Pablo de Hita y Salazar (1646–date of death unknown) was a Spanish military officer who served as governor of Spanish Florida (La Florida) from 1675 to 1680. The territory at the time stretched from current-day Florida west to Texas and north to South Carolina. He was best known for his work devoted to construction of the Castillo de San Marcos in St. Augustine, the capital of La Florida.
Early years
Hita y Salazar was born about 1646 in Seville, Spain.
Military career
Hita y Salazar joined the Spanish army as a youth, serving in Flanders, Germany, Mexico and in the Cambray War over the course of forty years. He attained the rank of Sargento mayor (Sergeant major). In 1670, Hita y Salazar moved with his wife and six children to Veracruz, where from 1670 to 1674 he was chief administrative officer, or corregidor, of Veracruz. He served in the military until May 3, 1675, the year in which the Spanish Crown chose him to become the new governor of Florida. Hita y Salazar's performance at San Juan de Ulúa and his experience in the Flanders war led to this appointment as Governor of Florida. Hita y Salazar also organized the construction of the port of San Juan de Ulloa.
Governor of Florida
The Castillo de San Marcos
When Hita y Salazar was 29 years old, he left Sevilla and moved to Florida. Once he became governor, plans were made to construct a new masonry fortress, the Castillo de San Marcos, to replace the series of wooden structures that had previously defended the presidio. During that time, the Florida government under Hita y Salazar made further changes and reforms in the plans for the castle's construction. Although it was Manuel de Cendoya who began the construction of Castillo de San Marcos, it was Hita y Salazar who consolidated the final draft: dimensions of the square, placement of fortification elements, polvorines and soldier houses. The workers were primarily recruited Native Americans from the area. Hita y Salazar recommended (following the military engineering concepts in vogue) that the fort be made in a pentagonal shape (the same as the fort of San Diego, in Acapulco, Mexico), although the idea was rejected by his advisers.
On July 30, Hita y Salazar heard that another fortress was being created, and thought that it was unnecessary. Hita y Salazar sent two letters to the Crown in which he explained the progress made at the Castillo de San Marcos and made suggestions for construction of the fort. He also explained that he thought any attacker who arrived in St. Augustine would try to conquer it and hold Anastasia Island, cutting off resupply fleets and bombarding the castle. To protect the island and prevent an invasion, Hita y Salazar decided that its engineers should build a four-armed redoubt, to be placed on the coast near the El Pinillo inlet (which no longer exists) of the Matanzas River, guarding access to St. Augustine.
It seemed that many of Hita y Salazar's decisions may have been influenced by a false idea that there was an army on Anastasia Island that could bombard the castle and cut off supply lines. There was no army there, however. He withdrew his theory of the invasion of the island, but in 1739 the British general James Oglethorpe did exactly what Hita y Salazar had described. The supply ships were prepared for the attack, and the castle was able to prevent the few cannonballs that were sent by Oglethorpe. Blocks and others elements (such as the Coquina rock) with which the castle was built, blocked the impact of the cannonballs. Consequently, the bombardment was ineffective. Hita y Salazar sent a plane to the Viceroy of New Spain, Payo Enríquez de Rivera, explaining the state the Fort was in and that his advance, foundations, tanks and bastions that were being built. Hita y Salazar, apparently, had reached economic and technical problems in certain parts of the work. The accounts and expenses always exceeded the budgeted amount. He faced an inquest in 1678, but came out unscathed.
Hita y Salazar ordered the construction of a battery in front of the castle to protect the deck and the pier. This was so that transport activities carried out by the ships would remain in force during the duration of the attack. All these changes would be paid by the defenses expense. When Hita y Salazar came to west Florida, he decided he could make a wall of defense to prevent a military attack by replacing the wall with a real stone wall. This idea showed, at least to his staff, that he did not understand the fabrication of a fortification, which prompted them to send a letter to the Spanish Crown criticizing him.
