humanities Council, the National Endowment for
the Humanities or NTE Solutions LLC.
This publication was produced by Florida Living History Inc. with funding from
grants from the Florida Humanities Council, with funding from the National
Endowment for the Humanities and NTE Solutions. Florida Living History wishes to
thank all the chapter authors for their generosity in volunteering their professional
expertise and time to this endeavor. The measure of our success will be in its use by
teachers, students and parents in the teaching of Florida’s Social Studies Standardsfor grades 3, 4, and 5.
©2013 Florida Living History Inc. Reproduction or modication of this work without
credit to the original author(s) is prohibited.
Florida Living History, Inc., is a 501(c)(3) non-prot, educational organization
dedicated to the support of living history activities, events, and portrayals related to
the history of colonial Florida.
www.oridalivinghistory.org
Florida Standards met by this book:http://www.oridalivinghistory.org/#/ebooklet-standards/4571867001
Bibliographyhttp://www.oridalivinghistory.org/#/ebooklet-bibliography/4571867002
About the Authorshttp://www.oridalivinghistory.org/#/ebooklet-authors/4571867005
Resources
Acknowledgements
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Table of Contents
Hyperlinks
Introduction: First Encounters .................................2
Finding the Way ...........................................................8
Spanish Soldiers in La Florida...............................16
Two Worlds Meet ......................................................34
First Foods ....................................................................39Playtime in La Florida ..............................................43
Throughout this e-booklet there are
hyperlinks to additional resources and
information. They are very useful and
provide a rich learning experience. In mostinstances, hyperlinks have been shortened
using Google URL Shortener. Though you
cannot see the exact URL that you are being
directed to, the authors guarantee that all
linked content is appropriate for students
in grads 3, 4 and 5 and on topic with the
material being discussed.
For more information about Google URLShortener, visit:
http://goo.gl/wIEw8
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Come with us on a journey back in time.
We start our journey in the year 1492 and
end it in the year 1565. Do you know why
these two dates are signicant? You are right!
In 1492, Christopher Columbus unexpectedly
nds the Americas while searching for ashorter trade route to Asia from Europe. In
1565, Pedro Menendez de Aviles establishes
the city of Saint Augustine in Spanish La
Florida which becomes the rst permanent
European settlement in North America. In
this e-booklet, we will explore together the
profound changes that took place in the 73
years between these two dates in Florida’sand America’s history and in the lives of
Native Americans, Europeans and Africans.
At the beginning of 1492, the original
Native Americans who lived in North and
South America had never met anyone from
Europe or Africa. Likewise the people of
Europe and Africa did not know that they
were tens of millions of people living on twolarge continents separating them from Asia
to the west. These were people that they had
never met. For both these were new worlds,
new peoples and new cultures with strange
animals, plants and diseases.
By the end of 1492 what people thought
they knew about their world and their ways
of life were changed forever. Imagine what
it was like for them to meet for the rst time
on the tiny Caribbean island of San Salvador
For Christopher Columbus and his sailors,
they thought that they were meeting Asians
living on newly discovered islands off the
Asian coast. That is why they called them
Indians and the islands became known as the
West Indies, which they are still called to this
day. For the Native Americans, the Europeans
and Africans were strange looking people
dressed in clothes made from metal with
animals, weapons and other things that they
had never ever seen. For both it was both
awesome and terrifying at the same time.
At rst they may have thought that they
were dreaming. But it was not pretend or
make believe. It was real. We experience
what it might have been like from Lope de
Vega’s play Nuevo Mundo (New World), the
scene “Monster from Another World”. This is
found in the chapter “Playtime in La Florida”
A young Native American boy, Tecue, has just
seen for the rst time the big ships from Spain
and their strange cargo. The most frightening
of all was “the monster.” He runs back to the
village to tell the chief and his tribe what he
has seen in words and images drawn from his
known world. See if you can solve the riddle
When America, Europe and Africa First Meet
(1492 to 1565)By Dr. Richard L. Shortlidge, Jr.
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and guess what it is. Also try and think of
how you might describe something you had
never seen before.
In 1492, Christopher Columbus had a
simple idea. He knew that the world was
round. The Greeks had proved
this more than 1000 years earlier.He also thought he knew how
far around the earth was at the
equator. Europeans and Asians
had been trading by land for
centuries. They knew how far it
was from Europe to Asia by land.
So as far as they knew the late
15th century world consisted ofEurope, Asia and Africa.
According to Columbus’
calculation, a shorter route to
Asia was sailing west across
vast uncharted ocean. Denitely
shorter than sailing around the
tip of Africa which is what the
Portuguese were doing. But hehad three big problems. First,
no one had ever gone on a long
voyage across a vast ocean out
of sight of land for months without getting
lost. Or if they did they never made it back
to tell their stories. Second, he needed help
paying for the trip. Third, he had to gure
out how much food and fresh water to takefor his crew, soldiers and the animals that he
would bring along on the journey.
He solved the money problem by getting
King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain
to nance the trip. King Ferdinand and Queen
Isabella may have thought his proposal a little
crazy. However, if Columbus was correct,
Spain would have a great trade and economic
advantage over its main rival Portugal. So
they felt the potential pay-off to them and
Spain was much greater than the costs. Like
any new business adventure
even today there are many risksand obstacles to overcome.
The rst chapter in this
e-booklet is “Finding the Way
How Explorers Crossed Trackless
Oceans to New and Distant
Lands and Lived to Tell About
it.” By 1492, the advancements
in navigation instruments, shipbuilding and sails made it
possible to venture out of sight
of land without getting lost
Both Spain and Portugal were
the leaders in ocean navigation
Spain had also already captured
the Canary Islands just off the
North African coast. With itsfavorable easterly blowing
winds, these islands were an
ideal launch point for travel
across the open waters of the Atlantic.
In this chapter, we learn how to measure
latitude and direction using the compass,
quadrant and astrolabe. Latitude tells you
how far north or south of the equator youare. The maps of Europe, Africa and Asia
even 500 years ago contained the latitudes for
many major cities, towns, rivers, mountains
and other important landmarks.
Perhaps at this time, the major obstacle to
sailing out across uncharted ocean was the
Astrolab
Chronometer
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fear of the unknown. That is why maps of the
time showed these uncharted waters full of
monsters and demons which scared peopleeven more. Maybe your class could talk about
times in your own lives when it was difcult
to do something for the rst time and your
own experiences with the “unknown.”
Figuring out how far east or west you had
travelled when out of the sight of land was
more difcult. If you look at very old maps
of the world, land masses look narrower thanthey actually are. In the rst chapter you will
discover how east and west distances were
measured with charts, tables and maps while
tracking time with a sandglass and speed
with the lead and line. Measuring where you
are either east or west of another location is
called longitude. It would be another couple
of hundred years before measuring longitudeis gured out and even longer before there is
global agreement on where longitude starts
and ends. The instrument for measuring
longitude is the chronometer. The starting
and ending point for longitude is called the
Grand Meridian which is located today in
Greenwich, England, just outside
London. Before agreement was
reached on Greenwich as the
site, there were many Grand
Meridians around the world
Even Washington, DC, in the
years following the AmericanRevolution was where the
Americans said the Grand
Meridian began and ended.
Packing for a trip is not easy
What we can take dependson how we are traveling – foot, bicycle,car, plane or boat. Deciding what to put
in or take out of a backpack or suitcase isdifcult. Today we can buy food and water
in stores along the way, eat in restaurants ortake along food and beverages in a coolerpacked with ice. So when we travel wedon’t need to take all the food and waterfor the entire trip.
However, Christopher Columbus did not
have these options in 1492. The Portuguesegoing to Asia around Africa followed the
coastline. They could stop every now and
then to resupply their ships with food and
water. However, if the ships head out across
a great unknown ocean for the rst time,
they had to take along all the food and water
needed for the estimated journey. This is
what astronauts do today when they travelin space. To carry more food, it needs to be
made lighter. One way to make it lighter is
to dry it and reduce the water content. Dried
vegetables, fruits and meat weigh less than
fresh ones. Also dried food does not require
refrigeration. Another way to keep meat from
Map of Florida and the Caribbean with illustrated sea monsters
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spoiling is to salt it. These were all methods of
food preservation in 15th and 16th centuries
which are still used even today. Can you think
of some common food items today that might
t the bill for a long ocean voyage without
refrigeration? You will nd clues about what
the early explorers took along in chapter fouron “First Foods.”
But also not knowing exactly what
you were going to nd at the end of your
journey you needed to take along those
basic European domesticated animals which
would be important for your survival and
protection. So even as early as 1492, dogs,
chickens, goats, pigs, cattle and horses wereon board ships going to the Americas. With
the exception of the dog, there were no other
major four legged domesticated animals living
among the native North Americans. With
little competition and few predators, pigs,
cattle and horses in particular adapted easily
to the American environment and spread
rapidly. The introduction of these animals to
the Americas is discussed in chapter three on
“Animals of the Old and New World.”
Within the short span of 20 years after
Columbus’ rst voyage, Spain had conquered
most of the islands of the Caribbean with
devastating consequences for the Native
Americans living on them. They foundthemselves forced to work in Spanish
mines for precious metals such as gold and
silver and to cultivate the elds of Spanish
plantations. The Spanish also overlaid the
Native American society with their own form
of government, Christian religious beliefs and
practices and culture.
By far the worst aspects of these earlyencounters were the deadly bacteria, parasites
and viruses that the Spanish brought
unknowingly with them. Before the arrival
of Columbus and his men, diseases such as
small pox, inuenza, measles, chicken pox
typhoid fever, scarlet fever and the plague
were unknown in the Americas. Within just a
couple of decades after the Europeans arrived,
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these diseases had infected, debilitated and
killed hundreds of thousands of Native
Americans living in the Caribbean. Islands,
once populated, became completely void
of native peoples. Tragically after the rst
century of Spanish conquest and exploration
the tens of millions of Native Americans livingin both North and South America had died
of diseases for which they had no immunity.
Whole cultures, societies and civilizations
were destroyed as a consequence. These
unforeseen consequences made it easier rst
for the Spanish and later the French and
English to settle and establish colonies in
the Americas. Any signicant resistance to
European colonization had vanished by the
early sixteenth century.
Chapter two describes the early explorations
of what was to become known as La Florida and
the continent of North America. If you look at
early 16th century maps of the Caribbean and
compare them to maps of the region today, youwill notice that the islands in the Caribbean and
even the big island of Cuba look very much
like modern maps. However, if you look to the
north of Cuba you will see what looks like an
island. To the early explorers, they were still not
sure if they had reached islands off the coast of
the Asian mainland or discovered whole new
continents that lay between Europe and Asia.
You might want to consider doing a display
in your class room of early 16th century maps
and late 16th century maps to see how the
continent of North America better knownat the time as La Florida after Juan Ponce de
Leon took possession in the name of the King
of Spain in 1513.
After you have read chapter two and learned
about the early explorers in La Florida such as
Ponce de Leon, Hernando De Soto, Tristan de
Luna and Pedro Menendez, you might want
to play a game of exploration using a modernmap. From chapter two you can cut out the
pictures of these early explorers. Divide your
class into two teams. The rst team takes a
picture of one of the early explorers and puts
it on the map where he may have landed
along with the year. The rst team would give
a little description of what the explorer was
looking for at the sight. The second team can
then challenge the rst team if they think the
information given by the rst team is wrong or
not accurate. If the challenge holds up then, theit is the second team’s turn to place an explorer
on the map.
Florida Living History Inc and the authors
of this e-booklet on the teaching of Florida’s
4th Grade Social Studies Educational
Standard 3, “Exploration and Settlement of
Florida,” hope that this will prove to be a
valuable resources for use in the classroom byteachers and students as well as by parents at
home with children 8 to 10 years of age. We
also would very much appreciate and value
your feedback and suggestions on how this
e-booklet can be improved to better serve
your interests and needs.
A Note to Teachers
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How Explorers Crossed Trackless Oceans to New and
Distant Lands — and Lived to Tell about It.by Peter Cowdrey
Welcome aboard as we set sail for faraway
places, with nothing to guide us except a
compass, and estimating our position on
the Earth by means of such instruments as
the astrolabe and the quadrant, and keeping
track of where we go by means of a chartand a logbook so we can nd our way back
to our starting place.
The “Old World”and the “New World”
5 centuries ago, European explorers
were just learning about places around the
world where other people had been livingand raising families for many thousands of
years. For the explorers, these were new and
undiscovered lands, but not for the people
living there already. They were already
home, and sometimes they were amazed at
the clothing, tools, and food of the explorers.
Each group considered the other “new,” and
for the explorers the lands they found acrossthe Ocean were a “New World.”
Europe and the Far East
If we look at a globe, we can see where
the continent of Europe is in relation to the
continents of Africa and Asia, and to such
island nations in the Pacic as Japan, the
Philippines, Taiwan, and others. Europeans
had been reading Marco Polo’s book, TheTravels, for two hundred years and some
were interested in going to the Far East of
Asia in order to trade with far off people for
spices, silk, and precious metals like goldand silver, while others wanted to spread
knowledge of the Christian faith to those
who had never heard of it.
