September 19, 1559: Florida Hurricane Ruins Spanish Settlement
On August 15, 1559, Spanish conquistador Don Tristan de Luna y Arellano landed near present-day Pensacola, establishing one of the earliest European settlements in the continental United States. Building a colony is not an easy task, and unlike other attempts, de Luna was extraordinarily prepared. He arrived with a fleet of eleven to thirteen vessels, two hundred and forty horses, five hundred soldiers, at least one thousand civilians, and ships laden with supplies. Luna immediately dispatched a galleon back to Vera Cruz, carrying news of his safe arrival and a factor to arrange his site’s resupply. Exploration parties moved inland to scout the area, and Luna waited on their return to begin unloading the colony’s supplies. Three weeks later, two scouting parties had not returned, but others reported that the region was sparsely populated, and Luna prepared to unload colony’s supplies.
Luna immediately dispatched a galleon back to Vera Cruz, carrying news of his safe arrival and a factor to arrange his site’s resupply. Exploration parties moved inland to scout the area, and Luna waited on their return to begin unloading the colony’s supplies. Three weeks later, two scouting parties had not returned, but others reported that the region was sparsely populated, and Luna prepared to unload colony’s supplies.
Luna’s caution, however, cost the conquistador dearly. On 19 September, a “great tempest from the north” rolled over the newfound colony, bringing heavy rains and intense wind for twenty-four hours. The storm devastated his fleet, sinking seven of the anchored ships outright, destroying a smaller barque ship sent east to scout the coast, and pushing a caravel “farther ashore than the distance of an arquebus shot.” Luna sent one of remaining ships to Mexico for relief, the Viceroy responded with two relief ships immediately, promising additional supplies in the spring.
Spring of 1560 passed, and the promised ships did not arrive. Bereft of supplies, the colonists traveled inland, hoping to find natives to trade with. The region’s low population doomed their attempt, and the survivors returned to Pensacola Bay in November. Tensions between Luna, his officers, and the remaining colonists escalated throughout this time, and messages demanding Luna’s removal accompanied one of his last ships to Mexico.
The Viceroy’s ships finally arrived in April of 1561. They carried both Luna’s gubernatorial replacement and an offer to evacuate any who wished to leave. Most chose to depart; their dreams having been shattered a year and a half before by a massive storm. Only fifty soldiers remained behind, and their departure in August brought one of the most well-prepared colonization attempts to an end.
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