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The Discovery and Exploration of Tristán de Luna y Arellano’s 1559–1561 Settlement on Pensacola Bay

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Abstract

Following the fortuitous 2015 discovery of a substantial assemblage of mid-16th-century Spanish ceramics in a residential neighborhood overlooking the Emanuel Point shipwrecks in Pensacola Bay, the University of West Florida Archaeology Institute worked with more than 120 landowners to conduct extensive archaeological testing across a broad area in order to determine the boundaries of and to explore the site. This article compares documentary and archaeological evidence to confirm the identification of the roughly 13–15 ha site as Tristán de Luna y Arellano’s 1559–1561 settlement, making it the largest mid-16th-century Spanish colonial site in the Southeast and the earliest multiyear European settlement in the entire United States.

Extracto

Después del descubrimiento fortuito en 2015 de un conjunto sustancial de cerámica española de mediados del siglo 16 en un vecindario residencial con vistas a los naufragios de Emanuel Point en la Bahía de Pensacola, el Instituto de Arqueología de la Universidad de West Florida trabajó con más de 120 propietarios para realizar pruebas arqueológicas exhaustivas en un área amplia para determinar los límites y explorar el sitio. Este artículo compara la evidencia documental y arqueológica para confirmar la identificación del sitio de aproximadamente 13–15 ha como el asentamiento de Tristán de Luna y Arellano de 1559–1561, convirtiéndolo en el sitio colonial español más grande de mediados del siglo 16 en el sudeste y el primer asentamiento europeo de varios años en todo el territorio de Estados Unidos.

Résumé

À la suite de la découverte fortuite en 2015 d'un assemblage considérable de céramiques espagnoles datant de la moitié du 16ème siècle dans un quartier résidentiel surplombant l'épave du Emanuel Point à Pensacola Bay, l'lnstitut d'archéologie de l'Université de Floride occidentale a collaboré avec plus de 120 propriétaires terriens afin de conduire de vastes opérations de tests archéologiques à travers une large zone, visant à déterminer les limites du site et à en faire l'exploration. Cet article compare des preuves documentaires et archéologiques afin de confirmer l'identification du site d'environ 13 à 15 hectares comme étant la colonie implantée en 1559 et 1561 désignée sous le nom de Tristán de Luna y Arellano. Ceci en ferait le site colonial espagnol le plus important dans le Sud-Ouest à la moitié du 16ème siècle et la toute première colonie européenne active durant plusieurs années pour tous les États-Unis.

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Notes

  1. Faulty transcription in Legajo 280, Mexico, Archivo General de Indias, Seville, Spain.

  2. Luna’s personally handwritten letter is erroneously dated and thus must be a transcript he made later for submission to the king; see note 32 in Worth (2018:62).

  3. Priestley (2010[1]:142–145) mistranscribed “Tatebula” instead of “Tatelulco,” a variant of Tlatelolco; see Indios Principales (1560:75r).

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  • Worth, John E. 2016c What Do the Documents Say about Where Luna’s Settlement Was Situated? 1 July. Luna Settlement Project <http://lunasettlement.blogspot.com/2016/07/what-do-documents-say-about-where-lunas.html>. Accessed 22 January 2020.

  • Worth, John E. 2018aFlorida’s Forgotten Colony: Historical Background. In Florida’s Lost Galleon: The Emanuel Point Shipwreck, Roger C. Smith, editor, pp. 34–67. University Press of Florida, Gainesville.

  • Worth, John E. 2018b New Insights into Spanish–Native Relations during the Luna Expedition, 1559–1561. Paper presented at the 70th Annual Meeting of the Florida Anthropological Society, St. Petersburg.

  • Worth, John E., Elizabeth D. Benchley, Janet R. Lloyd, and Jennifer Melcher 2017 The Discovery and Exploration of Tristán de Luna’s 1559–1561 Settlement on Pensacola Bay. Paper presented at the 69th annual meeting of the Florida Anthropological Society, Jacksonville.

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Acknowledgments:

Thanks to Thomas Garner who first alerted us to the site and who has worked with the neighborhood residents to make this project possible. Thank you to all of the other faculty and staff archaeologists at UWF who have assisted and continue to assist with ongoing fieldwork, analysis, and public outreach. Thank you to the many graduate students, undergraduates, and volunteers who have made the field- and lab work possible. We also want to thank the many Luna neighbors who gave us permission to excavate in their yards and who visit us regularly. And finally, we are grateful to the anonymous reviewers of this manuscript, whose comments and suggestions were very helpful in improving the final result.

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  1. Building 13 Department of Anthropology, 11000 University Parkway, Pensacola, FL, 32514, U.S.A.

    John E. Worth & Janet R. Lloyd

  2. Building 89 Archaeology Institute, 11000 University Parkway, Pensacola, FL, 32514, U.S.A.

    Elizabeth D. Benchley & Jennifer A. Melcher

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  1. John E. Worth
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  2. Elizabeth D. Benchley
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  3. Janet R. Lloyd
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  4. Jennifer A. Melcher
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Correspondence to John E. Worth.

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Worth, J.E., Benchley, E.D., Lloyd, J.R. et al. The Discovery and Exploration of Tristán de Luna y Arellano’s 1559–1561 Settlement on Pensacola Bay. Hist Arch 54, 472–501 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s41636-020-00240-w

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