Portugal and Spain
Although like Marco Polo and other
Europeans had traveled to the Far East
by overland routes for the most part, thebest way Europeans thought they could
accomplish their goals was by ship, since
overland travel was more slow and even
more dangerous than ship travel. By 1492,
the Portuguese were trying to reach the Far
East by sailing southward around Africa and
then northeast to India and beyond, while
Christopher Columbus was attempting toreach the same Far East by sailing westward,
across the Atlantic Ocean. The Portuguese
King was supporting his own subjects in their
efforts, and Columbus had the backing of
Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand of Spain
for his voyage. In Portugal and in Spain, the
rulers hoped to gain great prots from any
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overseas trade that they were sponsoring,
so there was competition between Portugal
and Spain for the riches of the Far East.
The Ships andThose Who Sailed in Them
Sailing ships of 500 years ago werewooden and carried sails to move them
through the water. There were different
kinds of ships for different purposes, but
they all were made of wood and they carried
their canvas sails on poles, called masts and
yards. The men who sailed in the ships were
experienced sailors who knew how to steer
the ships, to change the sails, and to do allsorts of other things sailors had to know to
keep the ship sailing smoothly and to keep
from hitting any of the reefs or rocks along
the shore or running aground in shallow
water. Everyone on board the ship had
responsibility to work as a team, and to obey
the ofcers who gave orders. The oldest men
might be 60 years old or more, and were themost experienced. They had sailed through
many storms, had survived wars at sea, and
had seen many places in the Mediterranean
Sea and in the eastern Atlantic Ocean. The
youngest people were “Ships’ Boys,” some
as young as 10, who acted as messengers,
and who kept a sharp eye on the sandglass
to turn it every half hour exactly. In thisearly period, there were no clocks, and all
time was told by a sandglass that hung close
to the helm where the steering was done by
the man holding the tiller (a horizontal pole
connected to the rudder), or a whip-staff (a
vertical pole connected to the rudder).
Those who sailed the ship were called
the crew, and the crew was divided into
two equal halves so that half of the sailors
could do their jobs in sailing the ship for
four hours at time, then the other half took
over for four hours, and so on. This went on
for 24 hours (except for the “dog watches”of 2 hours each, usually from about 4 PM
until about 8 PM), night and day, every day
of the trip. Sleep was done in naps of not
more than four hours each,1 and while half
the crew slept, the other half worked.
Food and Water
When the weather was good, hot foodcould be served once a day. There was no
refrigeration, so the food at the beginning of
a voyage, or sailing trip, was always better
than it was at the end of that voyage.
Food was limited and was served out
in measured amounts, the same as the
water. Food and water were very scarce on
board, and the longer the voyage, the moreuncertain the food and water allowance.
In their book, a secondary source (a recent
source that looks back on a historical event
from an earlier time) titled Florida’s GoldenGalleons: The Search for the 1715 SpanishTreasure Fleet, authors Robert F. Burgess
and Carl J. Clausen, described the food and
water this way:
During the early part of the voyage, when provisions were abundant and fresh,everyone ate reasonably well. Breakfastmight consist of boiled meal with molassesor our dumplings fried in pork fat. On meat
days, fresh fruit and vegetables were often
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served with Tassajos Fritos—sun- or wind-dried jerked beef. Other meals included a
thick bean soup cooked with salt pork, andvarious meat and turtle stews. The choicest food was served to ofcers and upper-class
passengers, who often feasted on roast fowl,
wine and honey. The usual after-dinnertreat for everyone above the rank of commonseaman was a mug of chocolate, a favoritebeverage among the Spaniards since theconquest of Mexico, when Cortés’s meninherited the bitter cacao bean drink fromthe Aztecs and discovered how good it waswhen sweetened. On sh days, boiled sh
supplemented the meat, along with a kindof kidney bean soup called Mongos. Saucer-sized biscuits made of wheat our and dried-
pea our served as bread. In the course of
the voyage these weevil-ridden disks wouldbecome hard as a rock and could be skippedacross the water like at stones. When there
was an ample supply of water, the total daily
ration was three pints. A shortage reducedthe amount to a small coconut shell full.This was all that was allowed for drinkingor bathing.
This quote is taken from Robert F. Burgess
and Carl J. Clausen, Florida’s Golden Galleons:The Search for the 1715 Spanish Treasure Fleet
(Port Salerno, Florida: Florida Classics
Library, 1982).
Navigation, and Finding the Way
People traveling by ship had to trust their
instruments to have any idea of where they
were, or where they were going, or how
to get home. When a ship leaves its home
port and goes out of sight of land, the water
looks very much alike in any direction.
Every wave looks like every other wave,
and it would be very easy to get lost and
never nd their way at all. For that reason,
several instruments were available to these
early sailors and explorers, and there weretrained ofcers who knew exactly how to
use them. Being safe at sea was so important
to early sea travelers that according to advice
that Gonzalo Fernández de Oviedo y Valdéz
gave his readers in this primary source (one
that is original to the period under study)
that was published in Spanish in 1548:
It is, moreover, a warning for the person
who is to set out to sea to inform himself ofthe following if he values his life:First of all is to know what is the state ofthe ship one boards?Second, how experienced is the pilot whowill guide it?Third, how many sailors does it carry?
Fourth, how well provisioned is it with food and water?Fifth, what stops is the ship to make on itsway to the passengers’ destination?Sixth, is the ship old or a bad sailer?Seventh, how well are the sails rigged?
If these defects exist it would be ill advised
to board such a ship. Of the pilot is notexpert, knowing it and sailing with him islike committing suicide. If the ship lacks the
sailors and people2 it should have for its size,it is a noteworthy error and very perilous.Some masters, in order to save salaries,do not staff their ships with the necessary
people, and this is disastrous in a storm, for
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The above quote is taken from Gonzalo
Fernández de Oviedo y Valdéz, “Chapter
XXI: Of the unfortunate event and shipwreck
(which some have attributed to a lack of
prudence) of a pilot named Juan Bermúdez
who departed the port of this city of Santo
Domingo on the island of Hispaniola boundfor Castile in the year 1538 and returned
from the Azores the following year, 1539,
without making Spain,” in Misfortunes andShipwrecks in the Sea of the Indies, Islands, and
Mainland of the Ocean Sea (1513-1548): Book
Fifty of the General and Natural History of theIndies, Translated and edited by Glen F. Dille
(Gainesville: University Press of Florida,2011), pp. 99-100.
the few in times of need cannot make up forthe many when they are required. Of course,
men cannot live without the necessary foodand water. It is better that there is a loaf
of bread too much than to be short a half,because hunger is an intolerable thing.
Many times a passenger expects to be at seaten days and it turns out a hundred and hedies. The rth point, with more time and
more —to know the stops a ship is to make—is something the novice passenger does notconsider and is later very troublesome forthose not forewarned. If the ship is a bad
sailer or old or not easily steered, it is a risky
thing to board and unwise if another ship isavailable. All these things are important.
Photo of reproduction of mariner’s compass by ErickLopez, Outreach Coordinator, Mission San Luis,Tallahassee, FL
Photo by Museumof Florida
HistoryProfessional
DevelopmentOfcer Wanda
Richey,Tallahassee FL
1. The Mariner’s Compass. This was the
most important instrument on board the
ship and indicated the direction of the
magnetic north with the thirty-two major
directions arranged in a circle. In the
picture below, the north-pointing compass
indicates that north is to the right, and that
our direction is toward the west (west by
north).
2. The Quadrant. This was an instrument
for observing the North Star at night and
nding one’s latitude in the Northern
Hemisphere. The navigator sighted the
Instruments used in finding the way
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North Star through the sights along one
side of the instrument while a weighted
string indicated the approximate latitude
on the edge, as read by an assistant.
3. The Astrolabe. The astrolabe was an
instrument for observing the sun’soverhead angle as the rst step in
determining one’s latitude during the
day. By comparing this reading with a
reference chart and doing some simple
arithmetic, the navigator could determine
how far north or south of the Equator his
ship was on any day in the 4-year Leap
Year cycle.
4. Globe. At sea, the navigator regularly
consulted a globe, such as this replica of
one designed by Martin Waldseemüller in1507. Because maps of that day gave the
earth a atness that it does not have, globes
were needed to help the navigator correct
the maps he was using. As technology
became better, globes and maps became
greatly improved, especially when the
problem of determining longitude became
solved in the 1700s.
By studying the maps of the early
explorers and those who came after them,
we can learn a great deal about how well
they understood the lands they were
visiting, including Florida.
Charting the Way.
Each day at noon the navigator plotted
on his chart how far the ship had sailed
since noon of the day before. Day by day, as
the ship moved through the water toward
some New Land, the navigator kept track of
every compass direction, latitude reading,
and distance sailed so that the ship could
safely return to its home port. All along the
way, he and those with him depended on
Photo by Museum ofFlorida HistoryProfessionalDevelopmentOfcer WandaRichey
Photo by Museum of Florida History ProfessionalDevelopment Ofcer Wanda Richey, Tallahassee FL
This primary source illustration is from Pedro de Medina’s Regimiento de Navegación (Seville: 1563).
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his abilities to use his instruments wisely
and correctly. Direction, latitude, anddistance could be determined, but longitude
remained a mystery. Then and later storms
were a constant hazard, pirate attacks
were common, diseases posed serious and
constant dangers, and everyone prayed for
a safe voyage.
Many different people came to Florida
and elsewhere in what was being calledthe “New World.” Some were soldiers and
sailors, some were settlers who hoped to
start a new life, and some were
priests and missionaries who
hoped to spread the faith by
establishing missions among the
Native American people living
in Florida and throughout the
Americas and teaching them theCatholic faith.
They came—the old and the
young, rich and poor, military
and civilian, free and unfree,
Europeans and Africans—men,
women, and children—and they
all came on ships as this illustration
shows. Juan Ponce de Leon named this land
La Florida when he and those with himrst saw it in 1513, and in 1521 he and the
European and African explorers with himreturned to establish a permanent home inFlorida. They failed, and in later years manysimilar attempts were made—and they
also failed. With each unsuccessful attemptthe survivors learned more and eventually,
Photo by Museum of Florida History Professional DevelopmentOfcer Wanda Richey
Mid-16th century Spanish map of Florida, publishedin 1586. This primary source is provided courtesy ofthe State Archives of Florida.
1565 French map of Florida, published in 1591. This primary source is provided courtesy of theSt. Augustine Historical Society.
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1. Why did people leave their
homeland to cross the ocean during
the 1500s and after?
2. How did people cross the ocean
long ago?
3. How safe was it for people to travel
by ship?
4. Who was responsible for nding the
way at sea?
5. What concerns did people have who
were crossing the ocean long ago?
6. What was it like to eat and drink while
on long voyages at sea?
7. What instruments did the navigator
carry with him on the ships to help him
nd the way?
1. Different people had different motives.
Some wanted to enrich themselves by
nding gold or other wealth. Some
wanted to make their fortune through
trade with people from distant lands.Government ofcials were interested
in claiming and occupying as much of
new lands as possible. Families came
looking for a new start in life, perhaps
the opportunity to acquire land and farm
it, while missionaries wanted to serve
the Native peoples and convert them to
Christianity. Many who came did not
have their names recorded, but among
the men and women who came to Floridawith Juan Ponce de León were the African
soldier, Juan Garrido, and the Spanish
navigator, Antón de Alaminos.
2. They came by ship.
Review Questions
Answers to Review Questions
following the French establishment of FortCaroline in what is today Jacksonville,Florida, Spain sent Pedro Menendez de
Aviles and a major force of soldiers andsettlers to reclaim Florida from the French
and to nally establish a permanent
presence here.That takes us to the story of the founding
of St. Augustine, the subject of a separate
lesson plan in this series.
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3. It was dangerous to travel by ship because
it was not possible in those days to predict
the weather to know when storms were
coming, to be safe from pirates and from
the diseases that threatened the travelers.
4. The navigator was trained in the use ofinstruments and maps and charts, and
had considerable experience usually over
many years of travel at sea, and in Spain
was licensed to practice his trade. He was
a professional who knew the stars, the
sea, and the sky, and who knew how to
use the instruments he carried with him.
5. People who crossed the ocean long ago
had many concerns. Some of these were
what might be called common sense
concerns, those dealing with the ship, its
age, suitability, provisions, how long the
journey will be, how many sailors the
ship has, the experience of the navigator
or pilot (see the primary source quote byGonzalo Fernández de Oviedo y Valdéz
above, pp. 2 and 3).
6. People crossing the ocean long ago started
out with fresh food and plenty of water,
but with no refrigeration leafy vegetables
and fresh fruit spoiled quickly. Dried or
salted meat lasted well enough, but thebread became stale, moldy, and infested
with weevils and water grew rancid with
storage (see secondary source quote by
Burgess and Clausen on p. 2, above).
