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Pedro Menéndez de Avilés (born February 15, 1519, Avilés, Spain—died September 17, 1574, Santander) was a Spaniard who founded St. Augustine, Florida, and was a classic example of the conquistador—intrepid, energetic, loyal, and brutal. Born into the landed gentry, he ran away to sea at age 14.
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
The mission served nearby villages of the Mocama, a Timucua group, and was at the center of an important chiefdom in the late 16th and 17th century. Menéndez marched his soldiers overland from St. Augustine to destroy the French settlement at Fort Caroline on the St. Johns River.
Menendez’s unexpected death on September 17, 1574, may have altered the course of history. The “invincible” Armada, which sailed on its disastrous mission in 1588, was subsequently entrusted to the Duke of Medina-Sidonia, a courageous man but an inept seaman.
Feb 15, 2015 · In 1563, factions in the House of Trade, the governmental agency which controlled Spain’s New World exploration and trade, brought questionable legal charges against Menéndez and one of his older brothers, Bartolomé Menéndez de Avilés.
The Spanish killed 142 French before the survivors surrendered. The Spanish lost one soldier. Menendez renamed the fort San Mateo. Ribaut's forces, crushed on the Daytona Beaches, had no other option but to march northward in hopes of attacking St. Augustine.
Menéndez sailed to Florida and defeated the French, killing many of them. He founded Saint Augustine on 8 September 1565, and established garrisons at San Mateo (the renamed Fort Caroline) and elsewhere in the Florida peninsula.
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May 1, 1993 · This reviewer’s own work, The Spanish Crown and the Defense of the Caribbean, 1535-1585 (1980), covers aspects of Menéndez’ service with the Armada Real. In sum, for a popular, short biography highlighting the founding of St. Augustine, this is still a useful book.
