What was the first European settlement in Florida?
St. Augustine, Florida was founded by Spanish explorers long before Jamestown and the Plymouth Colony. Even before Jamestown or the Plymouth Colony, the oldest permanent European settlement in what is now the United States was founded in September 1565 by a Spanish soldier named Pedro Menéndez de Avilés in St. Augustine, Florida.
What was the first permanent European settlement in the United States?
Even before Jamestown or the Plymouth Colony, the oldest permanent European settlement in what is now the United States was founded in September 1565 by a Spanish soldier named Pedro Menéndez de Avilés in St. Augustine, Florida. Menéndez picked the colony’s name because he originally spotted the site on August 28, the feast day of St. Augustine.
What is the history of St Augustine?
The history of St. Augustine, Florida, the oldest continuously occupied settlement of European origin in the continental United States, began in 1565 when it was founded by the Spanish admiral, Pedro Menéndez de Avilés.
What happened to the Spanish settlers in St Augustine?
Consequently, on June 6, 1586, English privateer Sir Francis Drake raided St. Augustine, burning it and driving surviving Spanish settlers into the wilderness. However, lacking sufficient forces or authority to establish an English settlement, Drake left the area.
What was the first European settlement?
The invasion of the North American continent and its peoples began with the Spanish in 1565 at St. Augustine, Florida, then British in 1587 when the Plymouth Company established a settlement that they dubbed Roanoke in present-day North Carolina.
What happened in 1565 in the United States?
In early September 1565, Aviles founded San Augustin on the Florida coast, which would later grow into Saint Augustine–the oldest European-founded city in North America. Two weeks later, on September 20, he attacked and destroyed the French settlement of Fort Caroline.
How was Augustine founded?
St. Augustine was founded on September 8, 1565, by Spanish admiral Pedro Menéndez de Avilés, Florida's first governor. He named the settlement "San Agustín", as his ships bearing settlers, troops, and supplies from Spain had first sighted land in Florida eleven days earlier on August 28, the feast day of St. Augustine.
What is the oldest European settlement in North America?
Saint Augustine, FloridaSaint Augustine, Florida, settled in 1565, rightly claims to be the oldest continuously occupied European settlement in North America.
When was the first settlement in America?
In 1607, 104 English men and boys arrived in North America to start a settlement. On May 13 they picked Jamestown, Virginia for their settlement, which was named after their King, James I.
What was the first Spanish settlement in America?
In 1493, during his second voyage, Columbus founded Isabela, the first permanent Spanish settlement in the New World, on Hispaniola.
Who discovered St. Augustine in 1565?
Pedro Menéndez de AvilésEven before Jamestown or the Plymouth Colony, the oldest permanent European settlement in what is now the United States was founded in September 1565 by a Spanish soldier named Pedro Menéndez de Avilés in St. Augustine, Florida.
What is St. Augustine best known for?
His numerous written works, the most important of which are Confessions (c. 400) and The City of God (c. 413–426), shaped the practice of biblical exegesis and helped lay the foundation for much of medieval and modern Christian thought. In Roman Catholicism he is formally recognized as a doctor of the church.
Was St. Augustine the first settlement?
Augustine is the oldest continuously occupied settlement of European and African-American origin in the United States. Forty-two years before the English colonized Jamestown and fifty-five years before the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock, the Spanish established at St.
What is the oldest settlement in the world?
JerichoJericho, West Bank Jericho, a city in the Palestine territories, is a strong contender for the oldest continuous settlement in the world: it dates back to around 9,000 B.C., according to Ancient History Encyclopedia.
Who settled America first?
Five hundred years before Columbus, a daring band of Vikings led by Leif Eriksson set foot in North America and established a settlement.
What is the oldest settlement in the New World?
The first permanent settlement in the New World was Isabella on the island of Hispaniola (in present-day Dominican Republic). This first bit of real estate was built in 1493 by Columbus's crew on his second voyage.
What events happened in the year 1565?
March 1: Founding of Rio de Janeiro.January 3 – In the Tsardom of Russia, Ivan the Terrible originates the oprichnina (repression of the boyars (aristocrats)).January 23 – Battle of Talikota: The Vijayanagara Empire, the last Hindu kingdom in South India, is greatly weakened by the Deccan sultanates.More items...
