If what I just discovered is true, then we've all been lied to about Pensacola being the first temporary European settlement.

If this is true...

San Miguel de Gualdape was the first European settlement inside what is now United States territory, founded by Spaniard Lucas Vázquez de Ayllón in 1526.[1] It was to last only three months of winter before being abandoned in early 1527.

... then we've been lied to.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Miguel_de_Gualdape

Yep.

My Norwegian ancestors had settlements all over the US, long before that, Bob.

Eric wrote:

Yep.

My Norwegian ancestors had settlements all over the US, long before that, Bob.

But this would mean that what's been drilled into us like the Ten Commandments that Luna was the first Spaniard to establish a temporary settlement is not even true.
It can't be when another Spanish explorer established another temporary settlement on the Atlantic coast decades earlier.
It's all a load of bullcrap.

Eric wrote:

Yep.

My Norwegian ancestors had settlements all over the US, long before that, Bob.

I believe that before being renamed Palafox it was called Ord Bjorgensen Avenue by the local Norsemen.

Santa Rosa Island was not the location for the first settlement. It's in dispute exactly where this first settlement, San Miguel de Gualdape, was located on the Atlantic coast. But the best estimate is it was on what is now Sapelo Island on the coast of South Carolina. The "A" symbol on this map is on Sapelo Island. You can see Brunswick, GA at the bottom of the map so that will give you a reference point...



Since this place is in the middle of nowhere I can speculate about why this myth has developed. Pensacola was a tourist oriented community which liked the idea of being able to promote itself as "the first".
But there aint no reason for Sapelo Island to do the same because it's just a wildnerness too far from any population center for anyone there to give a damn.
And also because the exact location of the settlement being Sapelo Island is still in dispute.
But there seems to be no dispute that this settlement was actually established somewhere on the Atlantic Coast. And that it predates the Luna settlement by more than three decades. Which of course dispels the manufactured myth that the Luna settlement was the first.

I surely don't want to do the same thing I now realize every so-called Pensacola historian has done to all of us and tell a big lie.
So let me correct an error in that last post. Sapelo Island is on the coast of Georgia, not South Carolina.
Although that doesn't change a damn thing about us all being fed a big fat lie for as long as I can remember.

LOL I think it would be like someone from Fuji coming to Pensacola and claiming it was theirs. I think the Injuns were already here. Unless that was also a lie. I understand they were Injuns so they did not count. Lucky for them we killed all their Buffalo and put them on reservations.

BobW wrote:

I surely don't want to do the same thing I now realize every so-called Pensacola historian has done to all of us and tell a big lie.
So let me correct an error in that last post. Sapelo Island is on the coast of Georgia, not South Carolina.
Although that doesn't change a damn thing about us all being fed a big fat lie for as long as I can remember.

Don't fret Bob, we knew what you meant.

But you're still ignoring the fact that the Native Americans were already here, and the Vikings had already been here.... so neither place was "first" anything.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0enFw63hkV8

This is strangely interesting

Yelladawg, have you been to any of the big Indian mound complexes? They're not as impressive as the Pyramids of Central America or Egypt, but there are a lot of them. There is one about an hour's drive West of Hoover. The place is called Moundville.

[quote="riceme"]

BobW wrote:

But you're still ignoring the fact that the Native Americans were already here, and the Vikings had already been here.... so neither place was "first" anything.

It's not that I'm ignoring any of that, rice. It's that de Luna was not the first Spaniard to establish a settlement in what is now the United States like we've all been told for so long.

It was this Spaniard and this place. Read the first paragraph on this page...

Bob, I had to delete that link. It was screwing with the page zoom, it was too long.

I hope I wasn't the only person having this problem. Was I?

Here's a screen capture of the pertinent paragraph on that page...

This has been so conveniently ignored when promoting Pensacola as "the first".
In the 57 years I've lived here I have never heard or read any mention of it until I accidentally stumbled onto it today while googling. If that had not happened I would probably have gone the rest of my life believing the lie.
Woody Skinner who was considered the best history teacher of his day at Pensacola High School never revealed any of this.
And neither has anyone else who has been granted the the title of local "historian".

