An Empire

France had always envied Spain her rich colonies and in 1562 set out to break Spain's
monopoly. This first attempt failed, but two years later a second expedition built Fort Caroline on the St. Johns River. Thus France encroached on land claimed by Spain. A raid into the Caribbean by the French showed the harm that an enemy base in Florida could inflict on ships returning to Spain via the Gulf Stream route. The threat of danger was compounded in 1565 when Jean Ribault, a very capable leader, sailed with reinforcements for Fort Caroline.
To counter the French, Pedro Mene'ndez de Avile's, an able Spanish tactician, sailed for Florida to establish a Spanish settlement and to remove Fort Caroline. But the French reinforcements arrived first. Having lost the race across the sea, Menendez founded St. Augus-tine. But for both men dislodging the other remained the uppermost objective.
Once the settlement at Fort Caroline appeared secure, Ribault gathered his forces and set out by sea to seek Menendez. His well-laid plans ended in a shambles, for a hurricane struck his fleet off St. Augustine and the ships were blown far down the coast and wrecked.
This was the opportunity Mene'ndez needed. Under cover of the hurricane he quickly marched to and captured Fort Caroline. Back in St. Au-gustine, he received word that two bands of survivors were marching up the coast. He met the French on separate occasions at Matanras Inlet, south of St. Augustine, and massacred them. Menendez had accomplished his mission.
The absence of a rival in Florida enabled the Spaniards to consolidate their dominion. Missionaries went out to the north and west from St. Augustine to convert Indians. The military

organization that was established remained basically unchanged for almost 200 years. And the occasional Indian uprisings were quickly suppressed.
England became Spain's next contender for Florida. The Spaniards had watched the English warily since their first permanent settlement at Jamestown in 1607. But it was not until the founding of Charleston in 1670 that the English actually trespassed on land that the Spaniards considered their own. By treaty that same year each nation recognized the territories of the other, al-though eventually England showed a total disregard for the treaty.
From then on constant friction between the two nations was the order of the day. Black slaves in the Carolinas early learned that if they could escape to Spanish territory they would not be returned to their masters, and all who became Catholics would be given their free-dom. The number of slaves escaping to Florida was never large, but there was always a trickle. Eventually a small settlement, Fort Mose, grew up outside St. Augustine for the escaped slaves.
The English encouraged their Indian allies to harass and raid the small outlying Spanish settlements and missions. In the siege of 1702, the Carolinians destroyed the northern missions on their march to St. Augustine. Stymied by the thick walls of the Castillo and the approach of a Spanish relief force, the Carolinians with-drew after 50 days. They burned the entire city; only the Castillo was left standing. The Carolinians also destroyed the missions to the west. Before peace came the Spaniards rebuilt their settlement and strengthened it by erecting a defensive earthwork on its northern limit.
In 1740 the British returned. While British ships blockaded the coastline, the army besieged St. Augustine. This attack failed, too, for the Spaniards broke the blockade at Matanzas Inlet and brought much-needed supplies to the garrison. The approaching hurricane season forced the blockading ships to retire, whereupon the army also withdrew.
Toward the end of the French and Indian War, Spain allied herself with France against Britain. Spain's brief participation in the war was disastrous, for Britain had already defeated
Submitted by Jo Ann Scott