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EIGHT
THE BULLETIN OF THE CATHOLIC LAYMEN’S ASSOCIATION OF GEORGIA
DECEMBER 11, 1954.
C^atlio lies +3n Cji
eorcjici
By RICHARD REID, K. S. G.
(Copyright 1954)
Like other expeditions and
colonists, the Spanish were seek
ing wealth in the New World.
But the missionary, who went
side by side with the explorer,
was at least as zealous in his
quest for souls as the soldier
was for riches. Pope Leo X es
tablished the Diocese of Cuba
in 1518, giving it ecclesiastical
jurisdiction also over the North
American continent. Baracoa was
the first See City; Pope Adrian
VI made Santiago de Cunba the
center of the Diocese. St. Francis
Borgia, companion of St. Ignat
ius, as was General of the Soci
ety of Jesus when Menendez
went to Florida.
Menendez, with the support of
King Philip, asked St. Francis
Borgia for missionaries; he hop
ed for as many as twenty-four.
Only three could be spared, Fath
er Pedro Martinez, nephew of a
regent of the king, Father Juan
Rogel, a former physician, and
Brother Francisco de Villareal,
formerly clerk in the Royal
Court at Granada who, out of
humility, insisted on being a lay
Brother instead of a candidate
for the priesthood.
The missionaries sailed on a
Flemish ship July 28, 1566. They
ran into one of the dreaded Sep
tember hurricailes in the South
Atlantic. Their ship and others
in the flotilla were in danger of j
being wrecked; the captain lost j
his bearings. Finally on Septem- j
ber 14 land was sighted; it was ;
the coast of Georgia. Father Mar-i
tinez, two Spanish soldiers and I
six Flemings landed in a small;
boat.
The Roll of Martyrs Grows
A storm blew the ship out to j
sea; the little group waited j
twelve days, but it did not re-!
turn. They started south in the !
hope of reaching St. Augustine;
friendly Indians gave them food
and directions. On September 28
they reached what some authori
ties believe was Cumberland, Is
land, off the Georgia coast, but
which others maintain was
Northern Florida. A band of 40
Indians attacked them; while
Father Martinez knelt in prayer,
an Indian crushed his skull, giv
ing the territory of the thirteen
original colonies its first martyr.
Three Flemings were also killed;
the others escaped, and were
eventually rescued by a searching
party from St. Augustine.
When Menendez returned to j
Spain, he renewed his plea to;
St. Francis Borgia, who was then ]
able to assign three Jesuit!
preists and seven Brothers as!
missionaries; they sailed on Palm j
Sunday, 1568. Father Juan Bau-j
tista Segura, former rector at ]
Valladolid, was superior. Accom
panying them as interpreter was
an Indian, Don Luis de Velasco, j
brought to Spain from the Vir
ginia region in 1561. The Span
ish -settlements were growing;
St. Augustine had a civilian
population of over 600. St. Elena
in South Carolina was about to j
receive 273 new settlers and San |
Felipe nearby 193. But the Jesuits ]
wished to push on and to preach;
to the Indians in Luis’s tribe, j
Father Sogura, Father Luis de
Quiros and six Brother. Cabriel
de Solis, Juan Bautista Mondez |
#nd Sancho Zeballos, Pedro La-
nares, Gabriel Gonez and Cristo
bal Redondo, sailed out of Santa
Elena August 5, 1570. They ap
pear to have reached Chesapeake
Bay; they then made their way
to the Potomac.
Virginia's Martyrs
The Indians gave Luis a hear
ty welcome and received the
Jesuits kindly. But the glowing
description Luis has given of the
country proved not to be found
ed on fact. There was no corn; the
missionaries had to live on ber
ries "and herbs. Father Segura on
September 12 sent a boat to Santa
Elena for provisions; when it did
not return, he prepared to sepnd
the winter on the Rappahanock.
As winter went on, Father Segu
ra sent Luis on a tour of recon
naissance. When he did not re
turn in a fortnight, Father Quires
and Brothers Soils and Mondez
were sent to locate him. When
they found him he gave plausible
reasons for his delay. Then he
suddenly turned on them, led
the Indians in an attack, and
struck them down with barbarous
ferocity. Virginia had its first
martyrs. The date was February
14, 1571.
Four days later Luis and his
murderous band sought out Fath
er Segura and his companions.
He was wearing Father Quiros’
cassock, which gave the Jesuits
the first intimation of the fate of
their brother . missionaries. They
knelt before the altar to await
the coming of their executioners.
In a matter of minutes they were
added to the growing list of
American martyrs. They were
Father Segura and Brothers Cris
tobal Redondo, Sancho Zeballos,
Gebriel Gomez: and Pedro Linares.
The Indians spared only Alonso
Olmos, altar boy for the priests;
from him a rescue party learned
the details of the tragedy. Shortly
after, the Jesuits withdrew for
work in Mexico and Cuba, where
their flourishing schools were
undermanned. But three hudred
years later, a brief period in the
life of the Church, they returned
to the Southeast, establishing a
parish in Augusta, Ga. Long _be-
fore that they were laboring a-
gain in Louisiana and Alabama.
