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Founding of St. Augustine

Type Event Region Americas Time 1565

In 1565 Spanish explorer Pedro Menéndez de Avilés founded St. Augustine on Florida's northeast coast, displacing a French Huguenot outpost and establ…

Timeline

  1. 1565Seville · SevillePhilip II appointed Menéndez de Avilés governor of Florida, ordering him to expel French Huguenot colonists, establish a permanent Spanish outpost, and spread Catholicism, thereby consolidating Spain's claims on the southeastern North American coast.
  2. 1565Fort Caroline · FloridaMenéndez's fleet struck first upon arrival, capturing the French Huguenot colony at Fort Caroline in September 1565, executing most of the colonists and eliminating Spain's main rival on Florida's east coast.
  3. 1565St. Augustine · St. AugustineOn September 8, 1565, Menéndez landed at St. Augustine Bay and held mass, then built a wooden palisade fort and settlement named St. Augustine, establishing municipal and ecclesiastical institutions as Spain's permanent colonial center in southeastern North America.

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