7. The navigator carried with him several
instruments. The most important was
the mariner’s compass, a magnetized
instrument that indicated magnetic north
in every ocean. It had thirty-two different
directions marked on it, and the navigator
knew the names of every one of theseIt helped him to set and maintain his
course. The quadrant was a pie-shaped
instrument for measuring the height of
the North Star at night in the Northern
Hemisphere in order to nd the ship’s
latitude. The astrolabe was used in the
daytime at noon to measure the height
of the sun in order to calculate latitude.A small globe reminded the prudent
navigator of the true shape of coastlines he
was encountering and gave him a way to
correct the imperfections on the maps he
was using. The charts and maps, imperfect
as they were, gave him large drawings of
outlines of the coasts he was seeking and
provided him with a means of reachingdistant harbors and anchorages safely.
The navigator carried and used other
instruments also—instruments for telling
time without the use of clocks or watches,
and for determining the depth of the
water beneath the ship when approaching
land. He had books of instructions and
mathematical tables for reference, and heregularly consulted these as well.
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The First Voyage (1511 – 1513)
Rumors of lands to the north Cuba, known
as the Islands of Benimy (Bimini) reached the
Spanish court around 1511 prompting King
Ferdinand to urge Ponce de Leon to nance,plan and lead an expedition to nd them,
granting Ponce de Leon a royal contract
which outlined his rights and authorities.
Research question 2: What title was
Ponce de Leon granted with respect to his
contract to search for Benimy?
March 4th 1513, Ponce departed SanGerman Puerto Rico with around 200 men
in three ships, the Santiago, the San Cristobaland the Santa Maria de la Consolacion. Ponce’s
small eet sailed northwest along the great
chain of islands then known as the Lucayos,
present Bahamas, reaching the northern end
of the chain on March 27th, Easter Sunday
Ponce then set off over open water headingwest, but being swept north by the then
unknown Gulf Stream current, he sighted
land on April 2nd, 1513 and christened it La
Florida, (“Flowery Land”) due to the lush
vegetation and it being the Easter season
which the Spanish called Pascua Florida
The Early Years (1474 – 1511)
Born in Santervás de Campos, Castile,
Spain in 1474 Ponce de Leon rst visited
the new world as a soldier accompanying
Christopher Columbus on Columbus’ssecond voyage in 1493.
After distinguishing himself Ponce
de Leon was appointed rst Governor of
Puerto Rico, then called San Juan Bautista,
in 1509. This posting
came under political
attack from Diego
Colón Moniz, theson of Christopher
Columbus, who was
engaged in a legal
battle to inherit the
titles and privileges
granted to his father.
Diego Colón nally
succeeded in establishing his claims andPonce de Leon was forced to relinquish the
Governorship to Colón in 1511.
Research question 1: Why is Diego Colón
Moniz properly referred to as Diego
Colón rather than Diego Moniz?
by Allen Hilburn
Pomce de Leon
Ponce de Leon (1474 – 1521)
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(Festival of Flowers). The following day,
Ponce de Leon came ashore and believing
this land to be another island took possession
of the land for Spain.
April 3, 1513, Ponce de Leon rstset foot on what would become Florida
USA. Interestingly he claimed this and all
attached lands as part of La Florida, which
would indicate, no matter where you are
in North America that could be construed
as “attached” you are in what was once
Spanish Florida. ( Additional information on
the subject of navigation in the time of Ponce deLeon can be found in the Chapter 1 dealing withNavigation.)
Ponce stayed in the area of the initial
landing for about ve days, then headed
south along the coast where on April 8th
1513 he encountered, and more importantly
recognized, the Gulf Stream at its strongest
between the Bahamas and Florida. Thisstrong current forced the eet to anchor
and the smallest ship the San Cristobal was
separated from the eet for a couple of days.
Linking back up, the eet proceeded south
hugging the shore to avoid the current.
Research question 3: What was the
signicance of the discovery of the north
bound Gulf Stream for later events in the
Spanish empire?
By May 4th Ponce reached Biscayne
Bay and stopped at an island named SanMarta, now known as Key Biscayne, to take
on water. Continuing south Ponce de Leon
discovered the Florida Keys, eventually
nding a passage through to the west coast
of Florida getting as far north as Sanibel
Island before heading south where they
encountered the Dry Tortugas on June 21st
1513 before making an attempt to sail to
Cuba. Again, the Gulf Stream plays a roll and
the eet is carried east through the Straits of
Florida eventually reaching Grand Bahama
on July 8th 1513. Here the eet disbanded
and Ponce returned home arriving in Puerto
Rico on October 19, 1513.
The In-between Time (1513 – 1521)
In 1514 Ponce de Leon returns to Spain to
report personally on his expedition. There he
was knighted and awarded a personal coat
of arms by King Ferdinand, the rst Spanish
explorer to be so honored. Wile in Spain
Ponce was also awarded a new contract
conrming his rights to the “islands” of La
Florida and Benimy
Having been ordered to subdue the Caribs
who were attacking Spanish settlements in
the Caribbean, Ponce left Spain May 14th
1515 with three ships and was so engaged
until the mission ended with the death of
Ferdinand in 1516. Ponce again served as
Professor Dr. Michael Gannon speaks at the VivaFlorida 500 Summit
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Governor of Puerto Rico from 1515 to 1519
where the Governorship and, following the
death of his wife Leonor, family matters
keep him busy.
Final Voyage (1521)
Under the provisions of the contractissued in 1514 Ponce de Leon organized
an expedition consisting of some 200 men
and two ships. In contrast to his earlier
voyage of exploration, this was a voyage of
colonization, including not just soldiers and
sailors, but priests, farmers, horses, domestic
animals and farming implements.
Soon after their arrival near CharlotteHarbor or the Caloosahatchee River on the
southwest coast of Florida, they were set
upon by Calusa warriors and Ponce de Leon
was struck in the leg by an arrow. Following
this attack the colonists withdrew back to
Havana, Cuba where Ponce de Leon died of
his wound in July of 1521 at the age of 47.
Ponce de Leon and theMyth of the Fountain of Youth
It is widely reported today that Ponce
de Leon’s explorations of La Florida were
motivated by the search for the legendary
Fountain of Youth. Many societies attribute
great signicance to water and water
sources. A widely believed myth at the timewas that of the well at the end of the world
which had magical healing properties.
It was generally believed this well was
located in India, so keeping in mind that the
Caribbean was initially thought to be near
India and even called to this day the West
Indies, the connection was logical based on
the thinking of the time.
The Fountain of Youth rumor in relation toPonce de Leon was probably initiated by the
publication of Gonzalo Fernandez’ HistoriaGeneral y Natural de las Indias published in
1535, some 14 years after the death of de
Leon. In it Fernandez states Ponce de Leon
was looking for the waters of Benimy to
regain youthfulness. This assertion is further
propagated by Francisco Lopez de Gomarain his Historia General de las Indias in 1551
The Fountain of Youth rumor was picked
up by succeeding authors and expanded
upon until Ponce de Leon and the search for
the Fountain of Youth have become almost
synonymous. The fact is the expeditions of
Ponce de Leon were in keeping with and
aimed towards the expansionist agenda ofthe Spanish beginning in the late 15th century
and continuing through the early 18th
century. The Fountain of Youth myth related
to Ponce de Leon is an excellent example of
the type of inaccuracies that can creep into
history and why a dedicated historian has
to delve deeply into the secrets of the past in
order to gain a real understanding of thosewho came before, their motivations were
and what their actually accomplished.
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The Early Years (1496/1497 – 1539)
Born in 1497 or 1497 in the Extemadura
region of Spain, two towns claim to be his city
of birth, Barcarrola
and Badajoz both
of which he spent
time in during his
childhood. De Soto
rst sailed to the
new world with
the rst Governorof Panama,
Pedrarias Davila,
where he gained
gained fame for his
abilities as a soldier, including the capture
and subsequent ransom of native leaders.
Keep in mind, the ransom of captured
noblemen was common in Europeanconicts, so while some sources point to this
as an example of de Soto’s brutality, it was
in keeping with the practices of the time in
the old world.
In 1530, de Soto became a regidor of
Leon, Nicaragua and explored the Yucatan
Peninsula before joining Francisco Pizarro
in campaigns against the Incas where deSoto distinguished himself, quickly being
promoted to Captain. Here again, ransom
was used to acquire more wealth, and de
Soto, who was actually of quite humble
nancial status, became very wealthy.
Research question 4: What is a regidor?
In 1534 de Soto returned to Spain with his
new found wealth where he was admitted
to the Order of Santiago, a Spanish orderof knighthood. During this period de Soto
married Isabela de Bobadilla, and was
granted governorship of Cuba. As part of
this contract, he was expected to colonize the
North American continent for Spain within
four years. A tall order to say the least.
Florida (1539 – 1540) Departing Havana in seven ships of the
King and two caravels of his own, de Soto
made landfall in Tampa Bay near Shaw’s
Point, Bradenton Florida in May of 1539
which he named Espiritu Santo (Holy Spirit)
Here, at what is now De Soto National
Memorial, de Soto came ashore with some
620 colonists and supplies, including soldiers,mercenaries, craftsman, clergy, engineers,
farmers and tons of equipment including
the weapons and armor so associated with
Spanish Conquistadors.
Research question 5: What does
Conquistador mean in English?
Undoubtedly to his surprise, de Sotomeets Juan Ortiz, a member of the earlier,
failed, Narvaez Expedition who has been
held by the Uzita natives. Ortiz joins de
Soto’s party acting as interpreter and
guide. Leaving the Tampa Bay area, de Soto
raveled north along Florida’s West Coast
ghting a running battle with the natives
Hernando de Soto (1496/1497 – 1542)
Hernando de Soto
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Born in Borobia, Spain in 1519, Tristan
de Luna y Arellano, after serving with
Francisco Vasquez de Coronado in Mexico
was selected by the Viceroy of New Spain
(Mexico), Luis de Velasco to establish a colony
on the northern coast of the Gulf of Mexico
and setup an overland trade route to the
yet-to-be established colony of Santa Elena
in present-day South Carolina. De Luna’s
expedition was massive in comparison to
Ponce de Leon’s and de Soto’s, consisting of
some thirteen ships and over 1500 soldiers
and settlers. Unfortunately, de Luna proved
to not the leader one could have hope for and
a series of disasters plagued the endeavor
from its outset.
On June 11, 1559, the de Luna Expedition
departed Vera Cruz, Mexico, arriving in
what is now Pensacola Bay on August 14,
1559. There, at the site currently occupied by
until he reaches Anhaica in Florida’s
western panhandle, where he encamps for
the winter. Here, near present Tallahassee,
De Soto and his men celebrated the rst
Christmas in what is now, the continental
United States and Canada.
After Present-day Florida(1740 – 1743)
The spring of 1740 de Soto leaves present-
day Florida, heading north east into present
Georgia. During the remainder of 1740
through 1741 de Soto explores areas of the
present states of Georgia, the Carolinas, and
Tennessee, crossing the Mississippi Rivernear present Memphis, Tennessee. Cutting
back through North West Georgia de Soto
then passed through, Alabama, Mississippi,
and Arkansas. The winter of 1741 was spent
in Autimique on the Arkansas River In 1742
Juan Ortiz dies and de Soto’s path becomes
more erratic, wondering through Arkansas,
possibly Oklahoma, Texas and possibly a
small part of Louisiana. May 21, 1542, almost
exactly three years after landing in Florida,
de Soto dies of fever. Historians disagree
as to the exact location, but possibly either
near present-day MacArthur Arkansas or in
Louisiana. Before his death de Soto appoints
Luis de Moscoso Alvarado as commanderof the expedition. De Moscoso leads the
expedition back to the Mississippi River
where they build boats, sail down the river
and along the gulf coast to Matagorda Bay
in Texas near Aransas or Corpus Christi Bay,
where they traveled overland to Mexico
City, arriving in mid to late 1543.
For ease of reference, I have referred toHernando de Soto’s travels with relation to the
present-day states through which he traveled;but a point to keep in mind. Recall the initialclaim by Ponce de Leon regarding La FloridaBased on this claim, all of de Soto’s travels in thenew world could be said to have taken place inLa Florida.
Tristan de Luna y Arellano and the Founding of Pensacola (1559)
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The Early Years(1519 – March 20, 1565)
Pedro Menendez de Aviles (1519 – 1574)
was born on the northern Iberian Peninsula
in the Asturian Region of Spain on February
15, 1519, and is perhaps one of the more
colorful characters in the history of Spanish
Florida. A sailor, Menendez, operated as a
corsario (privateer) and with all probability
as a contrabandista (smuggler) for much of
his career before receiving a contract from
Philip II in 1565 to establish a colony on the
Naval Air Station
(NAS) Pensacola,
they established
the encampment
of Puerto de Santa
Maria and began a
reconnaissance ofthe area. De Luna
also dispatched
one of his ships
back to Vera Cruz
to report on the
successful landing and two ships to Spain,
bringing the number of vessels on hand
down to ten.Unfortunately de Luna waited to unload
his supplies from the ships while these
scouting missions were ongoing. On the
night of September 19th 1559 a hurricane
devastated the anchorage resulting in the
loss of seven ships and their supplies with
one caravel aground, but with it’s cargo
recoverable.The shore party abandoned the
encampment and moved up the Alabama
River to the village of Nanipacana
(Nanipacna or Ninicapua), renaming this
abandoned village Santa Cruz, where
they lived for several months awaiting the
arrival of the relief ships from Vera Cruz.
