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Mexico
Apart from being the source of all colonial endeavors to the Pensacola area, Mexico houses a substantial amount of colonial-era documentation in a variety of archives, from the Archivo General de la Nacion in Mexico City to local city and parish archives spread across much of the country. It also has a rich legacy from both the pre-Hispanic and colonial eras, including architecture, archaeological resources, and of course a vibrant modern culture. Several dozen Florida Indians were voluntarily evacuated to Veracruz in 1763 when Pensacola was delivered to British control, and their descendants may still live in the vicinity today.
Exterior view of the fort of San Juan de Ulua, which served as the principal port connecting Pensacola to New Spain during the colonial era. The tower at the corner is among the oldest features of the fort; construction began during the early 1550s, but most of the rest of the structure dates to the 18th century. View of the port of San Juan de Ulua with the city of Veracruz along the shoreline in the background. In 1559, the colonial fleet of Tristan de Luna y Arellano departed from these very waters on their way to Pensacola Bay. Interior view of the 18th-century portions of San Juan de Ulua. The views of the fort might seem familiar to many, since was used as a setting for the 1984 film "Romancing the Stone." View of the town of San Carlos de Chachalacas, established in 1765 as a refuge for the 47 remaining Pensacola Indians who had evacuated to Veracruz in 1763 with its Spanish residents. An exterior view of the Archivo General de la Nacion in downtown Mexico City. The AGN is housed in a former prison, with radially-arranged cell-blocks converted into a series of six distinct galleries, each with a central research room. Colonial documents are housed in the adjoining prison cells, in bound volumes numbered within each topical section. Much material relative to Spanish Florida is in this archive. A shot of me conducting research in the Municipal Archive of the city of Veracruz, which houses colonial documentation relating to city affairs. Many of the legajos were damaged severely in the past by moths and other insects, which left them barely intact on the exterior surfaces. Restoration is expensive and time-consuming, and only stabilizes documents after crucial information has sometimes been lost. Modern protective storage at least stops further deterioration. A view of the cabinet containing the earliest books of the Veracruz Cathedral parish archive. One moth-eaten book containing baptismal records from 1689-1706 was copied much later as Book 1, while the remaining original books begin full coverage for baptisms starting in 1777.
