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Spanish Florida, 1565-1763 and 1784-1821
St. Augustine was a site for Spanish and English clashes during its first 200 years. In 1586, during the Anglo-Spanish War (1585–1604), an English fleet led by Francis Drake captured and burnt the settlement. A few years later, in 1598, the Spanish governor established his residence on the site where Government House stands today, on the west end of the plaza.
Little is known about life in the first governor’s residence on the site, and the house was replaced in 1690 with a two-story building. In 1702, Carolina’s English governor James Moore occupied St. Augustine and burnt the Governor’s house and other structures. The building was reconstructed and survived for decades, despite multiple raids by Georgia colony governor General James Oglethorpe in the 1740s.
Curated by Matt Armstrong, Tom Caswell, Jim Cusick, and John Nemmers
Designed by Lourdes Santamaría-Wheeler