The traditional Timucua territory in northern Florida extended from the Suwannee River to the St. Johns River. Like the other Indian nations of the American Southeast, the Timucua were skilled farmers who lived in permanent villages. The Timucua were not a single political unit but a confederation of 150 villages with a common culture and language.

The Spanish invasion of Florida was driven by the desire to obtain wealth—in the form of precious metals and slaves—and personal glory. It was justified by the idea of obtaining converts to Christianity. The first reported contact between the Timucua and the Spanish was in 1527. Pánfilio de Narváez, with a reputation for brutality and a strong desire to find gold and wealth, invaded Florida with a force of 600.

In 1656, the Spanish governor of Florida heard rumors of an impending English raid against St. Augustine. He ordered the Timucua, Apalachee, and Guale Indians to assemble 500 warriors and to march to St. Augustine to help defend it. In his book Laboring in the Fields of the Lord: Spanish Missions and Southeastern Indians, archaeologist Jerald Milanich reports: “Furthermore, the governor commanded the warriors and their chiefs to carry their own supplies, including the corn and food they would need for the overland trek to and from St. Augustine and for a stay of at least one month in town.” Since chiefs did not traditionally carry their own burdens, some were insulted by this request. One Timucua chief, Lúcas Menéndez, flatly refused to obey the order. In addition to having to supply their own food for at least six weeks, the Indians were not to be paid for their service to the Spanish.

In rebelling against Spanish authority, Lúcas Menéndez ordered all of the Spaniards in his province, with the exception of the Franciscan friars, to be killed. Jerald Milanich reports: “The rebellion was not against Catholicism, which had become now the Timucuas’ own religion; it was against the military government and its mistreatment of the chiefs and their people.” The Timucua rebels initially killed seven people.

The different Timucua chiefs communicated to each other by writing letters in the Timucua language. In one instance, they intercepted a Spanish dispatch written in Spanish which they were able to read.

The Spanish response to the rebellion was to send a detachment of 60 Spanish soldiers and 200 Apalachee warriors into Timucua territory. The rebels took refuge at a fort near Santa Elena de Machava. After extended talks, the Indians surrendered. The Spanish allowed most to go free, but they arrested the leaders.

Intending to punish the rebel Timucua further, the Spanish sent out a second expedition. They captured about two dozen Indians, including several chiefs, who were then tried. Half were sentenced to death and half to hard labor in St. Augustine. Those who were sentenced to death are hung at various locations in Timucua territory as a reminder of Spanish authority.

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