The Coming of the Franciscans
The Jesuits were succeeded by
the Franciscans, the first of whom
came in 1573, supplemented in
1577 by the renowned Father
Alonso de Reynosa. These were
troubled times, the restrictions
the Spanish military imposed on
the Indians, and the discontent of
the natives accentuated by agi
tation by the French stirred three
uprisings between 1573 and 1577;
fifty-seven Spanish and a greater
number of Indians lost their lives.
Franciscans persisted; w h e.n
Father Reynosa went to Spain in
1583, he returned with eight more
friars. When Francis Drake bat
tered St. Augustine and threat
ened the entire coast in 1586, the
Santa Elena garrison withdrew to
Georgia, but the setback was tem
porary.
Eleven more Franciscans came
to the Southeast in 1593, under
the leadership of Father Juan de
Silva. On Georgia’s Cumberland
Island alone there were 500 con
vents; the Indiana asked for more
missionaries. There were flour
ishing missions on Jekyl Island,
St. Simon’s Island and at several
other points. In Florida twelve
leagues north of St. Augustine,
at Nombre de Dios, there were
1,500 Christian Indians. They
learned their prayers in Latin
as well as in their own tongue.
The Indian Revolt
Then came stark tragedy. Fath
er Pedro Corpa reproved a young
j chief at Tolomato, near today’s
| Darien, because although pro-
j fessing to be a Christian he re
fused to have but one wife. He
! killed and beheaded Father Corps
! and three days later, on Steptem-
| ber 16, 1597, he and his inflamed
j followers murdered Father Bias
i Rodriguez at Turpique on Sapelo
| Island. Father Miguel de Aunon
| and Brother Antonio de Badajoz
j were their victims the day follow-
| ing. At Jekyl Island they tried to
kill Father Francisco Davila with
arrows: finding that he still lived,
they sold him to infidel Indians
as a slave. They then went in
ninety canoes to San Pedro on
Cumberland Island, where they
urged the local chief to join them.
Instead he repelled them and
smashed the rebellion.
The guilty Indians sullenly
awaited their punishment. Some
Spanish officials advocated the
exb’fme penalty. But Father Da
vila. rescued from slavery, would
not. testify against the culprits.
The-surviving missionaries plead-
. ed for leniency for them. Finally
one Indian, guilty of the most
barbarous cruelty, was condemn-
; ed to die. All the chiefs but the
one who had led the murderes
: sent delegations to St. Augustine
! to the Governor to beg forgive
ness Supported by the pleas of
the missionaries, clemency was
extended to them.
Missionary Effort Renewed
The Franciscan^ renewed their
efforts with even greater zeal.
: Governor Conzalo Mondez Canzo
! in 1602 and Governor Pedro Ibar-
| ra in 1604 toured the Georgia and
South Carolina settlements and
; strengthened the friendship of
| the Indians. So flourishing were
| the Georgia missions that it was
I even sugested that the St. Au
gustine settlement be transferred
to Sapelo, near Brunswick, or
St. Catherine’s Island, near Sav
annah.
The missionaries wished their
converts confirmed and made a
request for the administration of
the Sacrament as early as 1597.
The petition had to be approved
by the Crown; this took five
years. It took three more years
for the leisurely colonial ad
ministration to convey the re
quest to Bishop Juan de las Ca-
bezas Altamirano of Santiago de
Cuba, whose jurisdiction extend
ed over Cuba, Jamaica and Flo
rida — which meant the North
American continent.
The Bishop and his party nego
tiated the pirate-ridden Carib
bean without incident and arrived
in St. Augustine for the Holy
Week of 1606. Here Holy Orders
were conferred on 20 candidates,
some of whom had come with
him from Cuba; the others had
made their studies in the Fran
ciscan monastery at St. August
ine. On Easter Sunday 350 men,
women and chldren were con
firmed. The Sunday folowing at
Nombre de Dios, the sacrament
was administered to Donna Ma
ria, said to be the ruler of 3,000
Indians; also confirmed were her
two chilldren, 20 Spanish who
lived in the settlement, and 193
Indians.
The Firsl Bishop In Georgia
On April 11, Bishop Altamirano
started the first episcopal visi
tation ever made'within the con
fines of the present territory of
the Diocese of Savannah-Atlanta,
and indeed the first in North A-
merica. On April 13 and 14 he
confirmed 308 persons, including
four chiefs, on Cumberland Is
land, at San Pedro, where Father
Juan Bautista Capilla was pastor.
He was delayed by the weather;
on April 22 he reached Talaxe,
on the mainland, just beyond the
forks of the Altamaha and the
South Altamaha, the mission of
Father Diego Delgado. There
were 262 Indians in this confir
mation class. At Tolmato, where
Father Copra had been killed
nine years beforb, the chief and
207 of his braves became Soldiers
of Christ; this also was a mission
of Father Dolgado.
At St. Catherine’s Island, the
northern limit of the Bishop’s
visit, 286 confirmed on April 30.
On his way back he administered
the sacrament to a number of
Indians who had missed the op
portunity when he was on his
way up. There were similar cere
monies at San Juan del Puerto,
at the mouth of the St. John’s in
Florida, and its several missions.