Many years ago I became friends with some transplanted Minnesotans who lived in Ft. Walton Beach.
I remember the first time they visited me here and I was riding around showing them the town. I remember telling them my town was "the first settlement in what is now the United States". They didn't believe it because they had never heard of that.
I remember telling them "damnit I've been taught this all my life. It's the history claim to fame for Pensacola so trust me it's true".

And now I feel so stupid for telling them that.

[quote="BobW"]

riceme wrote:

BobW wrote:

But you're still ignoring the fact that the Native Americans were already here, and the Vikings had already been here.... so neither place was "first" anything.

It's not that I'm ignoring any of that, rice. It's that de Luna was not the first Spaniard to establish a settlement in what is now the United States like we've all been told for so long.

It was this Spaniard and this place. Read the first paragraph on this page...

I hear ya, Bob. But hey, look at it this way... Maybe some other person or people have some special interest in that other place being The First, and THAT is the one that's a lie. Ya never know.

Judy Bense was my advisor when I went to UWF, and she was (is still??) the Chair of Anthropology and Archaeology there. She said that Pensacola was the first... I don't know who the heck would know better than her. ??

riceme wrote:

I hear ya, Bob. But hey, look at it this way... Maybe some other person or people have some special interest in that other place being The First, and THAT is the one that's a lie. Ya never know.

But see that's what's interesting, rice. I can't find any South Carolinians or Georgians who are bragging about being "First". The only braggarts are here. And I believe the reason for that is because Pensacola has an alterior motive and the folks in the other two states do not. There is no tourist economy driven community near where the 1526 settlement was located. But there is one here. lol

I think you have inadvertently hit on the true core of Pensacola Philosophy. Lying and distorting the truth is what we do best. We have perfected the art. Many of us believed that giant condos and paving every square inch of the Beach and then filling it with LEOs(park Rangers, Deputies, Game wardens, Parking enforcement people Is a great thing. Of course we also believe that we need to spend Millions of our dollars , pumping and rearranging sand while we are the poorest county in the state.

Hell! Give us a break. Lying about being first is one of the few things that we had to believe in.

Eric wrote:

Yelladawg, have you been to any of the big Indian mound complexes? They're not as impressive as the Pyramids of Central America or Egypt, but there are a lot of them. There is one about an hour's drive West of Hoover. The place is called Moundville.

There are Indian mounds in Kansas and Missouri, not huge but like you said, impressive.

BobW wrote:

riceme wrote:

I hear ya, Bob. But hey, look at it this way... Maybe some other person or people have some special interest in that other place being The First, and THAT is the one that's a lie. Ya never know.

But see that's what's interesting, rice. I can't find any South Carolinians or Georgians who are bragging about being "First". The only braggarts are here. And I believe the reason for that is because Pensacola has an alterior motive and the folks in the other two states do not. There is no tourist economy driven community near where the 1526 settlement was located. But there is one here. lol

I'll buy that, Bob. Sounds like good logic to me.

The historical record has now been corrected.

http://www.pensapedia.com/wiki/America%27s_First_Settlement

riceme wrote:

I hear ya, Bob. But hey, look at it this way... Maybe some other person or people have some special interest in that other place being The First, and THAT is the one that's a lie. Ya never know.

Judy Bense was my advisor when I went to UWF, and she was (is still??) the Chair of Anthropology and Archaeology there. She said that Pensacola was the first... I don't know who the heck would know better than her. ??

Riceme, Dr Bense is now the President of UWF. I'm not sure who the Chair of that department is as of now. Dr Bense has been with UWF for 30 years and is only the 5th president.

Ghost_Rider1949 wrote:

riceme wrote:

I hear ya, Bob. But hey, look at it this way... Maybe some other person or people have some special interest in that other place being The First, and THAT is the one that's a lie. Ya never know.

Judy Bense was my advisor when I went to UWF, and she was (is still??) the Chair of Anthropology and Archaeology there. She said that Pensacola was the first... I don't know who the heck would know better than her. ??

Riceme, Dr Bense is now the President of UWF. I'm not sure who the Chair of that department is as of now. Dr Bense has been with UWF for 30 years and is only the 5th president.

Thanks, GR... I am aware. Last I had heard (which was from a friend, not the news) she was still acting as the dept chairs, which was the reason for the question marks. My point was that she's the chair of those departments for many years and one would think that if anyone knew, she would.