Once they arrived, these relief supplies got
the de Luna party through the winter, but
supplies expected to arrive in the spring hadnot arrived by September. The deteriorating
situation led to a near mutiny when some
colonists began refusing de Luna’s orders
This situation was averted when Angel de
Villafane arrived and offered to take all who
wished to Cuba and Santa Elena. The majority
of the party departed with de Villafane,
including de Luna, who never returned toFlorida, dieing in Mexico in 1571.
De Villafane left fty men under Captain
Biedma at the Pensacola colony awaiting
further orders from Viceroy Velasco
When after several months the remaining
Spaniards sailed away marking the end of
the de Luna attempt to establish a colony
on Pensacola Bay. The area would remainuninhabited by Europeans until 1698 when
the Spanish successfully founded the city
of Pensacola.
Tristan de Luna y Arellano
Pedro Menendez de Aviles andthe Founding of Saint Augustine (1565)
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east coast of La Florida which went into
effect with the King afxing his signature on
March 20, 1565.
Research question 6: What is the
difference between a corsario and a pirata
(pirate)?Research question 7: What did the Spanish
call the contracts issued to Ponce de Leon
and Pedro Menendez de Aviles?
Cadiz to Saint Augustine(March 20th, 1565-September 8th, 1565)
As part of
this contract,the Adelantado
( M e n e n d e z )
was required
to fulll certain
o b l i g a t i o n s .
These included
establ i sh ing
se t t lements ,but also the
expulsion of
the French who
had established
a fort, Fort Caroline, on the St. Johns river
near the current location of Jacksonville,
Florida.
As one of his obligations under theasiento, King Philip II provided Menendez
with ten ships, most ranging from sixty
to seventy-ve tons, including the galley
Victoria, but also including the caravel San
Antonio of one hundred and fty tons. To
the Kings ten ships, Pedro Menendez added
his own, San Pelayo, at over 900 tons, by far
the largest ship in the eet, thus bringing
the eet to a total of eleven sail. (Note: In the
age of sail, it was common to refer to the numberof ships in a eet as so many sail, rather than so
many sailing ships.)
Research question 8: What is the
distinguishing feature of a galley?
This was however not all of the Menendez
Expedition. Besides the eet at Cadiz, other
ships were sailing from northern Spain with
additional personnel and supplies, and a eet
under command of Pedro de las Roelas had
sailed somewhat earlier. Both of these eetsintended to rendezvous with the Menendez
and his eet in the Caribbean. As you can see,
this was a massive undertaking. The reader
will also note how these expeditions have
increased, almost exponentially, in size from
the 200 men accompanying Ponce de Leon,
to the just over six hundred with the de Soto
expedition to the thousands participatingwith Pedro Menendez.
By the end of June, Pedro Menendez had
assembled his eet at Cadiz in preparation for
the crossing to La Florida via the Caribbean
Onboard the eleven ships were some fteen
hundred souls, eight hundred plus of whom
were soldiers, but also consisting of tailors,
carpenters, shoemakers, millers, masons,silversmiths, gardeners, barbers, a hat-
maker, a weaver of silk and a brewer. All
in all, there were some thirty-eight trades
represented not to mention almost one
hundred and twenty farmers. Along with
all these landsmen, the ships company,
Pedro Menendez
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that is those sailors and seamen who were
responsible for actually sailing the ships,
numbered some one hundred and seventy,
including eighteen artillerymen or, to use
the nautical term, gunners. This was not,
however, an all male endeavor for aboard
the San Pelayo sailed twenty-seven families,including women and children. And least
we forget, the massive inuence of religion
in the time of Menendez, no less than seven
priests accompanied the colonists, including
Francisco López de Mendoza Grajales,
whose writings will chronicle the Menendez
Expedition for future generations.
Wednesday, June 27, 1565, under a clearsky, Pedro Menendez de Aviles and his eet
weigh anchor and depart the ancient city of
Cadiz sailing west into the Atlantic. Following
an uneventful passage, on July 4, 1565, the
eet entered the harbor at Las Palmas on the
island of Great Canary in the Canary Islands
chain. Here, after resupplying, eight ships
sailed on for the Windward Islands of theCaribbean while three ships stayed behind,
making preparation to return to Spain.
This passage would prove to be not as easy
as the passage from Cadiz to the Canaries.
On July 21, 1565 the eet was struck by a
hurricane which caused serious damage to
all the ships including the Pelayo which lost
two masts and was in danger of founderingsince she lacked maneuverability without
her sails. When the storm abated on July
23, 1565, one ship had become lost and one
had run aground and sunk on the island of
Guadalupe. As a result, Menendez decided
to forego the Windwards and make directly
for Puerto Rico. The Pelayo, under jury rig,
along with the remaining ve ships, arrived
in San Juan harbor on August 8, 1565.
This was a serious setback for Menendez
His ships were in desperate need of repair,
he had lost two of them with their personnel
and supplies and to make matters worse, theexpected rendezvous with his northern eet
and the third eet under Pedro de las Roelas
had failed to materialize. In one of those
strange turns history sometimes takes, to
the rescue comes Juan Ponce de Leon. Juan,
of the family of Ponce de Leon, was a large
landowner with good credit. He and Pedro
Menendez was able to negotiate a businessarrangement in which Menendez was able
to establish a line of credit in exchange for
basically cutting Juan Ponce in on some of
the rights Menendez exercised under his
contract with the King. This alliance also
provided him with a point of supply near
at hand in Pureto Rico which could be
invaluable in the future.While retting his existing ships,
Menendez was able to acquire one additional
ship and two small boats. He also recruited
forty two soldiers but this gain was offset by
the desertion of thirty of his men and three
of the Priests.
Planning on visiting Havana to
acquire reinforcements, Pedro Menendezdeparted San Juan on August 15, 1565,
with his revamped eet, heading west and
crossing the Mona Passage before sighting
Hispaniola, modern Haiti and the Dominican
Republic, on August 15, 1565. At this point
the Adelantado abandons his plan to go to
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Havana, possibly due to concerns about
being intercepted by the French and heads
directly for La Florida, navigating through he
dangerous shoals of the Bahamas. Emerging
into the Gulf Stream, the eet sailed North
West sighting land near Cape Canaveral
then tuning North toward Fort Caroline.At about the same time a French resupply
eet had arrived on the River May (St. Johns
River) under the command of Jean Ribault.
Around two in the afternoon of
September 4, 1565 Menendez sighted four
ships anchored in the mouth of a great river
and observing French colors ying from
the masthead, realized this to be Ribault,who Menendez had known was en route
to resupply Fort Caroline, and had been
hoping to beat to the fort before it could be
resupplied and reinforced. Having dispense
with landing in Havana to reinforce his
own ships in order to beat Ribault to Fort
Caroline, Menendez was now faced with
the possibility he was going to be encountera superior force. Menendez, corsario that
he was, decided on the direct approach, as
soon as the winds were favorable, he would
attack the French eet.
It was well after dark when the wind
began to blow and the Spanish eet was able
to move in on the French. Menendez’ plan
was to anchor near the French and attack atrst light. This was not to be however. As
the Spanish approached the French ships,
the they haled the French, demanding they
identify themselves. The French responded
they were French, under the authority of the
French King and command of Jean Ribault.
Demanding the Spanish identify themselves,
the Spanish responded they were under the
command of Pedro Menendez de Aviles,
the Adelantado of Florida and under orders
form the Spanish King to capture any French
heretics they found in Spanish lands and
bring them to justice, which he intended todo as soon as it was light. The French scoffed,
replying why wait?. The exchange then
deteriorated into curses and name calling,
infuriating Menendez, who decided not to
wait but to attack immediately. Anchoring
Pelayo forward of Ribault’s agship, Trinite,
Menendez began paying out his anchor line
in order to bring Pelayo alongside TriniteAs this was being accomplished, the French
eet cut their cables, raised sail and began to
move off to leeward. San Pelayo got off ve
shots from her massive bronze guns, but in
the darkness was not able to determine if any
damage had been done to the French ships.
Hoisting anchor and giving pursuit, the
Spanish ships chased the French throughoutthe night, but were unable to keep up,
probably due to the damage sustained during
the hurricane in July and the fact that the
French had unloaded their cargo and were
therefore lighter than the still fully loaded
Spanish ships. By dawn it was obvious the
French had escaped so Menendez ordered
the eet to regroup and considered animmediate assault on the French position
ashore. Unfortunately, the shoal area near
the shore prevented the Pelayo form being
able to get in close enough for this plan to
work, so Menendez abandoned the idea and
determined to establish his own base from
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which to pursue a longer, more drawn out
campaign.
Sailing south, the Spanish eet anchored
off Saint Augustine, which they had
discovered a few days before. There, on
September 8th, 1565, Pedro Menendez de
Aviles came ashore and was sworn in as
the Adelantado, as well as the Captain-
General and Governor of La Florida. This
ceremony was followed by feasting along
with some of their new native allies and the
giving of thanks for their successful arrival
in Florida. Thus begins the history of the
oldest continuously occupied European city
in what was to be the continental United
State and Canada, with the celebration of the
rst Thanksgiving.
Immediately following, construction of
what would be the rst in a series of wooden
forts was begun, while simultaneously plans
were made to move against the French in
Fort Caroline. During this period, the French
perform a reconnaissance of the Spanish
activity at Saint Augustine and begin planning
their attack which they determine should
proceed immediately while the Spanish
forces are split up working on multiple
projects, including construction of their fort
After some delay, Ribault’s eet sails south
with some four hundred soldiers and two
hundred seamen to attack Saint Augustine.
Being concerned that the San Pelayo was
at the mercy of hurricanes, in unknown
waters and could be sunk or captured by
the French, Menendez determined to have
her sail to Hispaniola, returning in January
She sailed just after midnight on September
10th, 1565. At dawn, the French eet arrived,
having just missed the San Pelayo. As she was
the most formidable ship the Spanish had,
they, the French, set off in pursuit intending
to capture or sink her.
First Muster © Jackson Walker http://jacksonwalkerstudio.com/
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Two days later, a storm, possibly a hurricane,
blew up and realizing this storm would
prevent the French eet from returning to Fort
Caroline, Menendez, having been advised by
the natives that he could reach the French
fort by traveling up the river now known as
the Matanzas River, decided to immediatelyattack Fort Caroline. Prior to marching north
to attack Fort Caroline, on September 16th
1654 Pedro Menendez established a Militia
which would remain in Saint Augustine as
a defense in case the French eet returned
while he was away attacking Fort Caroline.
This was the rst muster of civilian soldiers
in Florida which today is sighted as the rstmuster of the Florida National Guard.
On September 18, 1565, two days after
mustering the militia, Pedro Menendez,
personally lead an expedition of 500 men at
arms north toward Fort Caroline. Arriving
in the area of the French outpost, September
20, 1565, the Spanish attacked Fort Caroline
at dawn, easily gaining entry to the fortand it’s depleted garrison. Inside, a bloody
skirmish ensues with over a hindered
French causalities.
In the meantime, Ribault’s eet had
suffered disastrously, all but one sunk or
aground near Mosquito (Ponce de Leon)
Inlet. The crew of the one ship to survive
deciding to desert Florida and head in to theCaribbean. Ashore, the castaways, formed
into two groups and set off toward the north
and Fort Caroline.
September 28, 1565, friendly native bring
news of a large number of Frenchmen some
eighteen miles south near a small inlet
Menendez sets off with one company of
men and a French interpreter, arriving at
the inlet the morning of September 29, 1565
A parley is held with the French in whichthey are advised that no promise of safety
will be given if they surrender. As their only
other option after hearing of the capture
of Fort Caroline is to set off to the south
where starvation and capture by the natives
is assured, they surrender and are ferried
across the inlet where all but a few skilled
individuals are executed.Returning to Saint Augustine, Menendez
begins writing his rst report to the King
since arrival in Florida. He is interrupted
when he is advised that a second group of
French have arrived at the inlet. This time
he takes 150 men with him as he heads
back to the inlet. Arriving on the morning
of October 11, the proceedings were muchthe same as before, only this time half the
French decided to take their chances to
the south. The rest, including Jean Ribault
surrendered, and again after sparing a few
skilled men, the remainder including Ribault
were put to death. Today this area bears the
name Matanzas, Spanish for slaughter in
remembrance of the vengeance of MenendezWhile this tactic was somewhat common at
the time, it remains the largest stain on the
memory of Pedro Menendez.
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This is an intriguing period from the
perspective of a weapons historian. The age
of the Conquistadors combines elementsof the days of knights in shining armor
and that of rearms, for both exist at this
juncture of history.
The Arms and Armor of Old
Carried by the Conquistadors are a
number of medieval offensive and defensive
systems. Offensive systems in includedswords, notably the rapier, crossbows, while
defensive systems included shields, helmets
and chain and/or plate armor.
