Overlooking the popular seaside city of Saint Augustine, Florida is the Castillo de San Marcos, an imposing 17th century fortress constructed by early Spanish Colonials to project power and defend their settlements in Florida and surrounding environs. The role of the fortress had transitioned from that of a military stronghold to a delightful tourist attraction, enticing a multitude of tourists from around the world each year to visit. Not far from Castillo de San Marcos stand in scenic solitude a rather underwhelming fortified watchtower called Fort Matanzas. This peculiar structure was built near the site of one of early North America’s most grisly massacres, indicated by the name of the watchtower and inlet Matanzas, meaning massacre or slaughter in Spanish. It was here on this panoramic beach in September of 1565 that close to 250 French Protestants or Huguenots were slain per the orders of Admiral Pedro Menendez de Aviles, acting on behalf of his Sovereign Philip the Second of Spain. At this time Europe was plagued by a multitude of religious wars and conflicts stemming from the inception of the Protestant Reformation. The turmoil would spill out of Europe and manifest itself in the New World leading to dire consequences.
Brian Hughes explains.
A depiction of the massacre.
Following the Protestant Reformation in 1517 Europe swiftly spiraled into religious conflict in which unparalleled levels of violence, destruction, and horrors would not be replicated or surpassed until the Napoleonic and World Wars of later centuries. The impetus for religious reform is beyond the scope of this article but the results gnawed at the very foundational socio-political foundations of Europe and would persist for centuries. Certain regions were more embroiled in conflict than others, particularly the states of Central and Western Europe such as the Holy Roman Empire, France and Spain.
Coinciding with these horrific events was the further discovery and exploration of North and South America following the successful exploits of Christopher Columbus decades before. Shortly thereafter Europeans began to exploit these lands and transform them into new geopolitical fronts. The Spanish, staunch Catholics who spearheaded the initial discoveries quickly achieved dominance and gained the most influence in the whole of the Caribbean region as they established settlements and military outposts on islands such as Cuba, Puerto Rico, and a large Peninsula which jutted from the north which the Spanish named La Florida. But the Spanish would not be the only Europeans with ambitions of overseas Empire.
French presence
A small band of French colonists led by Jean Ribault and Rene de Laudonniere established a settlement at the mouth of the St. Johns River which the French named the River of May near the present-day city of Jacksonville. There they hastily constructed a small fort naming it Fort Caroline after the French Monarch King Charles IX. Most of the French Colonists were Huguenots an influential Protestant minority who fled their native France as a means to escape religious persecution, not entirely dissimilar reasons in which the Pilgrims fled England decades later.
The French presence to the north was troublesome to the Spanish as not only was Florida land claimed by Spain, but the majority of the French colonists were Huguenots, sworn enemies of the devout Catholics of Spain. This did not sit well with King of Spain, Philip the Second. Philip dispatched Admiral Pedro Menéndez de Aviles to establish a permanent settlement in Florida and simultaneously root the French interlopers out. Menendez departed span with 800 soldiers, sailors, artisans, and would be colonists, successfully reaching Florida in August of 1565. Landing first near Cape Canaveral Menendez turned northward finding good anchorage and deciding to make landfall. The Spanish would christen their new settlement “San Augustine” which remains to this day the oldest continuously inhabited city in the United States.
The French understood the vulnerability of their situation and Florida. Admiral of France and Huguenot leader Gaspard de Coligny ordered French Admiral Jean Ribault with 600 personnel to defend the fledgling fort. Ribault was able to catch up with Menendez off the coast of Florida and a brief, but inconclusive naval engagement followed. The French fleet withdrew allowing Menendez valuable time to regroup.
Bad luck would soon befall the French squadron as a hurricane swept the French fleet away from the coast granting valuable time for Menendez and his retinue.
Spanish attack
Menendez then led his body of troops overland to attack Fort Caroline. To this day the terrain of Florida, although flat, can be some of the most difficult to traverse. The Spaniards, burdened by cumbersome armor, gear, and weapons trudged through swamps, impenetrable forests all in the midst of the tropical heat of late summer in Florida. Much of these hardships were compounded by the fact that the same hurricane which swept Ribault's fleet away lingered to pour torrential rains upon the Spanish column.
In spite of these difficulties the Spaniards successfully reached Fort Caroline confirming Menendez’s suspicions that the fort was virtually undefended. The Spanish then launched a successful surprise attack capturing the fort and its surrounding outposts much to the shock and horror of the unsuspecting French colonists. The Spanish killed and captured the majority of the Huguenots who comprised mostly of artisans and various other laborers. Of the 240 occupants 132 were slain. Menendez decided to spare most of the woman and children from the initial slaughter as the Spanish quickly consolidated their position knowing that Ribault was still somewhere off the coast.
Miraculously, Ribault survived the hurricane and subsequent shipwreck along with a handful of his men. They began their trek northward hoping still to arrive at Fort Caroline in time. Menendez received word of this via local indigenous tribes and quickly gathered most of his men and marched south back towards Saint Augustine to intercept the Ribault and other French survivors.
Menendez successfully enveloped Ribault on the inlet that would soon bear the name of what was to occur. The Huguenot prisoners were given one final meal before being bound and brutally massacred on the beach. Only 16 prisoners would be spared, a mix of professed Catholics and artisans necessary for the survival of the new settlement.
The Religious Wars of Europe would only escalate and worsen over the coming decades, with the pendulums of power shifting for both Catholics and Protestants alike. But on a desolate inlet on the East Coast of Florida Huguenot ambitions of overseas Empire would perish forever.
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