Manuel de Cendoya

Manuel de Cendoya was a Spanish soldier who served as governor of Florida from mid1671 to mid1673. His administration is remembered primarily for initiating construction of the Castillo de San Marcos, a masonry fortress whose building had first been ordered by Cendoyas predecessor, Governor Francisco de la Guerra y de la Vega, after the destructive raid of the English privateer Robert Searle in 1668. Work proceeded in 1671, although the first stone was not laid until 1672.

Manuel de Cendoya was born in the early 17th century. As a youth, he joined the Spanish army, where he learned military engineering. During hisyears of service, he fought in several military campaigns to capture enemy strongholds in Extremadura, Guipzcoa, Flanders, and Italy, eventually attaining the rank of Sergeant major

Source: Wikipedia