| St. Augustine | |
 | |
| Continent | North America |
| Location | Florida |
| Population | Spanish citizens Slaves |
| Affiliation | Spanish Empire |
St. Augustine is a large and important Spanish port on the eastern coast of Florida.
History[]
Background[]
The area of what would become St. Augustine was discovered and explored by the conquistador, Juan Ponce de León. In 1562, French Huguenots established a settlement near a local Timucua tribe, building Fort Caroline. A group of mutineers turned pirate, which the Spanish used as a pretext to destroy it, to deter further French settlement in the area. King Philip II of Spain sent Pedro Menéndez de Avilés to establish a center of operations and to drive out the French. His fleet first spotted land on August 28, 1565, the feast day of St. Augustine of Hippo.
On May 28th and 29th in 1586, during the Anglo-Spanish War, the English privateer, Sir Francis Drake, sacked and burned the city. Many of the citizens had been able to flee to safety after spotting the approaching English fleet. In 1609 and 1611, expeditions against the English colony of Jamestown, Virginia were sent out from St. Augustine.
In 1668, the English buccaneer Robert Searles sacked the city, killing sixty people and plundering the city's government buildings and churches. The pirates ransomed some of their hostages and sold others into slavery. This raid and the establishment of Charles Town in the English colony of Carolina prompted the Spanish Crown to finally acknowledge the dangers of English expansion. They funded the strengthening of the city's defenses, including the building of the Castillo de San Marcos, a stone four-pointed star fort. Before the fort could be completed, the city was again attacked by buccaneers, but the brigands' ships ran aground and their crews killed or captured. The fort was completed in 1695. In the November of 1702, Governor James Moore of Carolina laid siege to the fort. After failing to take it after 58 days, they burned the city during their retreat.
Season One[]
While sailing around the coast of Florida to find the Urca de Lima, the Walrus and the Ranger encounter a Spanish Man O' War. Flint, believing the warship to be an escort for the treasure galleon rather than an ordinary patrol, plans to have the Walrus pose as an attacked Spanish merchant vessel, while the Ranger sails away flying the Black. Flint's quartermaster Dufresne tells Flint that when the Spanish warship hails them, they will be asked their last port of call, and St. Augustine is the closest. When the warship does indeed ask them their most recent port of call, John Silver, a fluent Spanish speaker, tells them they are from St. Augustine, following the advice of Dufresne[1].
Season Two[]
After the battle with the Spanish Man O' War ends in disaster for the pirates, Flint plans to take the warship rather than attempting to claim the gold from the wrecked Urca. His plan is to have two men swim out to the warship while the sun is setting but before the night watch arrives, kill the sentry on the mainmast and signal the rest of the crew, who will then board the ship. He volunteers in exchange for their pardon, as does Silver, both of whom were originally sentenced to hang by their former crew mates. Silver mistakenly believed that Flint was merely bluffing and planned to escape. Believing the mission to attack the warship suicide, Silver declares that he can find a life in St. Augustine and begins walking away from the beach. Flint then reveals that St. Augustine is in the opposite direction of where Silver is walking and that it is at least a one week journey on foot, with Tequesta tribes in between[2].
Flint manages to become captain of his crew after they take over the Man O' War. They sail to Nassau to procure provisions and have Benjamin Hornigold lend them his ship and crew as consort so they can attack the Spanish soldiers guarding the gold on the beach. Flint believes that the gold is four days away from St. Augustine by longboat, giving them a week or two before King Philip tries to get his gold back[3].