Menendez earned his bona fides with the King and Queen when he designed "la flota," the armada escor

Photos outer banks vacation rentals by owner Shannon Larsen talks to visitors to the Castillo outer banks vacation rentals by owner de San Marcos National Monument during her protest to call for the city not to acknowledge Ponce de Leon and Pedro Menendez during the city's 450th birthday celebration because of their treatment of native Americans. By PETER WILLOTT, peter.willott@staugustine.com
Larsen, a Cocoa Beach native, is a representative of the Ancient Trees organization, an organization that works to preserve ancient indigenous sites in Florida. She, along with the American Indian Movement of Florida and the United outer banks vacation rentals by owner Urban Warrior Society outer banks vacation rentals by owner of Florida, outer banks vacation rentals by owner are protesting some of the city's planned events for St. Augustine's 450th anniversary celebration.
The region of St. Augustine was first explored by Ponce de Leon in 1513 when he claimed it for the Spanish crown. After several failed attempts at colonization outer banks vacation rentals by owner by the French and Spanish, the city was founded in 1565 by Menendez de Aviles. It is the oldest continually occupied European-established city in the United States.
Larsen says this is often the only side of the story that is told — the glory of Spain, the strength of the fort, the success of civilization. But there's another story, too. This story tells the tale of the Native American populations that were killed — some by swords, others by disease — by the Spanish conquistadors.
"There's lots of different tragedies in the history of man, but because they exist doesn't mean we don't tell the story," he said. "I believe that if we listen carefully, we can do things that are respectful of all cultures."
Each February through 2015, the Noche de Gala is scheduled to be held at the Lightner Museum. This gala is the birthday celebration of Menendez de Aviles, the founder of St. Augustine, according to the website of the city's 450th anniversary planning committee. Menendez de Aviles himself will lead a parade through the city and join guests at dinner for entertainment.
Larsen has scheduled monthly marches for supporters from the fort to City Hall to speak at the City Commission meetings. outer banks vacation rentals by owner She says she's perfectly fine with the commemoration of the city, just not Menendez de Aviles' birthday party.
. . . as if we don't already have enough nut-jobs in this town. Get over it, sister outer banks vacation rentals by owner - it was a long time ago in a place far, far away. By the rules of the day, land belonged to those who could control it. It is just that simple.
outer banks vacation rentals by owner However the celebration of St. Augustine is the celebration of all of it: the good, the bad, and the ugly. It is all important and it makes St. Augustine, Florida and the United States what it is today. outer banks vacation rentals by owner We need to learn our lessons from all of it.
I'm really surprised that the Castillo outer banks vacation rentals by owner is not viewed as America's greatest monument not simply to the Spanish who may have directed it but to the Native Americans, Africans, English and Hispanics who built this wonderful monument of stone (some under duress.) It's also a symbol of freedom for the contraband of St. Augustine who received their first wages in working on the fort defenses outer banks vacation rentals by owner as freedmen outer banks vacation rentals by owner during outer banks vacation rentals by owner the Civil War.
Just another Luny Liberal, as if St. Augustine doesn't have its share already. Twenty years ago a group of equally crazy women were protesting the "enslavement" of horses used in the carriage business. I was standing nearby watching these lunatics carry on, when the Luny Leader got into her air-conditioned Jaguar in order to cool off I noticed something very telling, LEATHER UPHOLSTERY. In her twisted logic the use of horses in the carriage business was an abomination yet it was perfectly acceptable to eat or wear their bovine cousins. There's outer banks vacation rentals by owner no logic when it comes to LUNY LIBERALS.
Why does the record choose outer banks vacation rentals by owner to give any attention to wackos like this? All this does is encourage more idiots to do the same. There is a reason football and baseball don't show the streakers that used to run on the field. Don't show then athey will go away.
I think the people of the 450th celebration get the the idea that the history of this area was not cotton candy and full of sugar land candies and I have never seen historians portray it as such. There is good, bad, ugly to anything in history.
The concept of removing the Castillo de San Marcos and return the sacred burial grounds to the Native American populations is funny as hell. You are going to destroy a building dating back to the late 1500s - funny - very funny.
The above poster is right - why is this nut job lady's rant even a story and who cares. Shannon get a life and go find a real cause in life. No body cares and annoying tourists going to the old fort is not a very productive way to spend a day.
