Sachems

An Algonquin term, sachem refers to leaders of the Algonquin Indians or Iroquois Indians who lived in northeastern North America. Indigenous peoples of this region typically were divided into family-based clans and villages. Sachems were generally the acknowledged leaders of a clan who oversaw intertribal diplomacy, village ceremonies, tribal councils, and warfare against rival tribes. Merit as a courageous warrior or skilled hunter was a common path to appointment as a sachem, while among some groups the position was hereditary. Among the Iroquois, however, women made the appointments.

European colonists often interpreted Indian sachems according to their own understanding of a powerful monarchy; in reality sachems possessed much more limited authority. Power was derived from consensus building and concern for the overall welfare of the tribe. Communal in nature, Algonquin and Iroquoian groups expected sachems to put concerns over family, clans, and villages first. Wisdom was associated with generosity and gift giving, in essence providing sachems with the ability to redistribute wealth, a characteristic of a communal society. Such redistribution also provided a tool for persuasion, vital for the tribal unanimity sachems relied on. Dreams also played a powerful role within many of these communities. Sachems were expected to aid in dream fulfillment for a tribal member, and occasionally they derived power from dream interpretation.

See also Native Americans.

Further reading: William C. Sturtevant, Handbook of North American Indians: Northeast, vol. 15. (Washington, D. C.: Smithsonian, 1978).

—James Jenks

St. Augustine (founded 1565)

Founded in 1565 by Don Pedro Menendes de Aviles, St. Augustine, Florida, was the first permanently settled

European city in the present-day United States. Although Spaniards were aware of Florida long before settling St. Augustine, the decision to settle came in reaction to French colonization attempts near present-day Jacksonville, Florida. The Spanish believed that a presence in Florida would provide military support for Spain’s treasure-laden ships that traveled along the Gulf Stream.

Although St. Augustine never produced material wealth, it was frequently the center of military action. British privateer Francis Drake was the first European to attack the city when he nearly destroyed the outpost in 1586. In reaction to frequent attacks the Spanish constructed a large stone fort called the Castillo San Marcos and surrounded the city with earthen, wooden, and stone walls. Although fortified, the presidio was still attacked periodically. The most damaging assaults came in 1702 and 1740. Each time, a British force was sent to remove the Spanish from Florida, and each attempt ended in failure. Throughout the 18th century conquering St. Augustine remained a high priority for British officials in the colonies north of Florida. Thus, defense became St. Augustine’s principal purpose.

Life inside the city gates was usually tied to the desires of the military and royal government. Without any significant economic activity, the residents of St. Augustine relied on annual payments from the government. In addition, the local climate and poor soils in the immediate vicinity made the maintenance of a nonmilitary economy difficult. Malnutrition, disease, and Indian attack were other hazards the Spanish had to accept. Therefore, the city never attracted immigrants, families, or single women. Regardless of the poverty and misery, St. Augustine displayed certain signs of luxury.

More than 50 years before the British first purchased slaves in North America, African slaves were held in Spanish Florida. Because St. Augustine was the first European settlement in North America, it also housed the first slaves. Many of these slaves were owned by the government and came from other Spanish territories. Government slaves

Panoramic photograph of the Castillo de San Marcos fort in St. Augustine, Florida (Wikipedia)

Were often skilled laborers sent to build and maintain a city’s defensive fortifications. Others belonged to a few wealthy residents and worked primarily as domestics.

From the outset the Spaniards found maintaining the colony a difficult task. While its population was never significant and the economy rarely improved, St. Augustine remained the central settlement in Spanish Florida. In 1763 the British took control of Florida following the Seven Years’ War. Twenty-one years later the Spanish regained St. Augustine after the British lost America’s War for Independence. St. Augustine remained a part of the Spanish empire until the United States government took possession of Florida in 1819.

Further reading: Robert L. Kapitzke, Religion, Power, and Politics in Colonial St. Augustine (Gainesville: University Press of Florida, 2001); Eugene Lyon, The Enterprise of Florida: Pedro Menendez de Aviles and the Spanish Conquest of 1565-1568 (Gainesville: University Presses of Florida, 1974).

—Shane Runyon