Pedro Menéndez de Avilés

Common card · No. 279680

Pedro Menéndez de Avilés (15 February 1519 – 17 September 1574) was a Spanish admiral, explorer, and conquistador from Avilés, in Asturias, Spain. He is notable for planning the first regular trans-oceanic convoys, which became known as the Spanish treasure fleet, and for founding St. Augustine, Florida, in 1565, he is also known for his Pre-Pilgrim Thanksgiving. This was the first successful European settlement in Spanish Florida and the most significant city in the region for nearly three centuries. St. Augustine is the oldest continuously inhabited, European-established settlement in the continental United States. Menéndez de Avilés was the first governor of La Florida (1565–74). By his contract, or asiento, with Philip II, Menéndez was appointed adelantado and was responsible for implementing royal policies to build fortifications for the defense of conquered territories in La Florida and to establish Castilian governmental institutions in desirable areas.

Read on Wikipedia · Image José Camarón y Boronat (1730-1803), published by Fran(cis)co de Paula Marti in 1791, Public domain