Funny thing, we can't change it, although outer banks vacation rentals by owner there are plenty in our government who like to try and re-write it on a daily basis. Around here we just choose to ignore the ugly parts. Although, yes, we might consider this person a nut case, liberal, whatever...I think she has a point. By being outrageous and talking about tearing the fort down(something Henry wanted to do also so he could build a new golf course) she is just pointing out that there is much more to the story! We like to remember the Spanish, the British, the Pirates, and even the ghosts. We don't like to remember the 200,000 members of the Timucuan tribe (the people outer banks vacation rentals by owner who didn't believe in ownership of this place) that died or even the 200 or so French that were slaughted, "After several failed attempts at colonization by the French", love how our record reporter worded this! Who built the fort? Where are many of their bodies buried? These are just some of the other things we like to leave out or gloss over in our wonderful celebrations! I would love to see something outer banks vacation rentals by owner honoring the true natives of this area also. I don't think that is crazy at all! By the way, as a tour guide/carriage driver in this city, I tell the whole story...to those who want to hear it.
and before it is all over, the greater population will recognize it as a farce. The very same society that today celebrates the laws and limitations on 'illegal' immigration now wants to celebrate the acts of the early immigrants who did REAL damage to the local society.
So what if they put a pile of stone in place and used it as a fort. Did the area really need it? Only if the invaders were not supposed to be here in the first place. If Menendez did today what he did in 1565 he would be brought up on charges and prosecuted for murder, not celebrated as some kind of hero.
Think it was a peaceful utopia ? Please, the Native Americans were no less warlike than anyone - and were busy killing each other no differently then the French vs the Spanish, just with different weapons.
We've gotten downright comfy in the past 100 years, with our lightbulbs, our refridgerated food, our vaccinations and our magic flying outer banks vacation rentals by owner tubes that transport us at hundreds of miles an hour 30,000 feet in the sky. We more 'leisure time' in a year then you had in a lifetime 450 years ago. Unless you want to return to what life was REALLY like back then, shut up.
Menendez earned his bona fides with the King and Queen when he designed "la flota," the armada escort for the slaves being brought out of Africa and the returning escort for the products outer banks vacation rentals by owner of the slave labor.
outer banks vacation rentals by owner From the time of Columbus' voyages, Spanish colonizers relied on slave labor to make their American empire profitable. Initially, they enslaved indigenous natives of the Caribbean. However, the decimation of Native American populations by disease, war, and slavery fueled the African slave trade to a great degree after 1520.
The Spanish were part of the economy's demand side in the Atlantic African slave trade, outer banks vacation rentals by owner while the Portuguese monopolized the supply side from 1440 to 1640. The Portuguese dominated the African Atlantic slave trade due to their exploration outer banks vacation rentals by owner of Africa at the earliest years of the "age of discovery" and due to the papal line of demarcation, confirmed by the Treaty of Tordesillas (June 7, 1494), that divided land and trade routes discovered outer banks vacation rentals by owner by Catholic nations along an imaginary line approximately 50° W longitude. African slaves began working in mines in the Spanish Antilles as early as 1505.
On Easter Sunday (Pascua Florida) in 1513, Juan Ponce de León claimed and named new North American lands for Spain--Florida. Settlement proved difficult due to Native American resistance (de León died of wounds from a 1521 encounter in Florida), climate, and terrain. It was not until 1565, when Pedro Menéndez de Avilés established San Agustín (St. Augustine), that the Spanish outer banks vacation rentals by owner had a permanent settlement in Florida. Under the terms of the asiento (agreement outer banks vacation rentals by owner to settle Florida) outer banks vacation rentals by owner issued by Philip II, Menéndez had three years to import 500 Africans slaves to the new colony to cultivate and mill sugar, as well as to assist outer banks vacation rentals by owner in constructing towns and performing agricultural work. Evidence outer banks vacation rentals by owner suggests that enslaved African artisans and agricultural laborers from Cuba arrived with Menéndez in 1565; a second phase of settlement in 1568 records one female outer banks vacation rentals by owner slave and one male slave among 200 new settlers.
From its settlement, St. Augustine required defensive works against the French Huguenots of Fort Caroline, and subsequently the Timucuan outer banks vacation rentals by owner confederation of tribes. Beginning around 1582, King Philip outer banks vacation rentals by owner II sent slaves, first from the Caribbean and later on from Africa, directly to supplement the meager European outer banks vacation rentals by owner workforce and to help build and maintain St. Augustine's walls and fort. By 1683, Florida boasted a militia company formed of black and mulatto members, who supplemented the Spanish regulars of the presidio outer banks vacation rentals by owner (military base) of St. Augustine. When the crown decided outer banks vacation rentals by owner to build a coquina fortress in 1672, the Castillo de San Marcos, African slaves worked on it as masons outer banks vacation rentals by owner and metalworkers. As with all major forts of Spanish Florida, outer banks vacation rentals by owner slaves helped to construct seawalls, bridges, and other public buildings.
In addition to slaves owned directly by the Spanish government, individuals purchased slaves to work in their households. While the transaction common