Starting in the 16th century, the English wanted what the Spanish had, their treasure and St. Augustine, and they never stopped their attacks.
The first attack was by Sir Frances Drake in 1586,when he led an expedition to attack the Spanish colonies. After plundering several Spanish ports in the Caribbean, he attacked St. Augustine burning the fort and town to the ground. An illustration of the attack — made in 1589 — shows a six-sided fort and the town with nine blocks of houses and several rows of buildings on the riverfront.
Traces of the 1586 burned town eluded archaeologists until 1998 when archaeologist Carl Halbirt found the floor of a house burned by Drake. It had poured tabby foundations and a thick layer of charcoal on the floor with hundreds of scorched and burned artifacts - including Spanish and Indian pottery, iron spikes, a canvas sewing needle, and many other artifacts.
Even though the settlement was destroyed, the map of Drake’s 1586 attack on St. Augustine is our very first view of the town 21 years after its founding.