Bishop Altamirano reached St.
Augustine May 12 and remained
there over a month. Dr. John
Tate Lanning of the University
of North Carolina in his “Spanish
Missions of Georgia” states that
the Bishop confirmed 2,074 In
dians and 370 whites on this trip,
of whom 1,652 received the
sacrament in what is now Geor
gia and the Dioeosc of Savannah-
j Atlanta, li: addition, some of the
j 482 confirmed on the St. Jpan
| missions fn Northern Florida
j were Georgia Indians.
Golden Age of the Missions
This was the golden age of the
j Spanish missions of the South-
! east: The! church a> San Pedro
| was as large as tnat at St. Au-
| gustine. It: cost about a thousand
dollars to equip and send a priest
; to the mission, but twenty-three
more Franciscans arrived in 1613,
! twelve -in 1615.. sixteen in 1630
| and twenty-nine in. 1658. In ad
dition, the secular clergy render-
| ed heroic service, especially in
! the St. Augustine area.
But there were grave difficul
ties: The priests labored in pov
erty. Horses which would have
tended t^eir efforts immeasurab
ly were Scarce. The missionaries
battled Jteease;; an epidemic, in
1617 is jielieved to have killed
half the jhdians, Yet the Francis
cans not; only labored along the
coast fcpt penetrated inland,
working t among , the Appalache
around Tallahassee and in South
Georgia, sifn 1647 three missiona
ries werf; killed in this area, and
in 1655 there was; an uprising of
the Appalache and the Timucuan
tribes against an exacting gov
ernor. But in 1656 .there were six
Franciscans serving nine missions
in the Apalache territory, with
5.000 Christians among the 16,000
Indians. It is estimated that at
this time,there were in the South
east, mdst of them in Georgia,
26.000 Christian Indians, served
by 70 friars and five clerics.
New Danger In The Spanish
.No loiiger were the French a
threat to the Spanish in this re
gion, but a greater danger loom
ed. The English settled James
town in 1607 and Plymouth in
1620; by: 1670 they had establish
ed themselves in Charleston.
From Charleston they made ex
cursions into the Spanish terri
tory, as far as the Chattahoochee
on the -Alabama border, sup
plying weapons to the Indians
and stirring them up against the
Spanish. JEn 1703 Governor James
Moore invaded the area, attack
ed and burned St. Augustine, but
failed in an assault on the fort.
Later in the year, at the head of
50 English soldiers and a thou
sand Indians, he launched a war
against the Apalache, who were
loyal to the Spanish. He destroy-,
ed 13 of their villages with their
missions, and carried hundreds
of natives back to Carolina; es
timates run as high as 1,400.
Many were sold as slaves.
Beginning of the End
This was the beginning of the
end of the Spanish in Georgia.
If the missions were paralyzed
by the invasion, so were the In
dians. The English determined
on a buffer colony between Caro
lina and the Atamaha River;
General James Oglethorpe was
assigned the territory in that lat
itude from the Atlantic to the
ing a considerable area of Califor
nia in the new colony of Georgia.
Savannah was settled in 1733
and Augusta in 1735. London for
bade the settlers to go south of
the Altamaha, but the orders
were ignored. There were numer
ous skirmishes between the
English and the Spanish; the most
important was the Battle of
Bloods' Marsh, near Brunswick,
in June, 1742. The peace of Aix-
la-Chapelle left the position of
the Spanish and the English un
changed; London again warned
her colonists to respect the Alta
maha as the boundary of the
Spanish holdings. Spain still was
recognized as the ruler of half
of today’s Georgia.
The fate of those holdings,
however, were being determined
—not in Georgia but in the chan
ceries of Europe. France and
England soon became involved
in another of their interminable
wars. The French offered King
Ferdinand VI of Spain the island
of Minorca if he would join in the
battle against the English; the
English promised him Gibraltar
if he would war on the French.
He maintained a policy of neut
rality. His brother, Charles III,
King of Naples, ' who succeeded
to the Spanish throne when Fer
dinand died in 1759, ended that
neutrality by an alliance with
France. Victorious England dic
tated the terms of the Treaty of
Paris in 1763; by then Spain was
deprived of the last of her posses
sions in the Southeast.
It was the finale of. the Spanish
phase of Georgia "history, and of
all Spanish connection with the.
Southeast except for her return
to Florida from 1783 to 1821. If
Charles III had supported Eng
land instead of France in 1759,
the subsequent history of that
region from the Altamaha to Key
West might have been as Span
ish as that of New Mexico and
the Rio Grande area of Texas.
(Chapter three entitled “Colonial
And Revolutionary Georgia” will
appear in our Dec. 25th issue).
MONASTERY
FOR ATLANTA
ATLANTA, Ga. — A $2,500,000
Catholic Monastery and parochial
school for the training of Negro
children is in the planning stage
for Atlanta.
The monastery will be built
by the Passionist Fathers of St.
Michael’s Monastery, Union City,
N. J., with the proposed sight
a '40 acre tract at Collier drive
and Harwell road, Southwest.
Current plans are to have the
parochial school complete in time
for it to open next September.