A Study of Florida’s Earliest Shipwreck

Exploring Tristán de Luna’s Lost Galleon
Discovery of a well-preserved early Spanish shipwreck in Pensacola Bay, Florida, has reopened a long forgotten chapter of Latin-American history. Assembled by the Viceroy of New Spain, a fleet of eleven ships under the command of Tristán de Luna embarked from Mexico in 1559 to establish a colony on the shores of La Florida. Aboard the ships were more than 1,500 soldiers, settlers, and servants equipped with livestock, agricultural and construction tools. The colonists disembarked at Pensacola, only to suffer a hurricane that destroyed all but three of the ships anchored in the harbor, some of which had not yet been unloaded. The catastrophe doomed the Luna colony, which was eventually abandoned in 1561.

During a survey of shipwrecks in Pensacola Bay, underwater archaeologists from the Florida Bureau of Archaeological Research have discovered the remains one of the larger galleons in Luna’s fleet buried beneath a shallow sandbar. Two campaigns of careful excavation have revealed a surprisingly well-preserved array of colonial artifacts, as well as faunal and botanical specimens, that present a fascinating portrait of Spain’s ill-fated attempt to secure a foothold on the frontier of its American empire. Follow the archaeologists as they explore Florida’s earliest shipwreck.

Roger C. Smith is the State Underwater Archaeologist with the Florida Division of Historical Resources in Tallahassee. He received his doctorate from Texas A&M University, and has taught at Florida State University and the University of West Florida.

Dr. Smith has directed a number of underwater surveys and excavations throughout Florida, and has worked extensively in the Caribbean, Mexico, the Bahamas, Bermuda, and Africa. He has published widely in the field of nautical archaeology, and is the author of three books and many professional journal and popular magazine articles.

Dr. Smith’s underwater archaeology team has been active in the establishment of eleven shipwreck preserves throughout Florida. Nominated by local coastal communities, these shipwreck parks are developed through partnerships between public and private organizations to interpret the natural and cultural features of each site. The preserves include a Spanish galleon in the Florida Keys, a sunken steamboat in the Suwannee River, and the battleship USS Massachusetts off Pensacola.

In the 1990s, Dr. Smith’s team located the site of another Spanish galleon during a survey of shipwrecks in Pensacola Bay. The shipwreck—which is the earliest to be discovered in Florida—was one of the larger vessels in the fleet of Tristán de Luna, which sank during a hurricane in 1559. The remains of the ship are well preserved in shallow water under a sand bar. More than 5,000 artifacts and field specimens have been collected from the site; many are on display in a special exhibit in Pensacola’s historic district that recently was visited by the King and Queen of Spain.

This lecture is sponsored by the Santa Barbara Society of the Archaeological Institute of America. A modest reception will follow Dr. Smith’s lecture.

jwil 29.vii.2010, hm 10/3