Spanish Exploration and Discovery
| — | Pensacola Maritime Heritage Trail | — |
After the misfortune of the Soto expedition, Spain persisted in its efforts to lay claim to La Florida.
Tristán de Luna y Arellano was charged with establishing a colony on Pensacola Bay, then called Ochuse. In 1559, Luna brought 1,500 people, including families, slaves, and Aztec warriors, to settle the area he renamed Santa María Filipina. A hurricane destroyed the new colony and Luna's ships, causing the settlers to abandon the effort after two years. Spain did not try to colonize Pensacola again until 1698 when colonists successfully settled in the area that is now Pensacola Naval Air Station.
Photo captions:
Left: Background image: 1559 Landing of Tristán de Luna at
Pensacola by Herbert Rudeen.
Right: Archaeologists discovered this small carving, a profile of a Spanish ship, on the Emanuel Point I shipwreck. This shipwreck in Pensacola Bay is
associated with Luna's 1559 colonization attempt.
Erected 2016 by the City of Pensacola and the University of West Florida Historic Trust. (Marker Number B.)
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic
this page online
Location. 30° 24.574′ N, 87° 12.342′ W. Marker is in Pensacola, Florida, in Escambia County. It is on Bay Parkway (Florida Route 196) 0.2 miles east of Alcaniz Street, on the right when traveling east. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 39 State Road 196, Pensacola FL 32502, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is on the Florida Panhandle. It is also in the American South, specifically in the Deep South, and on the Gulf Coast. Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region, North America, a Gulf of Mexico state, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once New Spain, the territory of the Mississippian Culture, one of the Confederate States of America, and the Antebellum South.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Barkley House (about 400 feet away, measured in a direct line); Maritime Prehistory (about 500 feet away); Firefighter Vista S. Lowe (approx. 0.2 miles away); Supremacy, Siege and the Sea (approx. ¼ mile away); Purple Heart Memorial (approx. ¼ mile away); William Bartram Trail (approx. ¼ mile away); De Soto Trail / A Port with Promise (approx. ¼ mile away); Christ Church (approx. ¼ mile away). Touch for a list and map
More about this marker. Very busy location with poor sight lines. Park along Zaragoza St and carefully cross the divided 4-lane city parkway. Alternatively park at Bartram Park (west of marker) and walk along the sidewalk about 1500 ft.
Also see . . . Tristán de Luna y Arellano – Spanish Conquistador. (Submitted on July 12, 2021, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama.)
Credits. This page was last revised on July 12, 2021. It was originally submitted on July 12, 2021, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama. This page has been viewed 479 times since then and 48 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on July 12, 2021, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama.
