Ahoy Mates, and welcome once again to
Shipwreck's Hideaway. Today's tale is one of adventure and
exploration. Although not about piracy, it may perhaps tie into it
towards the end. Yours truly had the opportunity to visit the Mission San Luis in Tallahassee Florida. Its a great historical site
and the people are courteous and willing to answer any questions you
may have.
But before the tour is talked about,
it is best for the reader to know a little more of the pre-European
aspect and the events leading up to it, The peoples of the region,
were Native American, and their tribe were the Apalachee. The area in
which their lively hood was an area called the red hill region, and
from the info I have been able to gather, stretched from the Aucilla
on the east to the Ochlocknee on the west and as far North as what is
known as the Georgia state line. That is where the know information
ends and the speculation part begins. It seems that, at least by an
information board at the Lake Jackson Indian Mound Site, that there
were trade routes with other tribes, such as the Etowah in Northern
Georgia and even as far as Tennessee. The Apalachee were part of the Missippian culture of mound builders, according to references.
Getting back on track, the Chief 's
of the Apalachee sent for a Friar from St Augustine, according to
the tour guides, and the first ones came in 1608. The Chiefs
formally requested a mission to be built in 1612, but the first
mission effort didn't start till 1633.
In 1656, the site was moved to the
present day area due to military strategy reasons, and the community
was established. It was there until the English raids in 1704 when
it was destroyed by residents before the English could take it over.
As you walk into the settlement of
you find the Mission, the living quarters of the Friar and the
Priest, a Spanish settler house, a Blacksmith Shop, and the Council
House of the Apalachee Chiefs.
There is a Museum, just before you
enter the settlement which explains a lot of the diet and culture of
the settlement. On the far end of the settlement, is the fort. Which
is more of a blockhouse with cannons. The Fort itself is not very
large but would probably be enough to fend off attacks. It looks like
it had 4 cannons, one on each side. It looks like the corners are
cut to fit a canon on the corner. There is a palisade around the fort
and a dry moat, and according to one of the information boards, was
filled cactus. This would make anyone think twice about trying to
cross over it. The fort was going through repairs so there wasn't
any chance of going inside on this visit.
The Spanish Mission is some 40 ft
high at it's peak, 30 ft wide and I believe the Guide said 60 ft long, and capable of holding upwards of 1000 people. Standing room only.
Literally! No furniture. You either kneel or stand. The pulpit is on a
center post above the audience. It would most likely give him a
larger than life appearance, being above everyone like that. The
confession and the baptistry are in the back of the mission and so is
the choir loft. It has lots of very beautiful paintings. As with all
of the Spanish type buildings it has a clay type wall with a
whitewash.. a limestone type mix to keep the inside cool. The roof is
thatch.
The Friar quarters has a study for
the friar, a choir loft, much like that of the mission, only this one
is more for teaching the songs to children, who will eventually be
in the choir. It has a small chapel on the inside as well as prayer
area. In the middle part is a storage room foe medical supplies. In
the back of that is a sleeping area and dining area, in the back
part, away from the main house, there is a separate room for cooking.
To the side of the house is a garden for growing medical herbs.
The settler's house is not very big.
Can't recall the exact dimensions, but it's something like 20 feet
wide and 30 ft long. This according to the guide, it was elaborate for
the time. A place to eat, an a place to sleep was about all the room
you had. Outside was a little garden with beans, squash and corn, the main staples of the settlement. Meat was usually brought in by
the hunters, if you were lucky that day.
The Blacksmith's shop was close to
fort, for obvious reasons. If he had to make some sort of weapon, he
could get it to them without much effort. Also for repair items such
as nails could be passed off rather quickly.
The Council house was some 120 in
diameter and could hold upwards of 1000 people. It is very tall,
much like the Mission, so in estimation it could possibly 40-50 foot
high in the center. This where the chiefs would hold their important
meetings, and celebrations would go on throughout the night.
There is your basic layout of the
Mission. The Garrison according to sources were only about 25 strong.
The natives would make up the rest of the defenses. Trading was
important to the colony, but getting supplies would come from traders
in the Caribbean. From the Saint Marks area, or San Marcos, as the
Spanish called it, would be brought to the Fort by an ox team, and
trade goods going to Havana would be taken back. The typical trade
route could last as little as four days to 15 depending on weather.
Now that is the one stop back and forth trade route. A trader would
usually make many stops and be gone months at time. And once back
would spend many days and nights trading goods with the locals
until he had enough goods to trade with other ports to start again.
This would then bring us to the pirates. The traders bringing goods
to the mission would be an easy target for pirates during this time
period. The mission built in 1656 and lasting till 1704 and the
golden age of piracy running from 1650 to 1730, the traders would be
targeted for the goods coming from the Caribbean to Florida. There
was one story told to me about the St Marks fortification being
raided during the time of the Mission's existence, but the only
documentation was I could find was after the Mission was burnt down.
So if your looking for something to do,
go check out Mission San Luis. Native American history, Florida
history, wars, and a hint of piracy all wrapped in one place. A
great place to go and spend a little time!
