448 years ago on this day in Florida History: The adelantado began his emergancy fundraising by selling the ships his sea captains had captured as prize and selling the cargo at public auction. With his share of the proceeds, he bought sea-biscuit, meat, cassava, corn, and some cattle and loaded these for Florida. The San Andrés was sent with supplies to St. Augustine and San Mateo under the command of Diego de Amaya, while the captured French patax, renamed the Santiago, went to Puerto Rico de Principe, Bayamo and Santiago de Cuba to seek supplies. When the adelantado went to examine the captain of de las Roelas and learned the circumstances of her turmoil in Havana, Pedro Menéndez became embroiled in a power struggle. He learned that the ship had and another Portuguese caravel which had been taken as prize were brought to Havana to be turned over to Menéndez. As soon as the ships anchored, the Cuban governor, García Osorio, sent armed men to take charge of the caravel. The governor´s men roughed up some of the ships officers and Osorio had the captain, Juan del la Parra jailed in irons. When he learned of the arrest and confinement of Parra, Pedro Menéndez was furious. His anger was rooted in two things which always moved him powerfully: his authority and his money. Parra, the ship he commanded, and the prize he had taken were now under Menéndez´ authority, and the governor´s actions against Menéndez´ men was an affront to the adelantado. Moreover, the Portuguese ship alone represented a significant value and his share would go far in replenishing his depleted funds. For three days the two antagonists exchanged requerimientos (legal letters of demand and refusal). Since these had no visible effect, the men finally met and joined conflict personally. To be continued… From - “The Enterprise of Florida”; Spanish Victory and First Foundation, 1979: Eugene Lyon, University Press, Gainesville.
Posted on: Sat, 23 Nov 2013 18:50:37 +0000
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