The Sword
The rapier, a gentleman’s blade, is a longthrusting weapon designed for use by askilled individual. It would serve for bothoffensive and personal defense use. Due
to their length and the relative thinness ofthe blade, rapiers were not suited for useaboard ship or in conned spaces such as
the thick vegetation encountered ashore
by the early explorers. The carrying ofa rapier served more as a badge of rank
than a weapon to be used during andexpedition, so many, especially those ofnoble birth, did carry them. There is someevidence that the explorers would havethe blades replaced with stouter unitsfor eld use. Pictured left, a couple of
typical Spanish a cup-hilt rapiers. Otherdesigns featured a scroll like hilt, but the
employment was similar.The rapier was sometimes employed
with a shorter, dagger like weapon called a
main-gauche (French for “left hand”) that
acted to perry or trap the opponents blade
The rapier would have been worn on the
hip, left hip for a right handed individual,
while the main-gauche would have been
worn diagonally, tilted to the left, acrossthe back. The sword would be drawn using
the right hand, and the main-gauche drawn
with the left.
The Crossbow
This is one of the premier ranged
weapons of history, originating somewhere
in the middle of the 4
th
century BC, butexactly where or with what culture remains
a mystery. European use of the crossbow
can be documented during the 5th century
by the Greeks, and versions existed that
ranged from individual carried weapons to
artillery sized even predating the catapult in
this latter respect.
Of Arms and Armor in the Age of the Conquistadors
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The rst recorded introduction of the
crossbow to La Florida was with Ponce de Leon,
and its use in Florida
continued through the
establishment of Saint
Augustine, with Pedro
Menendez. In fact, whilemuch focus is placed upon
early rearms during the
Conquistador period,
crossbows undoubtedly
outnumbered them,
as they were not
subject to logistical
shortcomings, ie lack ofgun powder, and they
were less expensive
both to produce and to
operate.
The crossbow, like
the bow, res an arrow
like projectile, but the crossbow
“quarrel” is shorter in lengthand has only two opposing
feathers or wooden ns where
arrows can have three feathers.
This is to allow the quarrel to
pass between the corssbow’s
stock and the bow string, a
design consideration the bow
does not share. Crossbows arealso easier to train soldiers to
use effectively when compared
to the bow and the length of time required
to so train them is very greatly reduced. To
train a long bowman typically takes years, the
recruit beginning training at a very young age.
In contrast, training of a crossbowman will
only take a few weeks, thus allowing masses
of crossbowman to be
deployed to the battleeld
much more rapidly and to
be, likewise, replaced much
more rapidly. Crossbowsalso allow for much
higher draw weights, the
draw weight being the
peak amount of weight
in pounds or other
units that an archer will
pull while drawing the
bowstring to the rearWhile long bows are
limited by what a man
could draw using the
strength his arm alone,
crossbows can employ
various mechanical
methods to assist in the drawing
of the bowstring includingleaver type devices and hand
cranked wenches. While the
rate of re of a long bow is
much greater than a crossbow
this ability to mechanically
cock a crossbow means the
crossbow can have a draw
weight of hundreds of poundsthereby greatly increasing its
power and range.
As with modern ammunition, crossbow
quarrels were “mission specic”. By this
we mean, they were designed for specic
purposes, like general hunting or armor
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piercing. The main difference in these
variations was the metal tip of the quarrel.
Where a hunting quarrel would have a
attened point, a metal piercing quarrel
would have a much heavier tip that would
be square in cross-section rather than at.
Chainmail
Dating back
to the 3rd century,chainmail is atype of armormade up ofi n t e r l o c k i n g
links. Small rings are made with theiroverlapping ends riveted together. It iseffective against sword slashes, but less
so against thrusting weapons and arrows.It’s advantages are that it is exible, of
relatively light weight and less expensivethen plate armor.
Chainmail could be worn alone, or in
combination with plate armor, which was very
common during the medieval period.
Plate Armor
Plate armor has been in use since at least the
Roman-era, but full plate armor, the type we
usually think of
when we picture
an armored
knight, was a
development of
the Late Middle
Ages (1300 -
1500). By the
time of Ponce de
Leon, we were
approaching the
end of this period,
and with the advent
of rearms, the
tactical use of plate
armor was waning.
Plate armor is
effective against
swords and arrows,
but less so against
the more powerful
crossbow quarrel
Typically, during the
exploration of La
Florida, the arm and
leg pieces had been done away with and the
chest and head protection all that was used
In ceremonial situations, however, more
elaborate plate armor was still seen.
Interestingly, in recent times, plate armor
has made a reappearance, although the
plates are now made of ceramic material
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rather than steel. Sometimes are called plate
carriers, that is a fabric vest with pockets
into which the plates are placed, are now
in quite common use by modern military
organizations. As a result, the Spanish soldier
with his helmet and chest armor looks much
less antiquated.
Quilted Armor
Quilted armor in its simplest form is
designed to help distribute the force of any
received blows like other types of armor. It
was primarily used by individuals of lessor
means as it was very inexpensive and easily
self fabricated. It also served as an underarmor garmet for plate and other type of
metal armor to prevent chafng.
Many variations of this type or armor
exist. In some instances, scrap metal plates
could be sewn into the fabric or hard leather
scales could be attached to the exterior.
The Horse
Also of great importance as a weaponwas the horse, which could be armoredin its own right and effectively acted asa modern tank would during a battle,transporting the soldado at great speed
and placing him above the fray where hecould attack from this high ground. Thephysiological effect alone would havebeen devastating, at least initially. Later inour history, the plains Indians would bedescribed as the world’s best light cavalry,which points out the eeting nature of
technological advantage in war.
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Handgonnes
Also referred to as the gonne or handcannon, the handgonne is perhaps a
modication of the crossbow, where the bow
has been removed and a small cannon barrel
has been lashed or otherwise attached to the
crossbows stock. The handgonne probably
originated in China in the 1200s. The earliest
European use of such weapons dates from
the 14th
centuryThe handgonne was operated by one or
two men, one to load and aim the other to
use a botafuego to
re the handgonne.
The botafuego
was a stick with
a fork like metal
end which holdsmatch cord to
igniting muzzle
loading cannons
etc. These weapons
were marginally
effective, probably more of a psychological
weapon than anything else. However when
loaded with shot consisting of multipleprojectiles, similar to a modern shotgun
using buckshot, they could be quite
devastating at close range. Unfortunately
the reloading process was not conducive
to use in close quarter combat where an
adversary could use a sword on the gunner
while he was trying to reload.
By the time of Ponce de Leon this was
old technology, however, in larger calibers
(1-inch or above) they would have provided
usable, easily transportable repower on the
order of a small eld gun (cannon).
The Matchlock
Technically an arquebus or harquebus,
but generally referred to as a matchlock
today. The matchlock or matchlock full
musket weighed about seventeen pounds
and was red using a support stick as was
the custom with the handgonne, while the
arquebus weighed on average around ten
pounds and could be red without the
support stick. The lock, or lock plate on both
was similar, so we will refer to both here as a
matchlock for clarity’s sake.
The matchlock was rst appeared in
Europe in the mid-15th century and in
common use by the beginning of the16th
century. Interestingly, while gun powder was
the invention of the Chinese, the matchlock
was a European invention, introduced to the
Orient by the Portuguese in 1543. Therefore
all of our explorers, including Columbus
(1492) had access to matchlock weapons.
The matchlock improved on the
handgonne by offering a lighter individual
weapon with improved aiming and accuracy
It’s major drawback was its inability to be
reloaded and re quickly and the inherent
danger of a lit match cord in close proximity
The Dawn of Modern Firearms
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to gun powder. The matchlock was
used in conjunction with what was
called the twelve apostles, twelve
wooden containers, each containing
a single powder charge, suspended
from a strap worn diagonally across
the body. In some instances there wasa larger apostle which held priming
powder while in other cases, a separate
priming ask or horn was employed.
Attached to the lower end of the diagonal
strap was a pouch which held the bullets.
Loading a matchlock consisted of
holding the burning match cord away from
the powder as the soldado primed the panof the weapon using the larger apostle or
separate priming ask or horn. He then
charged the matchlock by selecting a full
apostle and pouring the powder down the
barrel. A bullet was then selected from the
bullet pouch and placed in the barrel and
extracting the scouring stick, what we now
refer to as a ram rod, he rammed downthe ball, seating it and the powder charge
in the breech of the matchlock. The match
cord was then placed in the serpentine and
tested to make sure it was in line with the
pan, which was closed to prevent premature
discharge. The weapon was ready to re.
Firing consisted of opening the pan
and squeezing the trigger in an upwarddirection causing the serpentine to
descend with the lit match cord into the
pan igniting the priming powder which
ashed trough the touch hole igniting the
main charge in the breech and discharging
the weapon.
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Answers to Research Questions
1. In Spain the rst name is followed by
the father’s surname then the mother’smaiden surname For legal purposes it
is proper to refer to oneself using only
the rst name and father’s surname and
when naming children the father’s name
is passed along exclusive of the mother’s
maiden name.
2. Adelantado
3. Because of the powerful boost provided
by the current, it would soon become the
primary route for eastbound ships leaving
the Spanish Indies bound for Europe
4. A member of a council of municipalities,
effectively a city councilman.
5. A conqueror.
6. A corsario or privateer is a private man
of war, operating under a contract known
as a letter of marque and reprisal by theEnglish and more commonly referred to
simply as a letter of marque. This letter
of marque, at least in theory, exempts the
holder from being hung as a pirate. This,
however, requires the capturing nation
to recognize the holder as exempt which
was often not the case.
7. An asiento, specically the contract that
granted the title Adelantado was an
Adelantamiento. The bearer of such a
contract could be correctly referred to as
Adelantado, as we would, today, refer to
the Governor of Florida as Governor.
8:. It can be powered by sweeps, large oars
that can be run out the sides of the ship,
as well as by sail.
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As early as 1492, Spanish explorers likeChristopher Columbus had been carryingEuropean animals on their voyages ofexploration and colonization. European
breeds of dogs, chickens, pigs, goats andcattle were all established on islands inthe Caribbean.
In 1513, Juan Ponce de Leon became the
rst known European to set foot in what
is today the United States of America. Heand his human shipmates, however, werenot alone. On board Ponce’s ships, and
in the later Spanish voyages of discoveryand settlement, came the rst European
animals—horses, dogs, cattle and hogs
and even such unwelcome visitors as therat and cockroach.
It was a meeting not only of cultures, but
of worlds. While the Spanish brought new
species of animals to America, they also
met amazing new creatures they had never
before seen. Humans and animals met and
mixed in the Spanish colony of Florida,
helping create the state we know today.
What Was Here?
Spanish explorers who reached the
shores of Florida discovered a strange and
fascinating new world of animal species.
They found a land teeming with exotic
animals, some of them completely unlike
anything they had ever seen in Europe.
Among the new animals the Spanish
encountered in Florida were:
• Alligators
• American Crocodiles
• Manatees
• Whitetail Deer
• Red Wolves
• Florida Panther
It was not only on land that the Spanish
encountered new varieties of wildlife
Sailing past the southern tip of Florida in the
spring of 1513, Ponce de Leon’s crew caught
fourteen “Lobos Marinos,” or Caribbean
Monk Seals, as well as hundreds of sea
turtles. Ponce de Leon named the islands on
Animals from the Old World and the Newby Andrew Batten
This 16th Century drawing shows members of theTimucua tribe hunting alligators
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which he found the turtles the “Tortugas,”
the Spanish name for the species, a name
that exists to this day.
Later Spanish explorers also took
advantage of Florida’s abundant wildlife,
and found some of it delicious. Hernando
de Soto, passing through northern Florida
in the summer of 1539, named one river he
crossed “The River of Deer” (today known
as the Suwannee River) because a local
native village offered him several whitetail
deer as food.
Timucua preserving meat using woodsmoke on a framecalled a barbacoa—the source of our modern barbeque
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
http://goo.gl/akMjW
http://goo.gl/s8wUI
http://goo.gl/DG8Rn
What Came With The Spanish?Florida is a land of rsts in terms of the
introduction of non-native species. The rst
European horse to arrive on our shores sailed
with Ponce de Leon in 1513, although it is not
known if the horse made it ashore. It is also
unknown if Ponce brought his famous war-
dog (a greyhound named Bercerillo), on his
rst voyage to Florida. If so, than this was the
rst European breed of dog on Florida soil.
Ponce’s second voyage to Florida in 1521
introduced cattle and hogs, which may have
been the origin of the feral hogs and “cracker”
cows of today. Coming not to explore but to
establish a settlement, Ponce brought a full
inventory of livestock for his new colony
on the west coast of Florida (near today’s
Charlotte Harbor). One account of Ponce de
Leon’s cargo states “as a good colonist, he
A Sixteenth Century engraving shows Florida nativehunters wearing deerskins to stalk their prey
Greyhound, similar to Ponce de Leon’s war dog“Bercerillo”
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way to the shores of Florida in those early
days of exploration.
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
http://crackercattle.org/
http://goo.gl/GhAC7
http://goo.gl/Z8rpZ
http://goo.gl/JBgNI
http://goo.gl/prA55
http://goo.gl/llZUZ
What is Missing?
Many native species which would have
greeted the Spanish explorers in 16th century
Florida are now extinct. The Caribbean Monk
Seal, which Ponce de Leon’s men captured off
(Ponce) carried mares and heifers and pigs
and sheep and goats and all sorts of useful,
domestic animals to serve the people.”
