In the year of our Lord 1565, the royal court of King Phillip II, ruler by conquest or inheritance of Castile, Aragon, Navarre, the Two Sicilys, Spanish Netherlands, the North African ports, the Americas, the isles of the Indies and "La Florida," his newest acquisition, prepared for the annual nativity celebration (Navidad) Dec. 8 with the Festival of the Immaculate Conception.
As court dancers performed "Los Seises," a precision dance of the six as part of the elaborate ceremony, in far-away Florida life was much different for the king's beleaguered garrison at the Port of Ais near Fort Pierce. The military colony, consisting of about 250 Spanish soldiers and 50 French prisoners of war, was starving.
In a whirlwind two-month campaign, Spanish Adelantado Pedro Menendez de Aviles, proprietary governor of Florida, founded the town of St. Augustine, destroyed the rival French colony of Fort Caroline near the mouth of the St. Johns River, murdered most of the shipwrecked relief force of Admiral Jean Ribault at Matanzas Inlet, then marched his poorly provisioned army south along the Rio de Ais (Indian River) to establish new outposts among the Ais and Tequesta Indians.
In his Oct. 15 report to King Phillip, Menendez outlined his ambitious plans for the occupation of South Florida with an army of just 300 Spanish soldiers and crew, 70 French POWs captured at Cape Canaveral, and three small ships.
The Adelantado wrote, "I shall place there 150 Spaniards, for they are needed to keep watch over the Indians, who are very warlike, until the Spaniards shall have gained their good will."
With the food situation becoming critical at the Port of Ais, Menendez set sail for Havana in November 1565 with two of the colony's three naos, small shallow-draft coastal vessels, to seek supplies for the garrison. He selected a crew of 50 Spaniards and 20 French prisoners to make the journey, reducing his garrison by 20 percent.
The remaining garrison and French prisoners were placed under the command of Captain Juan Velez de Medrano. Velez was one of the officers who led the assault on Fort Caroline. In addition to his military command, he was appointed civil governor of the new Province of Ais.
The winter of 1565-66 was one of severe hardship for the Spanish colony on the Rio de Ais. The arrival of a relief ship was delayed. The Ais Indians cut communications with St. Augustine and harassed the garrison. While the Indian River offered an abundance of food sources, the weakened soldiers feared Indian attack and did not venture along the river.
In desperation, about 100 members of the garrison, under a soldier named Escobar, deserted the settlement and marched south. The words of 16th century historian Bartolome Barrientos describe the plight of the Spanish garrison and the event which led to the founding of Fort Santa Lucia:
"At the port of Ays," he wrote, "where the Adelantado had left Juan Velez de Medrano and his soldiers, many of those who remained were unwilling to endure hunger and discomfort in the interval required for Menendez to send supplies from Havana."
According to his history, "These men now marched out of Ays. When Captain (Juan Velez) Medrano and Lieutenant (Gabriel) Ayala went out to bring them back, they found many of the party dead and others drowned as a result of their attempt to cross local rivers."
Ironically, a short time after the mutiny, a relief ship commanded by Diego de Amaya arrived at the Port of Ais. The garrison's remaining nao and Amaya's relief ship sailed south in pursuit of the deserters. They entered Jupiter Inlet, discovered the main Jeaga Indian village of Hobe on its south shore, and sailed north into the Jupiter Narrows.
They established a new outpost north of the Jupiter Inlet on Dec. 13 and christened it "Santa Lucia". Captain Velez sailed north with his two vessels and found the remaining mutineers stranded near the St. Lucie inlet. He escorted them back to the new colony.
The historian Barrientos writes, "Twenty-three leagues beyond Ays, the Spaniards found a harbor, which they named Santa Lucia because they discovered it on that saint's day. It was to this port that the Adelantado sent supplies."
In 16th century Spain and its domains, the Santa Lucia festival was called "El Dia de Santa Lucia" and was observed by the lighting of bonfires, candles and music. In the old Julian calendar, the event coincided with the winter solstice and thus was celebrated as a festival of light on the shortest day of the year.
Siege of Fort Santa Lucia
There was not much time to celebrate at the Santa Lucia outpost. The Spanish fort was viewed as an unwelcomed threat by both the Jeaga tribe at Hobe and on Jupiter Island, and to the related Guacata (Santaluces) and Ais tribes to the north.
In his history, Barrientos writes, "Although the Indians pretended to be friendly, they actually plotted to kill the colonists, for they saw how weak they were from hunger. The 'savages' were also aware that the party possessed no harquebuses (matchlock firearms) - fatigue had caused them to abandoned these weapons along the way."
"One day five hundred Indians descended on our men and killed 15 soldiers. The 'savages' manner of fighting allowed them to go unscathed, for during the time one solider fired a shot, an Indian loosed 20 arrows."
Barrientos detailed the intensity of the fighting and acts of heroism: "When Lt. Gabriel Ayala saw that our tactics were wholly unsuccessful, he sallied out with 30 soldiers armed with swords only. In this fashion were the 'savages' driven back; although every day they continued to approach the camp with the intention of doing damage."
One of the sources cited by the historian Barrientos was a survivor of the siege, an artilleryman named Diego Lopez. The soldier reported "with great haste they built a fort for defense." Lopez estimated of 236 men defending Santa Lucia, no more than 60 or 70 survived.
In his biography of Pedro Menendez, the historian Barrientos adds, "During the next eight days the Spaniards built a fort, in which they set up their defense. As their answer to this, the Indians attacked one morning 1,000 strong. Discharging their arrows without cessation, they fought for four hours, during which 6,000 arrows fell inside the fort."
