Maritime History, Archaeology, Coastal Science
![War of Jenkins Ear.jpg](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/731fa5_7e4c728a80bf4fbfb29c896365c0b9f8~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_711,h_400,al_c,q_80,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,enc_avif,quality_auto/731fa5_7e4c728a80bf4fbfb29c896365c0b9f8~mv2.jpg)
Anglo-Spanish Conflict in the Americas
The history of conflict between Spain and England (Britain) during the 17th and 18th centuries was a natural evolution of my interest in the maritime history of colonial North America. The development of colonial politics, military policy, and maritime trade in the American colonies are all influenced in some way to the seemingly endless wars between the two European superpowers. I am interested in how these conflicts helped shape the historic landscape of colonial America and how this is reflected in the archaeological record.
My current research into Anglo-Spanish conflict began with the War of Jenkin's Ear (La Guerra del Asiento) and discovering a gap in maritime historical or archaeological studies related to the wars between Spain and England from 1739 to 1748. I quickly became fascinated by the story of the Spanish Alarm in North Carolina and Spanish corsair sloop, La Fortuna. Fortuna was reported in Anglicized accounts as a 130-ton sloop under the command of Captain Vicente López. It wrecked when the ship's gunpowder stores "exploded" during a bombardment of the militia at the port town of Brunswick in the Lower Cape Fear River, North Carolina. This event sparked an interest in learning more about Spanish privateering and corsair crews in the 18th century Atlantic World. I am currently working on a project to reframe the prevailing English narrative using additional source material to yield insight into the Spanish perspective of such events. Archaeologically, two cannons recovered from the Cape Fear River at the Brunswick Town Historic Site are thought to be from the Spanish raid. The actual Fortuna wreck site has not been located, but an area of active research is tracking down where its final resting place might be...
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I am also interested in archaeological sites and historical narratives associated with other battles, raids, and incidents between the English and Spanish in the West Indies, Florida, South and North America. One example of this is Carolina Governor James Moore Sr.'s siege of St. Augustine, Florida in 1702 during Queen Anne's War and the associated massacre of Apalachee Indians that occurred during that event. Other examples are the New York Slave Conspiracy of 1741 and the Stono Rebellion, both of which were influenced by Spanish laws regarding enslaved peoples and how those individuals resisted against enslavement in the British colonies. These events among others all played pivotal roles in the developmental trajectory for the colonies in North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida. This research focuses on battle analysis, maritime stories, and potential archaeological datasets associated with the following conflicts:
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War of Spanish Succession (Queen Anne's War), 1701-1713
War of the Quadruple Alliance, 1718-1720
Anglo-Spanish War, 1727-1729
War of Jenkin's Ear (Guerra del Asiento), 1739-1748
War of Austrian Succession (King George's War), 1744-1748
Seven Year's War, 1756-1763
American Revolutionary War, 1776-1783
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NC History Articles
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La Fortuna
Shipwreck Project
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The Search for Fortuna: An Exercise in Underwater Archaeology (1982)
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Read more updates from our project to locate and document La Fortuna here.
![CFR0050_im-075.JPG](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/731fa5_97e35ef23660473fa4bd612e972f5b68~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_306,h_212,al_c,q_80,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,enc_avif,quality_auto/CFR0050_im-075_JPG.jpg)