St. Augustine, Florida , the city
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There are few places in America where one can capture the essence of Old World Spanish atmosphere in a modern, yet ancient, town. St. Augustine, Florida, is one of these places.
Its history is diverse, filled with exciting dips between peace and wartime.
The story of St. Augustine began in 1513, when Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de Leon, formerly governor of Puerto Rico, came to Florida on an adventure. He is rumored to have been looking for the "fountain of youth" hinted to him by the local Timucua Indians. Once he reached America, he named the land "Pascua Florida," or "land of flowers" because the event took place during the Easter season. The name "La Florida" stuck and has been passed down to us in our present day. Since that day in 1513, Spain attempted without success to make Florida a colony. But each time, the hand of fate intervened. Spain decided to let Florida go. This is when another European country decided to try their hand at colonization. French Huguenots - Protestants under the teaching of reformer John Calvin - were led to Florida by an able French sailor, Jean Ribault. They arrived on the East Coast in 1562 and built Charlesfort in South Carolina where Parris Island now lies. In 1564, Rene de Laudonniere, second in command and also a Huguenot, constructed the second fort, Fort Caroline, in Florida. The fort was located at present-day Jacksonville. The Spanish king, Philip II, decided not to let these incursions go un-punished. He instructed Don Pedro Menendez de Aviles, a worthy admiral, to drive out the Huguenots and finally make Florida into a municipality of Spain. Menendez's voyage accomplished his aims; he captured Fort Caroline in September of 1565 - renaming it San Mateo - and massacred the French at an inlet sixteen miles from St. Augustine. This inlet is now called "Matanzas," Spanish for "slaughters." This act left Florida clear prey for the Spanish. Don Pedro established a new colony, San Agustin, on September 08th, 1565. Also on this date, the first Catholic Mass, marking the advent of the Christian faith in this country, was celebrated by Father Francisco Lopez de Mendoza Grajales at Menendez's 1565 colony (which lay behind today's Fountain of Youth Park). The Spaniards made their colony right behind a Timucua Indian village headed by a chief named Seloy - although the Native Americans had been generous in the past, allowing captain-general Menendez to make the Indians' council house into a fortress, the Indians soon appear to have tired of the new settlers and forced them to move across the Matanzas Bay by burning part of the Spanish fort. St. Augustine moved once again years later back across the bay, and the city as we know it began to grow. The first centuries were not easy; a flood swept the land in the 1590's, followed by pirate activity in the 1600's. In 1668, John Davis, an English pirate, breezed into town, leaving sixty people slain. Queen-Regent Mariana of Spain had had enough. She commanded that a new fortress be constructed; the nine wooden forts previously guarding St. Augustine had lasted but a short while. The Castillo de San Marcos, the huge stone fort made of native coquina shell-rock, was begun in 1672, and finished in 1695. Apparently its completion arrived just in time, for in 1702, the Castillo was sieged by the governor of South Carolina. The siege failed, but the town was horribly burned as the raiders trickled out. In 1740, General James Oglethorpe of Georgia decided to take on the task of felling the Spanish fortress. He too instigated a siege, but try as he may, he could not take the Castillo. Two years later Oglethorpe attempted once again to capture the Castillo, and finally went away discouraged. The Castillo de San Marcos has never fallen in battle. By this time, the Spanish had enough reason to consider the English their enemies. But in 1763, Spain acquired Havana in a trade with the British, and the British got Florida. British soldiers arrived in St. Augustine, and many of the Spanish fled to live in Cuba. England ruled St. Augustine from 1763 to 1784, but in 1784, the Spanish again took over the city. They tried to reinstall Spanish religion and culture into St. Augustine - the St. Augustine Cathedral was built in 1797 - but the town had had too diverse a past by that time. In 1821, St. Augustine - and the whole of Florida - was given up by the Spanish and passed into the hands of U.S. militia. But this would not be a joyous year. Northern visitors to St. Augustine were suddenly struck with a bout of yellow fever, causing the "Huguenot Cemetery" which still lies across from the Castillo de San Marcos to be built. It is named the Huguenot Cemetery because many of the newcomers were Protestant, and St. Augustine, with a high Catholic population, had nowhere to bury Protestant citizens. 1845 brought Florida's statehood, and St. Augustine would never again be a Spanish municipality. During the American Civil War, St. Augustine was defended most of the time by the Union Army, although Florida was an adamantly Southern state. In the 1880's, a man named Henry Morrison Flagler became famous for having the dream of making St. Augustine a star vacation destination. He brought two lovely hotels, the "Alcazar" and the "Ponce de Leon" into being. These hotels of wonderful Spanish design are today the Lightner Museum and St. Augustine's City Hall, and Flagler College. Henry Flagler supported many local churches and gave money to enhance them. He gave money to the St. Augustine Baptist congregation to construct "Ancient City Baptist Church." He also gave a belltower to the St. Augustine Cathedral. In Flagler's Memorial Presbyterian Church lie buried not only Flagler himself, but his daughter Jennie Louise, who died during childbirth. St. Augustine may have been given up by its Spanish founders, but the town never gave up on its Spanish ambience. The tropical feel is everywhere. From the ancient buildings (some of which you may tour), the Mediterranean architecture, and the trees dripping with Spanish moss, one must wonder how the Spanish who built this town could bear leaving it. But many others call St. Augustine home today, and thousands more visit the place daily. There are a myriad of attractions; historical ones, such as the "Oldest House," the Castillo de San Marcos, Oldest Wooden Schoolhouse, and many more historic buildings and activities, and also non-historical things to do, like the Alligator Farm that lies across the Bay on Anastasia Island, and the St. Augustine Lighthouse, also on the Island. St. Augustine has remained the novel place to explore; let the sound of Spanish guitars, the rustling secrets of the Spanish moss on the stately trees, entice you. St. Augustine is truly a magical place, if you know how to let it speak to you. |
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