España | Florida - Foundation 500 Años

The novel, which retells the adventures of the Spanish crown’s “adelantado” (colonial governor) in Florida, includes an introduction by the Foundation, as well as its logo on the back cover.

Through his novel, published by TOAC, Sánchez Vicente wants to make young people more aware of the extraordinary personality and exciting life of Pedro Menéndez de Avilés, who, like Sánchez Vicente himself, was born in the Spanish region of Asturias.

Based on true events, Sánchez Vicente’s novel often relies on dialogues and monologues, written in a light and easy-to-read style, to tell Menéndez de Avilés’ story. A sailor, cartographer and naval engineer born in the city of Avilés on Feb. 15, 1519, Menéndez has gone down in history as the founder of St. Augustine, the oldest city in the United States.

The novel also includes several illustrations by the sculptor and painter Favila (Amado González Hevia), who is also from Avilés.

Sánchez Vicente explained that in writing the novel he hoped above all to stir interest, among young people and readers in general, in a character “unfairly relegated to (a second tier status) in the ‘American adventure.’”

The novel begins with Menéndez’s birth and childhood. “Pedro Menéndez had enormous courage. At the age of 8 he ran away from home, and at 14 he sailed as a cabin boy with a Spanish fleet that went after privateers,” the author said.

Menéndez, who at age 35 was named captain general of the Indies Fleet by Philip II, conquered and pacified Florida and founded St. Augustine, a city eventually populated by many fellow Asturians, on Aug. 28, 1565. From 1567 to 1574, he served as governor of Cuba.

Among other details, Sánchez Vicente pointed out that Menéndez de Avilés “designed his own ship and it turned out to be the swiftest of its time.”

Menéndez “was a man of great rectitude and tremendous honesty. Above all, he sought to pacify the territory and establish alliances with tribal chieftains, to the point that in the interest of pacifying Florida he married the daughter of an Indian chief, even though that went against his religious principles,” Sánchez Vicente noted.

Novel about Pedro Menéndez de Avilés, Florida’s first governor, presented at seminar

A seminar conducted by the España-Florida 500 Years Foundation at the University of Alcalá, near Madrid, featured the launch of the novel “Aventuras de Pedro Menéndez de Avilés (Por Dios y su Rey)” (The Adventures of Pedro Menéndez de Avilés on Behalf of God and His King) by Ignacio Sánchez Vicente.

Author: Fundacion España Florida 500 años

Date: 01-15-2010

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