La Florida Bound
Spanish ships bound to establish a new settlement in La Florida in the 1500s usually departed from ports in Cuba, Hispaniola, or New Spain (Mexico) where they were loaded with supplies. All types of people would have been aboard: Spanish soldiers, settlers (including women and children), Indigenous and Black people, and priests.
Loading for the Journey
Food and supplies were needed for the sea journey and to last for several months while the colony was being started. Horses, cattle, and pigs were taken, as well. Storage containers included olive jars, wooden casks, and crates placed in the hold of the ship. The ship’s crew loaded and unloaded the vessel.
Transporting Livestock
Horses and cows were hoisted aboard using the ship’s rigging. Horses were transported in slings to keep them immobile, and some would not survive the voyage. Spaniards introduced horses and cattle to the Americas.
From Christoph Weiditz’s Das Trachtenbuch
Carrying a Barrel
Wooden barrels and casks such as these were used to store water, wine, and other supplies. They were placed in the bottom of the ship.
From Christoph Weiditz’s Das Trachtenbuch
Everyday Containers
The widely used storage container for a sea journey was the olive jar, a type of unglazed coarse earthenware. Olive jars usually held water, wine, olive oil, or vinegar. Although their shapes and sizes changed over time, olive jars were used from about
1490 to 1800.
Other Ceramic Wares
Spaniards used several types of ceramics for cooking, storage, and eating. Lead-glazed coarse earthenware was very common. Another common Spanish ceramic type was majolica, which was a tin-enameled earthenware. Majolica was produced in various forms, including bowls, pitchers, and plates. Majolica dishes would have been packed carefully in crates or barrels to use in the new settlement.
Early Style Olive Jar
The type of olive jar shown here was used from about 1400 to 1550. The interior of the early olive jars typically had a
green-colored lead glaze.
Courtesy of the Florida Museum of Natural History, Historical Archaeology Collections
Majolica plate (reproduction)
This reproduction plate is similar to a type called San Luis Polychrome, made in Mexico City from around the 1650s to 1750s.
Life Aboard Ship
Above and below the main deck, the ship was loaded with people, animals, food, water, firewood, and other necessary supplies. Most of the crew and passengers slept on the open deck wherever they could find space. The environment, which was typical of ship travel at the time, was not pleasant—it was crowded, dirty, stinking, and potentially dangerous. Rats and roaches were common aboard ships.
The Ship’s Crew
The ship’s crew consisted of officers and sailors. The capitán oversaw all matters aboard ship. The majority of crew members were regular sailors, and they had many tasks. Some of their jobs included standing watch, working the sails and anchor, pumping water from the bottom of the ship (the bilge), and steering the vessel.
The Boatswain
The boatswain oversaw the sailors, cargo, and maintenance. He directed activities on the deck by using a whistle. If necessary, the boatswain punished the younger sailors for various infractions. The boatswain here is shown with a whip and a whistle.
From Christoph Weiditz’s Das Trachtenbuch
Caulker
A caulker helped keep the ship in good repair, sealing joints between planks with oakum and tar. Oakum is a tar-covered fiber used to pack gaps between planks.
From Christoph Weiditz’s Das Trachtenbuch
Eating Aboard Ship
Food and drink consisted of hard biscuits, water, wine, olive oil, salted meat and fish, and beans. Often the drinking water became contaminated, and vermin got into the food supplies. Fruits and vegetables were brought aboard, but had to be eaten early in the journey before they spoiled.
Navigation
The ship’s pilot was in charge of navigation. Ship pilots of the 1500s had few tools to help them navigate unfamiliar waters.
In addition to astrolabes, they used pocket sundials to help keep time, navigation slats to make calculations, and lead sounding weights to measure the depth of the water. Pilots had to be familiar with astronomy, maps, math, physics, and seamanship to direct the ship successfully. Shifting winds and currents, and sometimes hurricanes, made navigation difficult.
The cross staff
The cross staff was used to measure the angle between the horizon and the sun or North Star. Combining this information with data from astronomical tables provided the latitude.
From Regimiento de navegación, Pedro de Medina, Seville, 1563
The astrolabe
Pilots used an astrolabe to determine the height of the sun from the horizon. When combined with information from astronomical tables, this measurement gave the degree of latitude above the equator.
From Regimiento de navegación, Pedro de Medina, Seville, 1563
Artistic rendering showing sailors at work
This image shows the back of the ship, or stern. A sailor holds on to the large wooden tiller, which controls the ship’s rudder.
The rudder is the steering mechanism mounted on the outside of the ship below the waterline. An officer on an upper deck gives orders about which direction to steer. Near the center of the scene, a sand clock, or hourglass, is suspended from a rope. It helps the crew keep track of time. The crewman on the right plots the vessel’s heading on a slate, while the sailor standing behind him consults a map. Keeping track of direction, time, and the ship’s speed, and noting features of the coastline, were important in maritime navigation.
Traverse Board (reproduction)
The ship’s crew used a traverse board to plot the ship’s speed and course over four hours, which was the length of time of one watch shift. The speed and compass direction were plotted on the board at thirty-minute intervals. At the end of the watch, the information plotted on the traverse board was charted on paper. The information helped pilots with estimating the ship’s location.
Map of the Gulf Stream, ca. 1786
Anton de Alaminos served on Ponce de León’s first expedition to La Florida and was considered one the best pilots of his time. Alaminos discovered the Bahama Channel and its powerful Gulf Stream current. He followed the Gulf Stream to take the first shipment of Aztec treasure to Spain in 1519. Spanish treasure fleets used this route for the next two centuries.
Library of Congress Geography and Map Division
