1559 Tristan de Luna Shipwreck Program at SoWal Library 3-3-10

[DuneLaker]

Want to know more about the 1559 Tristan de Luna ship anchor found in the Pensacola, Florida area? Next Wednesday, March 3, 2010 at 10 a.m., the Prime Time program at the South Walton Coastal Branch Library will feature the "principal investigator on the Emanuel Point Shipwreck Project at the University of West Florida will present a program on the Tristan de Luna expedition of 1559 to Pensacola ... ". Information posted in Showcase of NWFL Daily News p. C13. A contact number of 267-2809 is listed.

Dr. Judith Bense, now UWF President, discussed this find back in 2005 at a Seaside Institute program. You can view pictures of this event on my history blog. Dr. Bense also led a field trip to Lake Powell to view ancient native middens.

The anchor is now displayed at the T.T. Wentworth, Jr. Florida State Museum.

 

[DuneLaker]

Dr. John R. Bratten spoke to a packed house at South Walton's Coastal Branch Library on March 3, 2010. He is now Department Chair at University of West Florida as Dr. Judith Bense moved to President of UWF. Dr. Bratten discussed the 1559 Tristan de Luna expedition, the Pensacola colony and the hurricane that resulted in six ships sinking and one ship being blown up on land. The de Luna expedition had over 1500 explorers in addition to 200 Aztecs and 200 horses. This expedition also probably sailed past the shores of South Walton in 1559 as they first missed their mark to land at Pensacola. The expedition had set out from Vera Cruz. Another landing attempt also missed Pensacola and ended up in Mobile. They let the horses out in Mobile and rode them in to Pensacola. It was only five weeks after finally arriving in Pensacola that a huge hurricane hit Pensacola. Such damage was inflicted that the colony never recovered and was eventually abandoned two years later. This opened the door for St. Augustine, established in 1565, to get the honors for the longest continuous city within the current borders of Florida.


What a treasure our South Walton Coastal Branch Library is to provide programs like this in addition to other services.

Dr. Bratten's doctorate is from Texas A&M University. His wife and child had heard his program before so they spent the time during his talk enjoying the children's section of our SoWal library. He told me they were heading to WaterColor and Seaside later to enjoy lunch and all that SoWal has to offer.

The anchor from this 1559 shipwreck and many other items are displayed at the T.T. Wentworth, Jr. Florida State Museum in Pensacola.

 

[Kurt]

Thanks for the report!

 

[DuneLaker]

To see ships similar to those Tristan de Luna sailed past the shores of SoWal on his way to Pensacola, you can go to the Panama City Marina this week and see replicas of the Nina and Pinta from Columbus' expeditions. (Bay County and Panama City are just to the east of South Walton and Walton County - travel 98) Go to theNina.com for more information on these ships. NWFL Daily News 3-18-10 A1 said the ships would be there until Monday (guess that's tomorrow, March 22) Check website for update. They have tours from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Adults $7, Seniors (60+) $6 and Children 4+ $5. I saw them as posted on an earlier thread in Pensacola. You can view them for free from the docks.

 

[DuneLaker]

Here's how Columbus' Ships looked in Pensacola, Florida recently (12-09). It is really neat that they are docked nearby to SoWal just over in Panama City. 3-21-10 Sandestin and Baytowne Wharf in South Walton should see if they can host these historic ships.

Want to know more? Dig deeper? See some of my history blogs here on SoWal.

I portray Madame Octavia Walton Le Vert. She was a good friend of Washington Irving. Irving wrote about Columbus and influenced what we knew about him for many years -- sometimes not quite true and spun to influence and reflect the emerging American political viewpoint. Spinning the news isn't anything new. One reason history is important.


Washington Irving, Columbus, The Caribbean, Spanish Orientalism, Moors
If you'd like to read a fascinating dissertation on some of the politics from 1492 until today and the philosophy behind Spanish Orientalism here's a link to Michael Stevens' Georgia State University paper -- Washington Irving and the Romance of the Moors. http://etd.gsu.edu/theses/available/...200712_phd.pdf