What happened in the year 1566?
Pope Pius V expels most prostitutes from Rome, and the Papal States. Between July 19, 1566 and July 7, 1567 – The first bridge crossing the Neretva River at Mostar (in modern-day Bosnia and Herzegovina) is completed by the Ottoman Empire. The white marble bridge becomes known as Stari Most ("Old Bridge").
What important event happened in 1588?
In 1588, Spain's King Philip II ordered a naval invasion of England. Philip's Spanish Armada of 124 ships, 27,000 men, and 1,100 guns departed from Lisbon on May 30, 1588.
What happened in the year 1567?
July 24 – Mary, Queen of Scots, is forced to abdicate, and replaced by her one-year-old son James VI. July 25 – The city of Santiago de León de Caracas is founded by Diego de Losada. July 29 – James VI is crowned at Stirling.
Who was the first European to explore Florida?
The first European known to have explored the coasts of Florida was the Spanish explorer and governor of Puerto Rico, Juan Ponce de León , who likely ventured in 1513 as far north as the vicinity of the future St. Augustine, naming the peninsula he believed to be an island " La Florida " and claiming it for the Spanish crown. Prior to the founding of St. Augustine in 1565, several earlier attempts at European colonization in what is now Florida were made by both Spain and France, but all failed.
What happened to the Spanish in 1821?
In 1821 the Adams–Onís Treaty peaceably turned the Spanish provinces in Florida and , with them, St. Augustine, over to the United States. There were only three Spanish soldiers stationed there in 1821.
What is the oldest tourist attraction in Florida?
The St. Augustine Alligator Farm , founded in 1893, is one of the oldest commercial tourist attractions in Florida, as is the Fountain of Youth Archaeological Park, which has been a tourist attraction since around 1902. The city is the eastern terminus of the Old Spanish Trail, a promotional effort of the 1920s linking St. Augustine to San Diego, California, with 3,000 miles (4,800 km) of roadways.
What was the British period?
British period. In 1763, the Treaty of Paris ended the Seven Years' War. Spain ceded Florida and St. Augustine to the British, in exchange for their relinquishing control of occupied Havana. With the change of government, most of the Spanish Floridians and many freedmen departed from St. Augustine for Cuba.
Why did the Spanish not import slaves to Florida?
The Spanish did not import many slaves to Florida for labor, since it was primarily a military outpost without a plantation economy like that of the British colonies. As the British planted settlements south along the Atlantic coast, the Spanish encouraged their slaves to escape for sanctuary in Florida. If the fugitives converted to Catholicism and swore allegiance to the king of Spain, they would be given freedom, arms, and supplies. Moving southward on the coast from the northern colonies, the British founded Charleston in 1670 and Savannah in 1733. In response, Spanish Governor Manual de Montiano in 1738 established the first legally recognized free community of ex-slaves, known as Gracia Real de Santa Teresa de Mose, or Fort Mose, to serve as a defensive outpost two miles north of St. Augustine.
When did Florida secede from the Union?
In 1861, the American Civil War began; Florida seceded from the Union and joined the Confederacy. On January 7, 1861 , prior to Florida's formal secession, a local militia unit, the St. Augustine Blues, took possession of St. Augustine's military facilities, including Fort Marion and the St. Francis Barracks, from the lone Union ordnance sergeant on duty. On March 11, 1862, crew from the USS Wabash reoccupied the city for the United States government without opposition. It remained under Union control for the remainder of the war. In 1865, Florida rejoined the United States.
Who was the first French colonizer to colonize Florida?
The French exploration of the area began in 1562, under the command of the Huguenot colonizer, Captain Jean Ribault.
What was the name of the island in 1615?
1615 – Fort Nassau – Dutch. 1615 – Renews, Newfoundland – English. 1618 – Bristol's Hope – English. Map of the northern part and parts of the southern parts of the Americas, from the mouth of the Saint Laurent River to the Island of Cayenne,with the new discoveries of the Mississippi (or Colbert) River.
What happened in the late fifteenth century?
Late fifteenth century. 1492: Columbus sets sail aboard the Niña, Pinta, and Santa Maria. 1492: Columbus reaches the Bahamas, Cuba and Hispaniola. 1492: La Naviad is established on the island of Hispaniola; it was destroyed by the following year. 1493: The colony of La Isabela is established on the island of Hispaniola.