Juan de Soto, another soldier of the garrison during 1565-66, testified in 1574, "As to Xega (the Jeaga), he knows that these Indians have slain many Spaniards in the district they called Santa Lucia, where a company was garrisoned, and they killed in such numbers that those alive were forced to leave and abandoned fort, because the Indians were persecuting and killing them every day."
Daily encounters with neighboring tribes prevented soldiers from gathering food. Barrientos reported a single pound of maize was issued to 10 soldiers, and when the supply of maize was exhausted "a palmetto was sold for one ducat, snake for four, and a rat cost eight reales."
Christmas Eve - Noche Buena (the Good Night) - was celebrated in 16th century Spain with a special treat called "turron de Navidad" (almond candy) and lechan (roasted pork) . The traditional "Pavo Trufado de Navidad" or Christmas feast often featured turkey stuffed with truffles at the Spanish royal court.
Although wild turkeys were plentiful in the Palm Beaches during the 16th century, the Spanish garrison did not benefit from nature's bounty during Navidad. At best, they were served "cocido," a stew commonly served on Spanish ships.
A "patache" or small two-masted vessel, under the command of Captain Gonzalo Gallegos, was dispatched from the Havana and arrived at Santa Lucia during the Christmas season. He found the condition of the colony "deplorable" with the garrison subsisted on "palmettos, grasses and water." Gallegos left part of his cargo at Santa Lucia, then sailed to St. Augustine.
The supplies were soon consumed by the starving garrison. A concerned Lt. Ayala, "saddened by the suffering of his soldiers," launched an open boat from the shore in an attempt to seek help in Havana. Ayala and the garrison's chaplain, Father Mendoza, battled the contrary currents of the Gulf Stream until exhaustion forced them back to the outpost.
Six days later a sail was spotted on the horizon. The caravel "Ascencion" arrived in March 1566 with additional supplies. Its arrival sparked a mutiny by the garrison.
The Santa Lucia Mutiny
Gonzalo Solis de Meras, the brother-in-law of Menendez, documented the event. "The master of the caravel in order to do so, wished to unload the maize when he arrived at Santa Lucia; whereupon the soldiers seized the master and prepared to make off with the caravel."
Solis reported, "Because Captain Juan Velez wished to prevent this, they tried to kill but wounded him and Ayala, his ensign, who was likewise preventing their making off with the caravel; and they had all embarked on board her and were on their way to Havana..."
The "Ascencion" and Santa Lucia garrison were intercepted at sea March 19 by Adelantado Menendez and a Spanish fleet near the Florida Keys and taken to St. Augustine. Fort Santa Lucia was deserted and reclaimed by the native Jeaga Indians.
Despite the loss of the Santa Lucia outpost, and two mutinies under his command, Captain Velez remained on good terms with Adelantado Menendez. He was relieved of his command of the Santa Lucia survivors in July 1566, and reassigned to a Spanish fleet organized by Menendez to fight pirates in the Caribbean.
Most historians believe Santa Lucia was permanently abandoned in 1566. Some sources indicate the site may have been briefly occupied by refugees from the Spanish Tekesta colony at Biscayne Bay in 1567. By 1568 Menendez had abandoned all his outposts in South Florida.
Today, the exact location of Fort Santa Lucia remains one of the great mysteries of Florida history. The Jupiter Inlet (i.e. Rio Hobe, Jobe, Jove, Jupiter) and adjacent estuary (the Rio Jeaga) would remain free of colonization through the remainder of the Spanish colonial period.
Elsie Dolby Jackson, the author of "Loxahatchee Lament, Early History of Jupiter," made the following observation in 1918: "We have another Indian monument which we may speculate about. It is where the lighthouse now stands. A high ridge in the shape of a horseshoe is situated west of the mouth of the Jupiter Narrows."
"In the center of this ridge is a central mound," she wrote. "From the river to the convex side is, apparently, is an approach. Some call this an amphitheater. Others have called it a fortification."
A simple U-shaped fortification with its open end facing the river would have required little time for the harassed Spanish garrison to build and defend from hostile Jeaga Indians. It also would have allowed easy access for supply ships entering the inlet.
The history of Fort Santa Lucia is a story with an ending still waiting to be written by researchers and archaeologists.
(c.) Revised 2015.
INDEX of ARTICLES: (2014 - )
- "Navidad at Fort Santa Lucia: December 1565." December 2014.
- "Cha-chi's Village Rests Beneath West Palm Beach." December 2014.
- "Uncovering the History of the Santaluces Indians. January 2015.
- "Palm Beaches Used as the Confederacy's Last Hideout." March 2015.
- "Civil War Blockade-Running at Jupiter Inlet: 1861-65." May 2015.
- "The Jeaga Indians of 'Abaioa' (Palm Beach) in 1513." July 2015.
- "USS Jupiter Became America's First Aircraft Carrier." August 2015.
- "Muck Monster Legend Becomes Part of Our History." October 2015.
- "Battle of the Atlantic Comes to the Palm Beaches." November 2015.
- "Welcome to Historic Downtown 'Figulus': 1881-93." February 2016.
- "Inside the Eye of Hurricane Cleo: August 1964." March 2016.
- "The U.S. Navy's Expedition to Lake Okeechobee: 1842." April 2016.
- "A History of the Tequesta Indians in Boca Raton." June 2016.
- "The Short Life and Sudden End of God's 'Chosen' City." July 2016.
- "Final Voyage and Sinking of 'SS Inchulva' Off Delray." August 2016.
- "Digging Up the Haunted History of Palm Beach County." Sept. 2016.
- "The Last Campaign of Major William Lauderdale." October 2016.
- "True Tale of Captain Gus and the Old Palm Beach Pier." Dec. 2016.
- "John Prince's Memorial: A County Park for the People." Jan. 2017.
- "Wartime POWs, 'Spy' Reports in Palm Beach County." Feb. 2017.
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