enterprise, Menéndez would
receive a large land grant and the title of marquis to go with it. His jurisdic-
tion was immense, extending from Newfoundland to the Florida Keys and,
after 1573, westward to México.
In the days of Emperor Charles V, Menéndez had come to royal attention
for his daring deeds in the Bay of Biscay against French corsairs. Thereaf-
ter, he advanced himself in royal favor while he fought Spain’s enemies at
sea and on land. The young seaman became renowned for his prompt and
decisive actions. For his services to Mary Tudor and young King Philip, the
Asturian was awarded a habit in the prestigious Order of Santiago.
Menéndez’s exploits and his influence with the Crown aroused the jeal-
ousy of the Seville merchants and the associated Crown agency, the Casa
de Contratacion (House of Trade). He was jailed by Casa officials in 1563
for alleged smuggling but succeeded in having his case transferred to court.
Thereafter, when the urgencies of the Florida matter came to the Crown’s at-
tention early in 1565, Menéndez was available to serve as adelantado. Before
he learned of the existence of Fort Caroline, Menéndez disclosed his interest
proof
in the fabled Northwest Passage and the route to the riches of the Orient,
when he told the king of his geographic and strategic beliefs about Florida:
If the French or English should come to settle Florida . . . it would be
the greatest inconvenience, as much for the mines and territories of
New Spain as for the navigation and trade of China and Molucca, if
that arm of the sea goes to the South Sea, as is certain. . . . By being
masters of Newfoundland. . . . Your Majesty may proceed to master
that land. . . . It is such a great land and [situated] at such a good junc-
ture, that if some other nations go to settle it . . . it will afterwards be
most difficult to take and master it.
And they must go directly to Cape Santa Elena, and, with fast ships
discover all the bays, rivers, sounds and shallows on the route to New-
foundland. And to provide settlers, in the largest number possible, for
two or three towns in the places which seem best . . . and after seeking
out the best ports, having first explored inland for four or five leagues,
to see that it might have a good disposition of land for farming and
livestock-raising. And each town would have its fort to defend against
the Indians if they should come upon them, or against other nations.1
Settlement and Survival · 59
Menéndez expected the Florida enterprise to prove profitable to himself and
to the Crown. He anticipated the development of agriculture, stock-raising,
fisheries, and forest resources for naval stores and shipbuilding. Menéndez
also hoped to profit from the ships’ licenses granted to him. He planned to
utilize waterways that he believed connected with the mines of New Spain
and the Pacific and those he thought crossed Florida from the Atlantic to
the Gulf.
In his Florida venture, the kinship alliance that supported the adelantado
was made up of seventeen families from the north of Spain, closely tied
by blood and marriage. Members of this coterie pledged their persons and
their fortunes to sustain their leader’s efforts, and they hoped to acquire
town and country lands and civil and military offices in Florida. These part-
ners in Menéndez’s enterprise thus shared his vision of enlarged estate and
advanced standing before their sovereign. The existence of this familial ter-
ritorial elite explains much of the dynamism of the Florida enterprise; the
adelantado was loyal y if not always ably served by his lieutenants and other
officials, who held such close connection with him.
At the end of June 1565, Menéndez sailed for Florida with ten ships and
more than a thousand men. Other ships departed from the north of Spain,
and Menéndez was to receive added support from Santo Domingo. His voy-
proof
age was beset with storms; several
receive a large land grant and the title of marquis to go with it. His jurisdic-
tion was immense, extending from Newfoundland to the Florida Keys and,
after 1573, westward to México.
In the days of Emperor Charles V, Menéndez had come to royal attention
for his daring deeds in the Bay of Biscay against French corsairs. Thereaf-
ter, he advanced himself in royal favor while he fought Spain’s enemies at
sea and on land. The young seaman became renowned for his prompt and
decisive actions. For his services to Mary Tudor and young King Philip, the
Asturian was awarded a habit in the prestigious Order of Santiago.
Menéndez’s exploits and his influence with the Crown aroused the jeal-
ousy of the Seville merchants and the associated Crown agency, the Casa
de Contratacion (House of Trade). He was jailed by Casa officials in 1563
for alleged smuggling but succeeded in having his case transferred to court.
Thereafter, when the urgencies of the Florida matter came to the Crown’s at-
tention early in 1565, Menéndez was available to serve as adelantado. Before
he learned of the existence of Fort Caroline, Menéndez disclosed his interest
proof
in the fabled Northwest Passage and the route to the riches of the Orient,
when he told the king of his geographic and strategic beliefs about Florida:
If the French or English should come to settle Florida . . . it would be
the greatest inconvenience, as much for the mines and territories of
New Spain as for the navigation and trade of China and Molucca, if
that arm of the sea goes to the South Sea, as is certain. . . . By being
masters of Newfoundland. . . . Your Majesty may proceed to master
that land. . . . It is such a great land and [situated] at such a good junc-
ture, that if some other nations go to settle it . . . it will afterwards be
most difficult to take and master it.
And they must go directly to Cape Santa Elena, and, with fast ships
discover all the bays, rivers, sounds and shallows on the route to New-
foundland. And to provide settlers, in the largest number possible, for
two or three towns in the places which seem best . . . and after seeking
out the best ports, having first explored inland for four or five leagues,
to see that it might have a good disposition of land for farming and
livestock-raising. And each town would have its fort to defend against
the Indians if they should come upon them, or against other nations.1
Settlement and Survival · 59
Menéndez expected the Florida enterprise to prove profitable to himself and
to the Crown. He anticipated the development of agriculture, stock-raising,
fisheries, and forest resources for naval stores and shipbuilding. Menéndez
also hoped to profit from the ships’ licenses granted to him. He planned to
utilize waterways that he believed connected with the mines of New Spain
and the Pacific and those he thought crossed Florida from the Atlantic to
the Gulf.
In his Florida venture, the kinship alliance that supported the adelantado
was made up of seventeen families from the north of Spain, closely tied
by blood and marriage. Members of this coterie pledged their persons and
their fortunes to sustain their leader’s efforts, and they hoped to acquire
town and country lands and civil and military offices in Florida. These part-
ners in Menéndez’s enterprise thus shared his vision of enlarged estate and
advanced standing before their sovereign. The existence of this familial ter-
ritorial elite explains much of the dynamism of the Florida enterprise; the
adelantado was loyal y if not always ably served by his lieutenants and other
officials, who held such close connection with him.
At the end of June 1565, Menéndez sailed for Florida with ten ships and
more than a thousand men. Other ships departed from the north of Spain,
and Menéndez was to receive added support from Santo Domingo. His voy-
proof
age was beset with storms; several
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