What happened in 1527?
1527: Fishermen are using the harbor at St. John's, Newfoundland and other places on the coast. 1535: Jacques Cartier reaches Quebec. 1536: Cabeza de Vaca reaches Mexico City after wandering through North America. 1538: Failed Huguenot settlement on St. Kitts in the Caribbean (destroyed by the Spanish).
What was the first site of enslavement of Africans in North America?
1525: Estêvão Gomes enters Upper New York Bay. 1526: Lucas Vázquez de Ayllón briefly establishes the failed settlement of San Miguel de Gualdape in South Carolina, the first site of enslavement of Africans in North America and of the first slave rebellion.
Where did Columbus sail?
1502: Columbus sails along the mainland coast south of Yucatán, and reaches present-day Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama. 1503: Las Tortugas noted by Columbus in passage through the Western Caribbean present-day Cayman Islands.
When did the Spanish reach New Mexico?
1598: Spanish reach Northern New Mexico. 1600: By 1600 Spain and Portugal were still the only significant colonial powers. North of Mexico the only settlements were Saint Augustine and the isolated outpost in northern New Mexico. Exploration of the interior was largely abandoned after the 1540s.
Overview
St. Augustine, Florida, the oldest continuously occupied settlement of European origin in the continental United States, was founded in 1565 by Spanish admiral Pedro Menéndez de Avilés. The Spanish Crown issued an asiento to Menéndez, signed by King Philip II on March 20, 1565, granting him various titles, including that of adelantado of Florida, and expansive privileges to exploit the lands in the vast territory of Spanish Florida, called La Florida by the Spaniards. This c…
Early exploration and attempts at settlement
The first European known to have explored the coasts of Florida was the Spanish explorer and governor of Puerto Rico, Juan Ponce de León, who likely ventured in 1513 as far north as the vicinity of the future St. Augustine, naming the peninsula he believed to be an island "La Florida" and claiming it for the Spanish crown. Prior to the founding of St. Augustine in 1565, several earlier at…
Founding
Pedro Menéndez's ships first sighted land on August 28, 1565, the feast day of St. Augustine of Hippo. In honor of the patron saint of his home town of Avilés, he named his colony's settlement San Agustín. The Spanish sailed through the inlet into Matanzas Bay and disembarked near the Timucua town of Seloy on September 6. Menéndez's immediate goal was to quickly construct fortificatio…
Spanish period
St. Augustine was intended to be a base for further colonial expansion across what is now the southeastern United States, but such efforts were hampered by apathy and hostility on the part of the Native Americans towards becoming Spanish subjects. The Saturiwa, one of the two principal chiefdoms in the area, remained openly hostile. In 1566, the Saturiwa burned St. Augustine and the se…
British period
In 1763, the Treaty of Paris ended the Seven Years' War. Spain ceded Florida and St. Augustine to the British, in exchange for the British relinquishing control of occupied Havana. With the change of government, most of the Spanish Floridians and many freedmen departed from St. Augustine for Cuba. Only a few remained to handle unsold property and settle affairs.
James Grant was appointed the first governor of East Florida. He served from 1764 until 1771, w…
Second Spanish period
The Treaty of Paris in 1783 gave the American colonies north of Florida their independence, and ceded Florida to Spain in recognition of Spanish efforts on behalf of the American colonies during the war.
On September 3, 1783, by Treaty of Paris, Britain also signed separate agreements with France and Spain. In the treaty with Spain, the colonies of We…
American period
Spain ceded Florida to the United States in the 1819 Adams–Onís Treaty, ratified in 1821; Florida officially became a U.S. possession as the Florida Territory in 1822. Andrew Jackson, a future president, was appointed its military governor and then succeeded by William Pope Duval, who was appointed territorial governor in April 1822. Florida gained statehood in 1845.
Flagler era
Henry Flagler, a partner with John D. Rockefeller in Standard Oil, arrived in St. Augustine in the 1880s. He was the driving force behind turning the city into a winter resort for the wealthy northern elite. Flagler bought a number of local railroads and incorporated them into the Florida East Coast Railway, which built its headquarters in St. Augustine.