Ponce de Leon’s settlement failed, and the
colonists quickly ed back to their homes in
the Caribbean. It is not known if they took
their animals or not. What is known is thatone of the next Spanish Explorers, Hernando
de Soto, brought even larger herds of animals
on his voyage of exploration and conquest.
Hernando de Soto landed on the west
coast of Florida (somewhere near present
day Tampa) in the spring of 1539. He did not
come to settle, but to explore. Still, de Soto
brought with him a good supply of animals—240 horses, several breeds of dog (probably
greyhounds, mastiffs and deerhounds) and
a herd of pigs. Not the fat, pink pigs that we
think of today, Spanish pigs of the Sixteenth
Century were small, strong and used to
rooting for their own food. These hogs
were not only hardy, but they reproduced
at a fantastic rate, providing fresh meat tode Soto’s men all the way along their four
year trek through the Southeast. Some of the
hogs, however, wandered off along the way,
establishing a population of feral hogs which
today number in the millions throughout
the southern United States.
Along with useful animals like horses,
hogs and dogs, there were other species whorst traveled to Florida with the Spanish. A
shipwrecked Spanish vessel discovered in
Pensacola Bay shows that black rats had
reached Florida by at least 1559, and it is
probable that cockroaches followed them
as well. Even unwelcome pests made their Mayan rendering believed to represent the Caribbean Monk Seal
T his medieval illustration shows the type of hogsthat would have come to Florida with the Spanish.Here, a swineherd knocks acorns from the trees forhis hogs to eat.
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the Florida Keys, is now extinct. The wildlife
of this new world seemed so abundant to the
Spanish and later explorers and settlers that
it was impossible to imagine that some of it
might vanish forever, and yet it did.
Some of the other species found in
Sixteenth Century Florida which are nowextinct include:
• Carolina parakeet
• Passenger pigeon
• Eastern bison
• Eastern cougar
• Red wolf (considered virtually extinct
in the wild, although a small population
is maintained in several Florida zoos)
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
http://goo.gl/4AbYv
http://goo.gl/GjudG
http://goo.gl/5KEsI
IV.“A Two-Way Street” Just as the Spanish imported new
species into the Americas, so they were also
sending American animals back to Europe.
Small monkeys from South America, like
Although she later became Queen of
England, Kathryn of Aragon was bornand raised in Spain. Here she holds aspider monkey, circa 1530.
Two Spanish princesses pose with their parrot
This elegant Spanish lady has her maid hold two pet cotton-top tamarin monkeys, natives of South America. Portrait circa 1585.
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cotton-top tamarins and spider monkeys,
and all types of tropical birds became popular
fashion accessories for elegant Spanish
ladies. The Atlantic Ocean now carried
animal settlers in both directions—horses,
dogs, cows and pigs to the New World and
monkeys and parrots from the jungles of theAmazon back to the Old World.
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
http://goo.gl/SniEN
V. Two Worlds Blend
Just as human settlers came from Europe500 years ago and met the native inhabitants,
so too with animals. Today, Florida is truly
a blended environment, where species from
two worlds met, struggled and eventually
helped establish the state we inhabit.Hogs, cattle and horses with origins inSpain now share the Florida peninsulawith native deer, panthers and alligatorsTwo worlds met, then became the one inwhich we live today.
Many zoos in Florida have some of thespecies discussed here on exhibit. In addition,
there are many organizations in our state
dedicated to preservation and conservation
of native species. Here are some resources to
nd out more about Florida wildlife:
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
http://goo.gl/TIos4http://myfwc.com/
http://goo.gl/J0JHk
http://goo.gl/fz1qN
http://goo.gl/0y6wm
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Timucuan women also gathered wild fruits,
roots, nuts, and berries. These included
acorns, coontie (COON-tee) roots, pecans,
native grapes, palm berries, hickory nuts,maypops, blackberries, persimmons,
and blueberries. Corn was
ground into meal and used
to make pesolo (PAY-so-
lo), an “ancestor” of today’s
cornbread. Grits and hominy
are also Native American
corn dishes that are still eatentoday. Stews were made from
vegetables and avored with
meat, fruit, and nuts. One
such Timucuan stew, gacha
(GAH-cha), was the rst form
of succotash encountered by
Europeans and Africans in
North America.
The Timucua sometimes brewed and
drank a native tea, which they called “the
black drink” or cassina (cuh-SEE-nuh). It
was made from the leaves and twigs of the
Yaupon Holly tree, which were harvested and
lightly roasted. After browning, the leaves
and twigs were boiled in large clay pots
Timucuan Foods In La Florida
Before the Europeans and Africans rst
came to Florida in the 16th century, our
state was inhabited by a number of NativeAmerican peoples. One of the rst groups
of Florida’s Native Americans
to have regular contact with
these newcomers from the Old
World was a people known as
the Timucua (tee-MOO-qua),
who lived in Northeast and
North Central Florida andsoutheast Georgia. They were
the largest native group in
that area, consisting of about
35 chiefdoms composed of
approximately 200,000 people.
One of the Timucua’s major
sources of food was farming –
planting maize (corn), beans,squash, native peas, melons, pumpkins, and
other native vegetables as part of their diet.
Fields were cultivated with wooden hoes
and digging sticks. After being harvested,
their crops were kept in storehouses to
protect them from insects and weather.
How the founding of Florida in the 16th century and the
blending of Native American, European, and African foodways led to the birth of the first uniquely American foods.By Davis Walker and Shannon Golden
Photo by Jackie Hird
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Spanish Foods In La Florida
The leader in 16th-century European
exploration and colonization, Spain was
the rst nation in Europe to discover the
treasures of the New World. Beginning in
the late 1400s, Spanish explorers returned
from voyages to the Americas carrying
such exotic, new foods as corn, potatoes,
beans, tomatoes, peppers, sweet potatoes,
chocolate, and vanilla. In the 16th century
the settlers of colonial Florida were the rst
to introduce into the continental U.S. such
European foods as oranges, rice, peaches,
pigs, wheat, chickens, onions, cheese, sugar
cane, cattle, garlic, sweet potatoes, European
grapes, and various spices and herbs.
Upon arriving in Florida, the Spanishcolonists used plows, iron hoes, and otherEuropean farming tools to prepare elds.
They planted the seeds and cuttings theyhad brought with them from Spain to seeif they would grow in this new land. Theybegan clearing land for pastures for theircattle and goats and building pens for theirpigs, chickens, and the other livestockthey had brought with them from theOld World.
Asturias, on the northern coast of Spain,
was the homeland of Admiral Don Pedro
Menéndez de Avilés, the Adelantado
of Florida, and most of his colonizing
expedition, which founded St. Augustine,
Florida, our nation’s oldest city, in 1565
The most famous regional dish of Asturias
was fabada (fuh-BAH-duh), a rich stew
made with white beans, pork shoulder,
pork sausages, onions, garlic, and saffron
lled with water until the liquid reached a
dark brown or black color, giving it its name.
Cassina was important to the Timucua and
to other native groups. The Timucua would
trade cassina with Native Americans to the
north of Florida, where Yaupon Holly trees
do not grow, for items from those regions
that the Timucua wanted.
In addition to food produced by farming,
Timucuan men would hunt game. This
included deer, turkeys, rabbits, bears,
ducks, raccoons, turtles, geese, frogs,
opossums, water fowl, and snakes, as well
as manatees, alligators, and, occasionally,
whales. They would also sh in local rivers,
lakes, and the sea – for sharks, bass, rays,
catsh, bluegills, drums, mullet, ounders,
and others – using nets, sh-traps, spears,
and shing lines. Freshwater and marine
shellsh and crustaceans, such as oysters,
clams, crabs, coquina, mussels, shrimp, and
conchs were also collected and consumed.
Meat was cooked by boiling or roasting; or
preserved by smoking it on a wooden grill
or rack known as a barbacoa, the origin of
our word “barbecue.”
Photo by Jackie Hird
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in a letter to his king, FelipeII of Spain, on October 20,1566: “This land awaits good
and honorable men ... raisedup with gazpacho, garlic,
and onion…”
African FoodsIn La Florida
Africans, both free and
enslaved, arrived in early
colonial Florida with the
Spaniards. Most, but not all,
came from the western region
of Africa. The cultivation and use of manyagricultural products in the modern-day
southern U.S., such as yams, peanuts, okra,
sorghum, black-eyed peas, sweet potatoes,
watermelon, and sesame seeds – all common
elements in West Africa’s cuisine – can be
traced to African inuences.
Some of the foods widely eaten in Africa
(such as peanuts, sweet potatoes, cassava)had been introduced to that continent by
European traders after Columbus sailed
to America in 1492. These foods were then
carried to Africa by the Portuguese from
Brazil, the Caribbean, and tropical Asia
Some of these New World foodstuffs were
then “reintroduced” to North America by
Afro-Spanish colonists and slaves.An important element of African cuisine
imported to colonial Florida and the
Caribbean was nyami (NYAH-may or YAH-
may), a word from Africa’s Wolof language
for our modern-day yam (not the sweet
potato, which is an entirely different root)
This became the rst version
of America’s popular dish,
pork-and-beans.
When Menéndez founded
the settlement of St.
Augustine on September 8,
1565, the Spanish celebrateda Mass of Thanksgiving.
Afterward, Menéndez hosted
a feast to which he invited as
guests the local Timucuan
natives. We do not know
what this meal consisted
of, but, based on what we
know the Spaniards had on board their veships, we can guess that it was cocido (coh-
SEE-doh), a stew made from salted pork,
garbanzo beans, and garlic, accompanied
by hard ship’s biscuits. It is likely that the
local Timucuans contributed to the meal
from their own food stores, so the menu
could have included turkey, venison, and
gopher tortoise; seafood, such as mullet,oysters, and shark; and maize (corn), beans,
and squash. This “First Thanksgiving” at St.
Augustine was celebrated 56 years before
the English Pilgrims had their thanksgiving
at Plymouth Plantation in Massachusetts.
Many of the settlers who arrived in Florida
in 1565 and later came from southern Spain.
This region’s foods include gazpacho (guz-PAH-cho), fried sh, and hams. Gazpacho,
a soup made with chopped tomatoes,cucumbers, onions, peppers, herbs, andthickened with stale bread, was a traditionalfood of Spanish farmers. Referring to hisnew Florida colony, Menéndez commented
Photo by Jackie Hird
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This is the native African food equivalent
of the potato and can be served similarly –
mashed, baked, fried, boiled, or roasted.
Another basic part of the African diet was efo (or greens – spinach, collard, mustard,
turnip, dandelion, pokeweed, amaranth,
etc.; pronounced EH-faw). They were eaten
throughout Africa and were prepared in
many traditional ways – boiling, frying,
steaming, raw, etc. Efo would be avored
with meat (pork, sh, game, etc.) or meat
drippings, vinegar, onions, citrus juice,
peanuts, garlic, peppers, and so on. Greens
remain a popular and healthy dish in the
American South to this day.
We can see the founding of Florida in
the 16th century and the blending of Native
American, European, and African foodways
led to the birth of the rst uniquely American
foods. And we still enjoy many of these same
foods today!
Some of Colonial Florida’s “Food Firsts” include:
• 1521 – The rst introduction of Old World
horses, cattle, and pigs, as well as food
crops, into the continental U.S. by Don
Juan Ponce de León at the rst European
colony near today’s Ft. Myers, FL;
• 1576 – The rst “restaurants” - the Olmos
family ran a taberna (tavern; pronounced
tah-BER-nah) in St. Augustine, while
another was owned by Don Martín de
Argüelles the Elder, the city’s rst mayor;
• 1580s – The rst agricultural exports in
the continental U.S. - shipments of onions
began from St. Augustine to Havana;
• 1598 – The rst public market in the
continental U.S., established in St
Augustine by Governor Don Gonzalo
Méndez de Canzo, who also built the rst
grist mill;
• Early 1640s – The rst cattle ranches in the
continental U.S., such as the Hacienda de la
Chua (now Alachua County, FL), founded
by the Menéndez Marquez family;
• Late 1640s – The rst cattle drives in the
continental U.S. - Native American and
African vaqueros (cowboys) drove herds
across north Florida to St. Augustine,
where the cattle were slaughtered, the
beef sold, and the hides and tallow
exported to Havana;
• And much more!
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Three Kinds of CLUES
Right now, we’re going to work with three
kinds of clues about playtime in Spanish
colonial Florida. We’ll examine clues about:
1. GAMES that Florida Natives and Spanish
newcomers played,
2. SONGS that people from Spain and people
from Florida used to sing, at moments
when music had a big role to play in
public life, and
3. PLAYS and other moments of high drama
that Florida Indians and European settlers
acted out.
To help us get up close and personal
with these mysteries, we’ll use some of the
oldest pictures that historians have found
of Native people playing in Florida, songs
from plays that the rst Spanish explorers
may have brought to Florida with them,
and scenes from plays that famous Spanish
playwrights wrote about characters from
Florida history, while newcomers from
Spain were building the rst European
settlements in continental North America.
