FOUNDING OF ST. AUGUSTINE
MASSACRE OF THE HUGUENOTS IN AMERICA
A.D. 1565
GEORGE R. FAIRBANKS
Although Florida was discovered by Ponce de Leon as early as 1513,
and was soon after visited by other Spanish explorers, no Spaniard
gained permanent foothold there until after the middle of the
sixteenth century. But when the Spaniards did secure such a
foothold, it was to found the first permanent settlement on the
mainland of the United States.
The vast territory which the Spaniards named Florida was claimed by
Spain in right of the discoveries of Columbus, the grant of the
pope, and various expeditions to the region; by England in right of
Cabot's discovery; and by France on account of Verrazano's voyage
(1524) and "vague traditions" of French visitors to the coast.
Following the early Spanish attempts at colonization, came the first
Huguenot settlers from France, seeking refuge in the New World from
persecution at home. What they did and what befell them in the
Florida country, and how the founding of our oldest town, St.
Augustine, was begun by their Spanish supplanters, is told by
Fairbanks in an interesting and carefully verified account.
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