Hernando de Escalante Fontaneda facts for kids

Hernando de Escalante Fontaneda was a Spanish explorer born around 1536. He is famous for surviving a shipwreck and living among the Native American tribes of Florida for 17 years. His writings from around 1575, called Memoria de las cosas y costa y indios de la Florida, are very important. They tell us a lot about how Native Americans lived in Florida during that time. You can find his original writings in the General Archive of the Indies. He wrote five different documents about the native people of Florida.

A Young Survivor's Story

Hernando de Escalante Fontaneda was born in Cartagena, Colombia, around 1536. His father was a Spanish official. In 1549, when Hernando was just thirteen years old, he and his brother were sailing to Spain. They were going to study in Salamanca. But their ship crashed on the coast of Florida.

The people who survived the shipwreck, including Hernando and his brother, were captured. They were taken by the Calusa tribe. Sadly, many of the survivors, including Hernando's brother, did not live. Hernando was able to survive by understanding the Calusa's commands. He sang and danced for them.

He spent the next seventeen years living with the Calusa and other tribes. During this time, he learned several of their languages. He also traveled a lot throughout Florida.

Becoming an Interpreter

Around 1566, Hernando de Escalante Fontaneda was finally rescued. Pedro Menéndez de Avilés, who was Florida's first Spanish governor, helped him. Menéndez de Avilés also founded the city of St. Augustine. He made a deal with the Calusa chief, known as King Carlos, to free Fontaneda.

After his rescue, Hernando worked as an interpreter and guide for Menéndez. He helped with many important missions over the next few years. In 1569, he went back to Spain. He wanted to get back his parents' property from the Spanish Crown.

In 1575, he wrote his famous memoir. This book was very helpful to historians back then, like Antonio de Herrera y Tordesillas. It is still a valuable source of information today.

Fontaneda's Important Writings

Besides his long memoir, which was eight pages, Fontaneda also wrote other things. These include a short note, a list of tribal leaders called caciques, and two other small pieces of writing. Each of these was one page long.

Fontaneda's writings are the first to mention the city of Tampa. He listed 22 important villages of the Calusa tribe. The first village he named was "Tanpa." He didn't say exactly where Tanpa was. However, archaeologists like Jerald Milanich believe the Calusa village of Tanpa was at the mouth of Charlotte Harbor. This was the original "Bay of Tanpa."

Later, a Spanish expedition sailed north along Florida's west coast. They missed Charlotte Harbor. They thought that the current Tampa Bay was the bay they were looking for. So, the name "Tampa" was accidentally moved north.

His memoir also played a part in the legend of the Fountain of Youth. It was one of the first writings to mention Juan Ponce de León looking for healing waters in Florida. This detail is now almost always part of the myth. Even though Fontaneda himself did not believe the story, later historians were more willing to believe it.