Watch out! These clues call for peeling
your eyes, putting on your thinking caps, and
stepping inside what historians call primary
sources – documents produced hundreds
of years ago by eye- and ear-witnesses
You might see things that we miss in these
sources … and the sources that we visit as
clues may contain new mysteries to solve.
History is full of mysteries – mysteries
that you can help solve. Here’s an example:what was playtime like for people in Spanish
colonial Florida?
This chapter will give you some starter
solutions to that mystery. More advanced
solutions remain to be discovered in all
kinds of places:
• in museums and living history villages
(like Mission San Luis in Tallahassee),• in archaeological digs at historic sites all
over the Sunshine State (for example,
the City of St. Augustine Archeology
Program), and
• in books and letters and pictures that people
who came to La Florida from France and
England and Spain sent home to tell the
world about their adventures in the NewWorld (like the treasures stored in the
Archivo de Indias in Seville, Spain).
For a sneak peek at these amazing clues
about life in La Florida hundreds of years
ago, click on these links. Then make a note
of things you’ll need to learn in order to
become a conquistador of the mysteries
hidden in Florida’s history:
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
http://goo.gl/5ATYL
http://www.digstaug.org/
http://goo.gl/rynQH
http://earlyoridalit.net/?page_id=130
http://goo.gl/wCX6c
by Ben Gunter
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This picture (below) is chock full of clues
about games that young Natives used
to play in Florida. The picture’s caption
specically names ve games. Can you
crack this mystery, and dig all ve games
out of the picture … before you read the
caption? (Hint: try stepping into the picturefrom the front, listing games you see in the
foreground rst, then games you see in the
middle areas of the picture, then games you
see in the background.)
To read the caption for this picture from
Le Moyne’s Short Story of What Happened to
Us in La Florida, click on the Le Moyne link
below. (This click will also point you towardways to learn more about Native Florida
games from Le Moyne, and ways to learn
more about Native games from other parts of
the Americas, from Theater with a Mission’s
Gabrielle Reed-Sparkis.)
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
http://goo.gl/5GvIi
GAMES played by Florida Natives
From June of 1564 to September of 1565
(when Spanish soldiers killed them off
or chased them out of Florida), a group
of settlers from France lived at a place
called Fort Caroline along the St. Johns
River, where Jacksonville stands today. A
cartographer (mapmaker) and artist named
Jacques le Moyne de Morgues was one of
these French newcomers to the New World,
and Le Moyne left wonderful clues about
playtime in 16th-century Florida.
Forty-two pictures of Florida Natives at
work and at play (plus descriptions of the
activities illustrated in the pictures, and a
short narrative of the whole expedition from
France to Florida) were printed in Europe in
1591, all presented as the work of Jacques le
Moyne. In 1595, the illustrations in one copy
of this rare book were colored as a present to
Prince Maurice of Orange-Nassau.
One of the pictures from that hand-colored
book has a title that reads (translated into
English) “The Youth at Their Exercises.”
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one player used to call out, in Latin, ‘ par est
[this will be a match!]’ while the other said
‘non est [no, it’s going to be a miss!], and over
the course of time (as the game got fast and
fun), par est y non est [it’s a match & it’s a miss]
got boiled down to pares y nones [matches
& misses].” (Alberto del Río connected thisdictionary denition to Encina’s play on page
97 of his edition in 2001.)
José Gueitz-Romero, a member of Florida
Living History, Inc., who lives in Ocoee,
Florida, explains pares y nones as “basically a
form of ‘rock-paper-scissors’” with a twist
You know how to play rock-paper-scissors,
don’t you? In rock-paper-scissors, you winby making your hand into the shape of
something that breaks, covers, or cuts the
shape that your opponent makes with his
hand. So “rock” (your hand clenched into a
st) breaks “scissors” (your rst two ngers
splayed out into a scissors shape), but
“paper” (your whole hand spread out at)
covers “rock”, and “scissors” cut “paper.”Pares y nones is one step more complicated
than rock-paper-scissors. In pares y nones,
you win by guessing whether two of your
friends are going to make shapes that match
or miss. So if you call “ pares [a match]” and
both of your friends make “scissors,” you
win – or if you call “nones [a miss]” and one
friend makes “paper” and the other makes“rock,” you win.
But if you call “ pares [a match]” and your
friends make different shapes, or if you call
“nones [a miss]” and your friends make
matching shapes, you lose. Tough game to
win, but lots of fun to watch, and fast to play,
GAMES played bynewcomers from Spain
When they came to Florida, newcomers
from Spain brought Spanish holidays with
them. Did you know that Florida gets its name
from the Spanish name for Easter – “Pascua
orida [Flowered Feast]” – which was the
holiday season when Juan Ponce de León rst
sighted the east coast of Florida in 1513? Did
you know that the rst Christmas celebration
in North America happened in 1539, in an
Apalachee Indian city named Anaica where
Tallahassee now stands, while Hernando de
Soto was exploring La Florida?
In the 1500s, games played a part in
Spanish holiday celebrations. Let’s look at
two games in particular, which turn up in
a Christmas play that early travelers from
Spain could have imported to Florida.
The play is by Juan del Encina, who wrotemusic and poetry – poetry so important thathistorians call him “the founder of Spanishdrama,” and music so ne that people still
perform it today. Around 1498, Encina
premiered the Égloga de las grandes lluvias[Shepherds Play about the Heavy Rains]
in Spain; in 2011, Theater with a Mission
presented the play’s rst translation into
English as Wet Christmas in Florida. Thefour shepherds who star in the play get toplay two games – games we bet you can usehistory’s clues to gure out well enough to
play yourself.The rst game is called pares y nones
[matches & misses]. An important Spanish
dictionary published by Covarrubias in 1611
explains that this game got its name “because
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someone near him in the room before passingthe candle out again. The idea is to show offthe cleverness of the compliments – kind ofa non-offensive ‘yo mamma’ contest.”
Get the idea?
Try playing a round of vivo te lo doyGet four or ve friends together, and nd
a birthday candle (or something equally
pretty but easy to handle) to pass around
Be sure to have a parent or a teacher present
if you want to light the candle. Now practice
passing the candle around, and strain your
brain to say the nicest things possible to each
other (before the candle burns out).
Remember: the person passing the
candle says, “I present you this present”
to the person who’s taking the candle. The
person taking the candle says, “What for?”
Then the person passing the candle says
something sweet and well-spoken about the
person taking the candle.
Hint: during Florida’s colonial period,
characters in Spanish plays loved to
since every time somebody loses, he has to
put something in the winner’s pot and pass
his turn as the guesser on to the next person
in the game.
Try several rounds of pares y nones with
your class. Can you carry on a conversation
about current events while you’re playingthe game? The characters in Encina’s play
do! To see how Encina has his four Christmas
shepherds play the game (in Spanish) and
how Theater with a Mission has translated
that conversation into 21st-century English
(while the characters play a 21st-century
game), click on this link.
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
http://goo.gl/RO6pL
The second game in Wet Christmas is called
vivo te lo doy [I present you with this present].
Spanish literature scholars like Alberto del
Río say that vivo te lo doy was a game that
royal people played, by passing a word or anobject from courtier to courtier. Every time
the object changed hands, the person on the
presenting end said, “vivo te lo doy [I present
you this present],” and the person on the
receiving end said, “¿para dó? [What for?]”
Then the person who passed the present had
to pay the person who took the present a well-
turned compliment, saying something nicethat connected the present to the person.
Here’s how José Gueitz-Romero
reconstructs the game for you to play today:
“Participants pass a candle around to eachother, and the candle-holder at the time hasto give a compliment back to the giver or to
Jacob Smith (age 10) and Ed Apodaca getting the ideaof the game in Wet Christmas
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While Jacques le Moyne was living in
La Florida, newcomers from France found
their ears opened to brand-new sensations
as Native Floridians made music for them,
repeatedly. The rst time music turns up in
Le Moyne’s Short Story of What Happened
to Us in La Florida is when a Native kingnamed Saturioua comes to visit. (Our best
guess at pronouncing the king’s name is
“sah-too-REE-wah.” Practice saying his
name several times, then nd out more
about him and his family by clicking on the
link below.)
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
http://www.manataka.org/page1232.html
In Le Moyne’s history, King Saturioua
comes visiting soon after the Frenchmen
have landed, while they’re just starting
construction on Fort Caroline. Here’s how
Le Moyne describes that visit, as translated
by Fred B. Perkins in 1875:“The king was accompanied by seven oreight hundred men, handsome, strong, well-made, and active fellows, the best-trainedand swiftest of his force, all under armsas if on a military expedition. Before himmarched fty youths with javelins or spears;
and behind these, and next to himself, were
twenty pipers , who produced a wild noise,without musical harmony or regularity, butonly blowing away with all their might, eachtrying to be the loudest. Their instrumentswere nothing but a thick sort of reeds, orcanes, with two openings; one at the top toblow into, and the other at the other end for
compliment other characters on their eyes.
So your compliment will sound something
like out of history if you say,
Prince: I present you this present.
Princess: What for?
Prince: Because the light in your eyes
shines brighter than this candle.
or Because the candle nds the
glory of Christmas, shining in
your eyes,
or Because your eyes light
the way to the happiest of
birthdays,
or something even more owery.
The link below will take you to a longer
script with a more complicated game from
Spain to play. (Theater with a Mission’s
Gabrielle Reed-Sparkis can show you how to
have even more fun with games from Spain.)
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
http://goo.gl/8MhYu
Clearly, games can give you valuable clues
for building a living picture of playtime in
Spanish colonial Florida. By studying games
that Native Floridians and newcomers from
Spain used to play, and then playing them
yourself, you can make history come to life.
Native American MUSIC
Music, songs, and dances offer clues
to living history, too – clues that can openyour eyes and ears to brand-new blastsfrom the past.
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An illustrated clue to playing more kinds
of Native music turns up in Le Moyne’s
engravings. Here, a Native leader labeled “R
Holata Oütina” [King-Chief Outina] is showing
his French friends how Florida Natives play
“after returning from a military expedition.”
Outina stands in the front of the picture, onthe left. Notice the gold discs hanging down
around the King-Chief’s legs. Those discs are
actually a kind of music instrument, since
(as Le Moyne says in his Short Story of What
Happened to Us in La Florida) “in walking, they
tinkled like little bells.” In the center of the
picture is the tribe’s “sorcerer,” who’s doing a
homecoming dance. The dance band is on theright. Here’s how Le Moyne’s caption for this
picture describes the band:
“Three men kneeling down, one of whom holds
in both hands a club, with which he pounds
on a at stone, marking time to every word
of the sorcerer. At each side of him, the other
two hold in each hand the fruit of a certain
plant, something like a gourd or pumpkin,
which has been dried, opened at each end,
its marrow and seeds taken out, and then
mounted on a stick, and charged with small
stones or seeds of some kind. These they rattle
after the fashion of a bell, accompanying the
words of the sorcerer with a sort of song after
their manner.” (Bennett 34)
Comb this historic picture (on the next
page) for clues, then see if you can re-create
some of the sounds of Native Florida. (Hint
Le Moyne’s caption has just given you step-
by-step directions for making one of the
instruments that he saw Florida Indians play.)
the wind to come out of, like organ-pipes orwhistles.” (quoted in Bennett, 93-94)
Take a closer look at Le Moyne’s word-
picture of that music, so different from
anything European ears were used to hearing
that Le Moyne could only record a mystery
– a “wild noise, without musical harmony or
regularity.” What “wild” sounds have you
run into unexpectedly, in unfamiliar places?
How did those sounds surprise and scare,
or even delight and thrill you?
Have you ever heard an instrument like
the Native pipes that Le Moyne describes?
You can listen to present-day Natives from
South America performing on Pan Pipes by
following this link to YouTube:
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
http://goo.gl/65ZNL
Do you hear a “wildness” in the Pan Pipes’
“noise”? Do the Pan Pipes on YouTube look
like the mysterious instruments that Le Moynesaw Native Floridians play – thick reeds, open
at the top and bottom? What would it sound
like, to have 20 people playing Pan Pipes all
together, marching toward you with an army?
Try making some open-reed instruments
with your class. How easy are they to play?
How hard do you have to work “to be the
loudest”? Can you reconstruct an ear-pictureof Saturioua’s visit to Le Moyne’s friends?
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
For instructions to build pipes of yourown, check out the clues at:
http://www.philtulga.com/Panpipes.html
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FOR MORE INFORMATION:http://goo.gl/8g9hd
If you’d like to read Theater with a Mission’s
translation of a food ght from the play that
introduced “Oy Comamos y Bebamos” to the
world, click here:
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
http://goo.gl/ESMzO
MUSIC – Spanish playmakers meet Native Floridians
Music gives you a chance to look at what
happens in one of history’s most excellent
mysteries – when New World traditionsmeet Old World traditions face-to-face,
and those different ways of living start to
inuence each other in what historians call
“Columbian exchange.”
There’s an excellent (and cleverly hidden)
example of Columbian exchange in the rst
Spanish MUSICWild sounds must have come to Florida
from Spain, too. By 1513, people in Spain
expected music to play a major part in
all sorts of important occasions – church
services, civic holidays, state occasions, and
play performances.
