4. The Conquistadors in Florida

Conquistadors were soldiers, explorers, and pirates.  They colonized much of the world in the 15th to 17th centuries, creating great wealth for Spain.  Unfortunately they subjugated indigenous populations to garner economic wealth.

Their weapons of choice were rapier swords, broadswords, pikes and a crude firearm known as an Arquebus rifle.

In 1559 Spanish Conquistador Don Tristan de Luna established Pensacola, Florida.  With 11 ships de Luna sailed into present-day Pensacola Bay and landed on Isle de St Rose.  The cross on Pensacola Beach commemorates the first Christian mass held in the United States.  Within 3 years, after much hardship, followed by a hurricane, the expedition was abandoned. 

The area was not populated again until 1696 when the Spanish founded the city of Pensacola with its first governor being Don Andre d’Arriola.  d’Arriola settled the area by building the small wood Fort St Charles at the entrance of the port. 

Later the Spanish built Fort Santa Rosa, later named Fort Rose by the British and was involved in the war of 1812, when Andrew Jackson drove the British out of Florida. 

Admiral Pedro Menendez de Aviles was a Spanish Conquistador who was sent to remove the French from Florida. He founded St Augustine on September 8, 1565.

St Augustine served as capital of Spanish Florida for over 200 years and is the oldest continuously inhabited settlement in the United States. In 1672 the fort Castillo de San Marcos was built and is the oldest surviving masonry fort in the United States.  

Please refer to the maps displayed at this stop.  They are Bellin hand colored maps of Florida from 1760.  The maps show Fort Santa Rosa and Fort St Charles in Pensacola along with Castillo de San Marcos in St Augustine.  

Of particular note at this stop is the uniform of the Conquistador.  Upon arrival to the Caribbean or Florida, because of the heat, most Conquistadors shed their metal armor.  Most wore chain mail or padded clothing.  They did however retain the metal helmet, known as a Morion, to protect their heads.