At the fort, the women cooked, cleaned, and cared for those inside. Augustine, about 1,500 people, to take refuge in Castillo de San Marcos. Soon after receiving the news, the Governor Zúñiga ordered all the families of St. Being devoted to the Spaniards, she fled to San Luis de Apalachee (today's Tallahassee), where she reported the news to the Spanish Commander that the governor of Charleston would come down with boats to attack St. The Chacato woman witnessed war preparations. At the village of Achito in Apalachicola (today's Georgia), the native woman had attended a town council in which plans were being discussed for an English inspired and supervised attack. The first news the Spanish governor of Florida, Joseph de Zúñiga y Zerda, had about the approaching attack of Governor Moore came from a baptized Indian woman of the Chacato tribe.
Siege of 1702, Burning of the Town Women of the Siege of 1702 Augustine and approximately Cumberland Island, Georgia, possibly through Spanish intervention. By 1606 she had become the ruler of the Timucuan tribes extending along the coast between St. Doña Maria married a Spanish soldier named Clemente de Vernal, and he lived with her and their children at Nombre de Dios. Doña Maria was a Christian, and her mother (who had been the ruling Chief of Nombre de Dios before her) was one of the very early Timucua converts to Christianity. She was the Chieftainess (cacica) of the Timucuan town of Nombre de Dios during the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries. Doña Maria Melendez, a member of the Timucuan noble class, is an example. Success was aided by the cooperation of the Timucuan caciques (chiefs), who appear to have quickly recognized the advantages of Spanish alliance. Augustine realized their first successes. The generation of Timucuans born during the 1560’s reached adulthood in the 1580’s, which was when missionary efforts in St. 1600.ĭrawing by Bill Celander, Florida Museum, University of Florida Doña Maria Melendez, 1600s Antonia remained with her people for a time, teaching them the Catholic religion, but she eventually returned to Havana, Cuba, where she died.Īrtist's rendering of Timucua Cacica Doña María Melendez, ca.
In 1568, the tensions between the Calusa and the Spanish reached a high point, and King Carlos was killed by Spanish soldiers. Augustine and probably never saw her again. When Menéndez orchestrated an unfavorable peace treaty between the Tocobaga and the Calusa, Antonia let her outrage be known. Antonia had clearly become a pawn in the dealings of Carlos and the Spanish governor, but she was not a silent pawn. Menéndez sent Antonia back to Havana, but Carlos threatened to kill many Spaniards unless his sister was returned. King Carlos planned to re-marry Antonia to a Christianized Indian named Don Pedro, who had been named heir to Carlos’s throne. Antonia was upset that Menéndez would not truly treat her as his wife and evenually Menéndez returned her to her brother in Florida. Initially, Menéndez protested, since he already had a wife in Spain, but in the interest of diplomacy, Menéndez had no choice but to accept her as his “wife.” Antonia was sent to Havana, Cuba, to be instructed in the Catholic religion. Her Indian name is not known, but when she was presented to Menéndez as a wife, she was baptized Antonia. Menendez was introduced to King Carlos and his sister. Augustine, the Calusa tribe on the southwest coast of Florida was governed by a chief, who became known as King Carlos. When Pedro Menéndez de Avilés founded the city of St. They are now considered an extinct tribe.
This last remnant either migrated with the Spanish colonists to Cuba or were absorbed into the Seminole population. At the acquisition of Florida by Britain in 1763 there were perhaps 125 remaining. The Europeans brought diseases with them that the Timucua easily caught and died from. After the arrival of the French and Spanish, the number of Timucua became smaller with each passing year. His army seized food, took women for consorts, and forced men to serve as guides and bearers. In 1539, Hernando de Soto led an army of more than 500 men in a devastating expedition through central and north Florida. The women also made pottery for use in cooking. The women cooked the meals, cleaned, and prepared the animal hides for clothing. The Timucua raised crops like corn, squash, beans, pumpkins and melons. Theodor de Bry & Jacques de Moyne depicting Timucuan, "Bringing in Animals and Other Storesįlorida Memory Project Timucuan Women, 3,000 BC-1763