n that the
Spanish occupied several structures in Seloy, the chief of which, known as
Chief Seloy, was allied with the Saturiwa, Laudonnière's allies. It is
possible, but undemonstrated, that Menéndez fortified one of the occupied
Timucua structures as this first fort at Seloy. In the meantime, Jean Ribault,
Laudonnière's old commander, arrived at Fort Caroline with more settlers for
the colony, as well as soldiers and weapons to defend them. He also took over
the governorship of the settlement. Despite Laudonnière's wishes, Ribault put
most of these soldiers aboard his ships for an assault on St. Augustine.
However, he was surprised at sea by a violent storm lasting several days. This
gave Menéndez the opportunity to march his forces overland for surprise dawn
attack on the Fort Caroline garrison, which then numbered several hundred
people. Laudonnière and some survivors fled to the woods, and the Spanish
killed almost everyone in the fort except for the women and children. With the
French displaced, Menéndez rechristened the fort as San Mateo, and appropriated
it for his own purposes. The Spanish then returned south and eventually encountered
the survivors of Ribault's fleet near the inlet at the southern end of
Anastasia Island. Menéndez executed most of the survivors, including Ribault;
the inlet was thus named for the Spanish word for slaughters,
matanzas.
The first slaves in the territory that we now regard as the
United States were brought to St. Augustine on the day it was founded by Pedro
Menéndez de Avilés on September 8, 1565. Menéndez’s contract with King Phillip
afforded him three years to import 500 African slaves. In 1566, Martín de
Argüelles was born in San Agustín, the first European child who was recorded as
born in the continental United States. Argüelles was born in San Agustín 21
years before the English settlement at
