Dr. Judith Bense

Figurines are rare in the remains of Spanish Florida. Surprisingly, however, 141 fragments and 1 complete ceramic figurine were recovered at the last two of the four locations of the presidio in Spanish West Florida on Pensacola Bay. Throughout the presidio's existence (1698-1763) the population was sent directly from the central Basin of Mexico, where figurines have a long history. The West Florida figurine assemblage and distribution is here described in detail and compared to those found at contemporaneous settlements and shipwrecks. An argument is made that figurines are likely associated with the 1740 shift in Spanish-colonial policy from almost exclusively male garrisons to military colonies with soldier-settler families. This demographic shift brought women and children to the presidios from central Mexico in increasing numbers starting in 1741, and the argument is made that they are the reason for the appearance of figurines.


Las figurillas son raras en los restos de la Florida espanola. Sorprendentemente, sin embargo, se recuperaron 141 fragmentos y una figurilla de ceramica completa en las dos ultimas de las cuatro ubicaciones del presidio en la Florida Occidental espanola en la bahia de Pensacola. A lo largo de la existencia del presidio (1698-1763), la poblacion fue enviada directamente desde la cuenca central de Mexico, donde las figurillas tienen una larga historia. El conjunto y la distribucion de las figurillas de la Florida Occidental se describen aqui en detalle y se comparan con las que fueron encontradas en asentamientos y naufragios contemporaneos. Se argumenta que las figurillas probablemente esten asociadas con el cambio de 1740 en la politica colonial espanola de guarniciones casi exclusivamente masculinas a colonias militares con familias de los soldados y colonos. Este cambio demografico trajo mujeres y ninos a los presidios desde el centro de Mexico en cantidades cada vez mayores a partir de 1741, y se argumenta que son la causa de la aparicion de las figurillas.

Les figurines sont rares parmi les vestiges de la Floride espagnole. Toutefois, de maniere surprenante, 141 fragments et une figurine complete en ceramique ont ete decouverts sur les deux derniers des quatre sites du presidio dans la Floride occidentale espagnole dans la Baie de Pensacola. Tout au long de l'existence du presidio (1698-1763), la population fut envoyee directement a partir du bassin central du Mexique, ou les figurines ont une longue histoire. La collection et la diffusion des figurines de la Floride occidentale sont ici decrites en detail et comparees a celles decouvertes dans des colonies contemporaines et sur des epaves. Il est postule que les figurines sont vraisemblablement associees a un changement de la politique coloniale espagnole en 1740. Aux garnisons presque exclusivement masculines ont succede des colonies militaires composees de familles de colons et de soldats. Cette evolution demographique vit l'arrivee aux presidios de nombres croissants de femmes et d'enfants en provenance du centre du Mexique a compter de 1741. L'argument avance est qu'ils sont la raison de l'apparition des figurines.

"This book provides the first comprehensive synthesis of historical and archaeological investigations conducted at the fortified settlements built by Spain in the Florida panhandle from 1698 to 1763"--
Bense details a history fraught with catastrophe-hurricanes, war against France and England, and treaties that forced the Spanish base in West Florida to be uprooted and rebuilt four times. Examining each presidio, including associated military outposts, shipwrecks, and refugee mission villages of the Apalachee and Yamasee Indians, this book provides four discrete, sequential windows into the Spanish presence in the region. Bense compares the population to that of Presidio San Agustin, established 133 years later, revealing very different communities, people, and local customs. Interwoven with these historical findings is an account of how the general public has participated in investigations in the region, providing readers with an understanding of eighteenth-century West Florida and the development of public archaeology in the state from the person who initiated and directed much of the research. A volume in the Florida Museum of Natural History: Ripley P. Bullen Series"--

At the turn of the eighteenth century, two military presidios - West Florida and San Agustín - anchored the shrinking and besieged colony of Spanish Florida. Unlike San Agustín that stayed in one place, the West Florida presidio was relocated three times, creating four geographically separate and chronologically sequential sites of the same community and enabling fine-grained temporal analyses. Here, I analyze ceramic trends that reveal three Mexican majolica types, Olive Jar, and the tempering agents of Native American ceramics that are temporally sensitive. However, these ceramic trends are a cautionary tale as they may be specific only to the West Florida Hispanic and Native American settlements in this region. When comparing the ceramics from West Florida and San Agustín, the main difference is a much higher proportion of Native American ceramics in San Agustín, which I attribute to the presence of many Indian and local mestizo women in their households. This demographic was not as substantial in West Florida. The differences in the two eighteenth-century Spanish Florida presidios reflects flexibility at the local level in implementing a highly regulated Spanish imperial system that enabled their colonial empire to include innumerable indigenous cultures in a variety of historic circumstances.

In March 1995 the first annual "Pensacola Pride" awards were presented to local people and organizations who have "put Pensacola on the map," by gaining national recognition in their chosen professions. The local press gave the awards and featured the awardees' work in the local and regional media. Three recipients received premier awards: the well known U.S. Navy fighter jet demonstration team known as the "Blue Angels"; the local world champion welter weight boxer, Roy Jones, Jr., and archaeologist Dr. Judy Bense and the Archaeology Institute at the University of West Florida.

Fuller uses the classic culture-history approach combining ceramic analysis, surface collections, stratigraphy, radiocarbon dating, and comparison to build a chronology and historical narrative of Bottle Creek and its connections to other areas. By using the concepts of ceramic and style "sets" and style series, he builds a case for interpreting Bottle Creek as a classic example of site-unit intrusion about 1250 CE by a group of people from Moundville, 162 miles upstream.

Presidios were an important part of the Spanish colonial system. In general, they were fortified settlements with an assigned military contingent. Presidios exhibited a wide range of variation as they adapted to local needs, materials, and populations. Historical and archaeological information from eight presidios in the North American Spanish Borderlands from San Francisco to St. Augustine are summarized. They provide much new information about presidios as a distinctive type of settlement and on the development of Hispanic frontier culture. This publication marks the beginning of bringing North American borderland presidios into the mainstream of historical archaeology. The presidio was an important frontier settlement of the Spanish frontier, and their residents were the frontline of acculturation. Cultural and biological hybrids developed at presidios and became the foundation for a significant part of modern-day culture in the southern half of the United States.

This examination of the Pensacola presidio and its fort during the first Spanish colonial period provides a rich inventory of artifacts and new interpretations of life among the 18th-century settlers and their evolving interactions with local native populations and with Mobile and Veracruz. Based on long-term interdisciplinary study and excavation, Judith Bense’s book provides the first intensive account of an early colonial Spanish presidio in La Florida. As such, it will be of interest to researchers throughout the Spanish borderlands from California and northern Mexico to Florida.