Meanwhile in the Western Spanish Sea… Early French and Spanish Colonialism in Matagorda Bay, Texas, 1685-1726
Author(s): Bradford M. Jones
Year: 2025
Summary
Long neglected by the Spanish colonial government, the Gulf Coast of Texas became a flashpoint for French and Spanish colonial ambitions with the Sieur de La Salle’s establishment of his colony in Matagorda Bay in 1685. Excavations by the Texas Historical Commission from 1995-2002, recovered millions of artifacts from the French shipwreck La Belle (41MG86) and the Keeran Site (41VT4) – a high bluff overlooking Garcitas Creek where both La Salle’s 1685-1689 settlement Fort St. Louis and the 1721-1726 Spanish Presidio La Bahia were located. In this paper, the analysis of the recovered artifacts and their spatial distributions form the interpretive foundation for a critical reexamination of the materiality of these early French and Spanish colonial populations in Texas.
Cite this Record
Meanwhile in the Western Spanish Sea… Early French and Spanish Colonialism in Matagorda Bay, Texas, 1685-1726. Bradford M. Jones. Presented at Society for Historical Archaeology, New Orleans, Louisiana. 2025 ( tDAR id: 508767)
Keywords
General
French
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Materiality
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Spanish
Geographic Keywords
Texas Gulf Coast
Individual & Institutional Roles
Contact(s): Nicole Haddow