What did the music that Spanish people
brought to Florida sound like? There’s aclue to that mystery in the music of Juan
del Encina, the playwright who wrote Wet
Christmas. Encina was famous as a composer
(someone who writes music) as well as a
playwright, and in 1496 he published a song
for Carnestolendas [Mardi Gras] that people
are still singing today.
The song is called “Oy comamos ybebamos” [Today Let’s Stuff and Swig], and
it’s part of a special playtime that people in
Spain enjoyed on Antruejo [Fat Tuesday],
the day before Lent started (40 days before
Easter). To hear a performance of Encina’s “Oy
comamos,” click on this link.
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in on a chorus line. And areitos come from
America, not from Spain. (In fact, areito is a
Native American word that Spanish speakers
picked up in America, as they learned to
sing Native American songs.)
So the music in this scene makes two
worlds meet for the rst time, right in yourears. Let’s listen to the grand nale of the
areito from Nuevo mundo, in its most recent
published translation.
Here’s how Kenneth A. Stackhouse,
from Virginia Commonwealth University,
translated Lope’s lyrics in 2003. (Hint
imagine a wedding march, just as the bride
comes down the aisle toward her groom, asyou read these lyrics aloud. Try setting these
words to music in your head.)
For such a handsome Indian chief, Now that the sun has risen,
A goodly wife for a great man.Now that the sun has risen,
Our glorious wedding songs ring out,
Now that the sun has risen, And consecrate their union in song,Now that the holy sun arises,
Now that the sun has risen.(Stackhouse 72)
Can you hear the rhythm of the areito– one person calling out and everybody
calling back – in these words? (Hint: have
one person read the lines that change as a
solo, then everybody else read the repeated
line as the chorus.)
And do you notice something particularly
interesting about this song for Floridians
today, when the world thinks of Florida as
the Sunshine State? (Hint: Count how many
play that anyone ever wrote with scenes set
in America. This play is named El Nuevomundo descubierto por Cristóbal Colón, and
it was written by Lope de Vega in Spain
around 1599. It’s a particularly great play
for people living in Florida today to explore,
since it names some of its Indian charactersafter real-life Natives from Florida’s history.
In fact, the rst time you see Americans
in the play is when cacique Dulcanquellín (a
character named for a historic chief from La
Florida) and Tacuana (an Indian princess
from a neighboring island) come onstage
in a wedding march. That’s also a place
where you can hear Columbian exchangehappening, since Lope asks the actors to
combine Spanish musical instruments with
Native American musical forms.
Here’s how American scholar Robert
Shannon translates Lope’s instructions to
the actors for this scene:
“Enter Indians with little drums and
tambourines, two braves and two squawsand behind them, two more Indians as
sweethearts with their entourage. They sitdown. Their names are Tecué, Auté, Palca,
Mareama, Dulcanquellín and Tacuana. Asquaw sings and the others respond in therefrain: “Today the divine sun rises. Todaythe sun rises.” (Shannon 151-53)
Professor Shannon states that the
tambourines ( panderos in Spanish) which the
script tells the actors to play are instruments
that come from Spain, not from America. But
the song that the script gives the actors to
sing is an areito, a song where a soloist calls
out one line and then everybody chimes
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times “sun” comes up in this song! And then
think about this: in Spanish, the verb salir ,which Professor Stackhouse translates as
“(a)rise,” can also mean “make an entrance
onto the stage.” So at this point in the play,
the Sun makes its own star entrance!)
Theater with a Mission is currentlyworking on a new translation of this song
for the 500th anniversary of rst contact
between Spain and La Florida. How do you
think the areito from Nuevo mundo should
salute the sun in 2013? You can help Theater
with a Mission to solve this mystery, and
read more scholars’ translations of the song,
by clicking on this clue:
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
http://goo.gl/zKkS1
PLAYS – from Spainand from America
Clues from songs and games can helpyou build a picture of playtime in Spanish
colonial Florida, and set the picture to
music. Then clues from plays can help you
put your musical picture in motion, like a
slice of history come to life.
During the time that people from Spain
were pouring into La Florida, the greatest
outpouring of plays in history was comingout of Spanish-speaking people, in Europe
and in the Americas. Thousands of world-
class plays in a tremendous variety of
lengths and avors were performed during
this Spanish Golden Age [the Siglo de Oro],
in settings that ranged from specially-built
theaters with all the latest equipment for
making special effects, downtown in big
cities, to places where actors set up playing
spaces in town squares or courtyards or out
in the open elds, and all the theatrical magic
happened in the audience’s imagination.
There were plays for every occasion– including Pascua orida [Easter], the
festival that was in progress in 1513 when
Juan Ponce de León made the rst ofcial
recorded contact between Europe and North
America, along the east coast of Florida.
Did people traveling with Ponce de León
bring Easter plays with them? It’s certainly
possible. Juan del Encina – the author of theÉgloga de las grandes lluvias [Wet Christmas]
and the composer of Oy Comamos y Bebamos
[Today Let’s Stuff and Swill] – had published
two short musical Easter plays in 1496, 17
years before Spanish ships sailed for Florida
By 1513, Encina was world-famous; he’d even
been hired to put together musical plays for
the Pope in Rome. Even more importantly,by 1513 Spanish people had come to expect
plays to play a major part in important public
occasions like Easter.
To track down clues from Encina’s Easter
plays – and to hear more about plays playing
big roles in La Florida’s special occasions –
click on this link:
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
http://goo.gl/lT8Ig
There’s evidence that Native Americans
used plays to commemorate important
occasions, too. Spanish ethnographers
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53
(people who write down and study the
customs practiced by different ethnic
groups) recorded at least three ceremonies
from Natives in America that read like
dramatic events. You can track down more
clues about those mysterious documents by
clicking on these clues:
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
http://goo.gl/6YZps
http://goo.gl/WKrVz
http://goo.gl/c7qyn
Did Florida Natives act out plays to
welcome, or to warn, newcomers fromSpain? Exciting answers to that mystery
may well lie hidden in the Archivo General
de las Indias, where clues about hundreds
of years of contact between cultures lie
waiting for people to rediscover them. You
could become the next sleuth to unlock
mysteries about life in Spanish Florida, and
change the way peoplewrite history.
Natives ActingEuropean
We don’t have a
primary source – yet
– to show you that
Native Floridiansperformed plays, but
we can show you
a striking picture
of Florida Indians
responding to French
culture in a highly
dramatic way. One of the rst things French
people did when they got to Florida in 1564
was to put up a stone column, showing that
Florida had been visited by representatives
of the King of France. When they came back
to visit the column a year later, they found
Native Floridians performing a momentof high drama all around it. Jacques le
Moyne’s picture of that dramatic moment
is below (with hints about how to comb the
picture for clues).
On the right-hand side of the picture, you
see Chief Athore (son of Saturioua), setting
the scene for the Frenchmen. (See how
tall Chief Athore is? Le Moyne describeshim as:
“... very handsome, prudent, honorable,strong, and of very great stature, beingmore than half a foot taller than the tallestof our men; and his bearing was marked bya modest gravity, which had a strikinglymajestic effect.” Bennett 18)
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54
In the middle of the picture stands the
column, “ornamented” (as Le Moyne reports)
“with the arms of the king of France.” (See
the gold eurs de lis in the blue shields
under the crowns on the column? Those are
symbols of the King of France.) All around
the column are Native Floridian people andpresents – and they’re all present to act out
an extraordinary scene of friendship and
welcome. To quote Le Moyne,
“On approaching, [we] found that these
Indians were worshipping this stone as
an idol; and the chief himself, having
saluted it with signs of reverence such as
his subjects were in the habit of showing
to himself, kissed it. His men followed
his example, and we were invited to do
the same. Before the monument there lay
various offerings of the fruits, and edible
or medicinal roots, growing thereabouts;
vessels of perfumed oils; a bow, and
arrows; and it was wreathed around from
top to bottom with owers of all sorts, and
boughs of the trees esteemed choicest.”
(Bennett 18)
How many of the stage props mentioned
in Le Moyne’s description – from the fruits
and roots to the arrows and wreaths – can
you nd in the picture?
Acting Out Contactbetween Natives and newcomers
In his play Nuevo mundo, Lope de Vega
paints word-pictures of dramatic exchanges
between Natives from America and
newcomers from Spain – word-pictures that
you can set in motion by acting them out
Theater with a Mission has started a wiki
where you can step inside a whole series of
great scenes from Lope’s play. Here, we’ll
give you a sneak preview from just one
scene. But this scene gives you an awesome
mystery to solve as you play the scene.Theater with a Mission calls this scene
“The MONSTER from ANOTHER
WORLD.” The speaker is a Native American
named Tecué, and he’s telling his chief (and
his tribe) about something too weird to put
into words. Tecué has sneaked up right next
to one of those big scary ships that have
just arrived from Spain – alien ships sobig they look like Council Houses, oating
on the water. Unseen, Tecué has seen the
newcomers unload a whole army of men
Then comes a creature so horribly huge and
incredibly lethal that it could completely
wipe out Native civilization.
Tecué can hardly talk after seeing such a
monster up close and personal – what wordscould a kid put together to describe something
so unthinkable? But he has to pass on the news,
so speak he does. Here’s one of Theater with
a Mission’s translations of Tecué’s report. Can
you solve the riddle of Tecué’s monster?
Tecué :
Those things that brought them here –things as big as houses, big-bellied as a pregnant woman –have spewed out more men marchingon the beachthan this world has ever seen.
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55
I saw one amongst them, Chief
Dulcanquellín,so tall that I solemnly state he’d outstrip the towering pines thatcrownthis mound you govern from.
His marching’s remarkable, since he takes2 heads with him on the warpath,… one of them worn half-mast, at hisbody’s halfway mark.
From where I stood,
the higher of the two heads lookedsmaller –
about yea big.
But it was the head in the middle, xed at hiscorporal center,that made my blood run cold as acorpse …
Gigantic, with aring nostrils; framed in curly warlocks from
forehead to neck.Frothing at its mouth, with a voice that’sclear and
carrying,it grunts, bellows, sprints, and springsinto the air,all nightmarish agility and speed.
Its ears are superhuman – wide open, pricked up like
swiveling antennas.
Barrel chest. Skinny legs, but well-equipped for
covering ground,since he’s a Quadruped.
Dreadful sight!Scared me silly,right down to the conquistadores’beard he wears …… behind him.
What is Tecué’s monster? Guesses from
people watching Theater with a Mission
perform have included “a giraffe,” “a
kangaroo,” “an alien from outer space,”
and “a horse,” but none of these answers
use every single one of Tecué’s clues to
solve the mystery completely. Can you
fully unravel this riddle?
Tecué’s scene is so full of clues about how
people in Spanish colonial Florida might
have played out moments of high drama as
they got to know each other, that Theater with
a Mission has translated it several different
ways. To see Tecué as a 10-year-old boy who
loves to scout, or as a 12-year-old girl who
loves the movies (and Universal Orlando),
click on the clues collected for you here.
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
http://goo.gl/QH7Pp
http://goo.gl/FhhhD
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If you like mysteries, you’ll know that a
lot of great mystery stories have a scene near
the end where the chief detective sums up all
the clues, just before cracking the code andsolving the case. So let’s start the wind-up of
this chapter with a general summing-up.
We started out this journey into the
mysteries of playtime in Spanish colonial
Florida by looking at clues about games that
newcomers and Natives played. We found
clues in Jacques le Moyne’s pictures and
Juan del Encina’s Christmas play Égloga delas grandes lluvias [Wet Christmas].
Then we examined clues about songs that
Native Floridians and Spanish newcomers
to La Florida sang. Again, we found great
clues to look at in Le Moyne’s pictures and
great clues to listen to in Juan del Encina –
this time, in a play written to commemorate
Carnestolendas [Mardi Gras]. We alsodiscovered an example of New World music
mixing with sounds from the Old World, in
the wedding scene that introduces America
in Lope de Vega’s El nuevo mundo descubierto por Cristóbal Colón [Christopher ColumbusEncounters the New World].
Finally, we dug up drama-charged
clues about plays that people used tomark important occasions – occasions like
Easter, for example, or a royal wedding,
of French visitors as our backdrop, and
then we dove into one key scene from
Lope de Vega’s Nuevo mundo, chock full
of dramatic clues about how people fromSpain and Natives in Florida played out
historic encounters with each other.
Unlike a mystery novel, a thriller movie, or
a cop show on TV, this examination of real-life
mysteries from Florida’s past doesn’t end with
a neat solution presented by an all-knowing
detective. Instead, it ends with a cliff-hanger
– and a personal challenge to you.Right now, history-making clues about
Spanish colonial Florida lie buried – in
archives, in archaeological sites, and in plays
and pictures and music and memoirs from
the Spanish Golden Age. You could become
the detective who digs up those clues and
shows the world what life was like, long ago
in La Florida.You can start your journey toward
making history come to life by clicking on
the clues scattered all the way through this
chapter. To take a look at the sources we’ve
used, click here:
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
http://goo.gl/LqKVO
SUM-UP: More Clues to Click On