Re: [CH] Datil 's history
David Hanks (dhanks@frangipani.com)
Thu, 31 Aug 2000 21:08:30 +0700
Michele Mastandrea wrote:
>
> Hi you all Chile-Heads from southern Italy.
>
> In the G. Caselton's Capsicum database I read about Datil chile pepper:
>
> "A native pepper from St. Augustine, Florida, the pepper is thought to have
> been brought there around 1776 when the surviving Minorcans fled to that
> city to escape the abuses at Turnbull's plantation. The pepper can rate as
> high as 300,000 Scoville Units, almost as hot as the Habanero....."
>
> Who are the "Minorcans" and from which country did they escape?
> However which the origin of Datil chile pepper and of his name ?
The Minorcans in Florida
"The New Smyrna Colony" was the name given to a large group of
immigrants from the island of Minorca, off the coast of Spain; and a
much smaller group of Italians and Greeks from Italy and Greece. Colonel
James Grant, governor of the British province of East Florida, in a
letter to the Count of Shelbourne in England on July 2, 1768, wrote,
"This my Lord, I believe is the largest importation of white inhabitants
that ever was brought into America at a time."
England gained control of Florida in 1763 in a trade with Spain and held
this control until 1783, when Spain regained Florida. It was during this
period, that a Scottish doctor by the name of Andrew Turnbull, a former
British Consul at Smyrna, Greece was given a grant of approximately
20,000 acres of land about 70 miles south of St. Augustine, Florida and
called it New Smyrna. It was proposed that the colony would undertake
the raising of cotton, olives, indigo, and make wine and silk.
Minorca is the second largest of the Spanish Balearic Islands, which at
the time of the New Smyrna project was under English control. The
islands are 50 to 190 miles off the coast of Spain. Together, they form
a province of Spain. Minorca is about 30 miles long and 10 miles wide.
The primary town is Mahon, considered one of the finest deep-water ports
on the Mediterranean. The immigrants would sail from this port for the
New World and, more specifically, for the Florida Colony.
Dr. Turnbull first recruited one hundred and ten Italians and took them
to the port of Mahon. He then sailed to the port city of Smyrna and the
surrounding Levant to collect several hundred Greeks. It was some months
later when he returned to Mahon to find that nearly all of his young
Italians had married or were betrothed to the lovely Minorcan girls. The
Minorcan families of these girls appealed to be included in the proposed
British Colony. Other Minorcan families pressed to go also. So, rather
than a couple of hundred Italians and Greeks, the final group that
sailed in eight ships, totaled 1,403, largely Minorcans, whose ancestry
was mostly Roman and Latin, descended from the famous Carthaginians.
The Minorcans contract with the British colonizers came under the
Indentured Servant Law. Each was to serve 6 to 8 years and at the end of
that time, would receive 50 acres of land, plus 5 acres for each child.
Father Pedro Camps of San Martin de Mercadel, in Minorca accompanied the
group and was their spiritual leader and advisor. His pain taking
efforts in recording baptisms, marriages and deaths formed the
background for many of the families histories that was later recorded
about many of these families. His diary is called "The Golden Book of
the Minorcans". The original book of Father Camps is still in good
condition and several handwritten copies are on file at the Historical
Library in St. Augustine. The original at the diocesan archives is kept
along with other important documents in a special room under at
prescribed temperature to aid preservation. The Diocesan headquarters is
now located in Loretto across the street from St. Joseph’s.
"LES MESQUITES" as the colony was also called, came to a bitter end in
1777. In the face of extreme adversities, the colony had lasted nine
years. Scorching heat, disease, deaths, menacing Indians, inadequate
shelter, lack of food, insufficient clothing, but most of all the cruel
treatment by Andrew Turnbull and his overseers. There are several
accounts of how the English authorities in St. Augustine became aware of
the seriousness of these problems. One story passed down through the
years, tells of how Ramon Rogero, father of Alberto, and Francisco
Pellicer, Sr. undertook to build a makeshift boat so they could get to
St. Augustine to report conditions to the governor. Instead of reaching
St. Augustine, they were picked up by a British ship sailing to
Baltimore. From there they worked their way back down to St. Augustine
on foot and horseback.
They reached St. Augustine and met with the governor, who showed great
empathy for their plight. He sent soldiers to the colony and took
numerous depositions (all a matter of recorded history) from a number of
the colonists. As a result, the governor permitted the colony to come to
St. Augustine "en masse" which they did in July 1777. And in the Fall of
that year, Father Camps followed with the aged and infirm for whom
special provisions had to made. The total number of Minorcans that
arrived in St. Augustine was a far cry from the number left Minorca nine
years prior. There were 1403 that left Minorca in those eight ships and
in the ensuing nine years 930 died. With new births in that same period,
there were 600 who fled to St. Augustine in 1777.
Some of the more notable descendants of this group were the Benet
brothers, Stephen and William, both famous poets, Stephen the better
known of the two. Also, Judy Canova, the famous comedianne and Hollywood
star of the thirties and forties. There were also two Bishops, Bishop
Manucy and Bishop Pellicer. Both served in the Confederate army as
Chaplains and were later assigned to the diocese of Mobile, Alabama and
San Antonio, Texas.
The Minorcans got along fine with the English, but they were happier to
see Spain regain St. Augustine in 1783. They were very much at home with
their Latin cousins. They intermarried with the Spanish families and
those of the English who remained in the area. It is safe to say that in
the veins of all St. Augustine native families runs the blood of the
Minorcans.
Minorcans are primarily of Catalan descent, Catalonia being a province
in the northeast section of Spain, with Barcelona the principle city.
The slingshot was invented by the Minorcans and they were famous as
"stone slingers" in the armies of Julius Caesar. Mayonnaise was invented
by the Minorcans during the French occupation of the island and carried
back to France. Admiral Farragut’s father settled in Tennessee from
Minorca in 1783. He was the famous admiral who is known for his alleged
cry, "Damn the Torpedoes, full speed ahead."
The Minorcans were a close knit group, they settled close together in
what is now the historical district of St. Augustine, frequently called
the Minorcan Quarter. Many of them worked farms a few miles out of town,
but returned at night to the protection of the nearby fort. There were
frequent encounters with the Indians initially, but as they became less
frequent, the farmers went further and further out from town.
Submitted by Steve Rogero
Suggested reading for more in-depth information on the Minorcan Colony.
"THE MINORCANS OF FLORIDA: THEIR HISTORY, LANGUAGE AND CULTURE" by
Philip Rascio, Luthers Press, 1009 North Dixie Freeway, New Smyrna
Beach, FL 32168-6221.
"MULLET ON THE BEACH: THE MINORCANS OF FLORIDA, 1768-1788" by Patricia
Griffin, University of Florida Press, Gainesville, FL.
"MINORCANS IN FLORIDA: THEIR HISTORY AND HERITAGE" by Jane Quinn,
Mission Press, St. Augustine, FL.
"DR. ANDREW TURNBULL AND THE NEW SMYRNA COLONY" by Carita Doggett Corse
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