#Spanish Explorer

[blueiscoool]

The Oldest Known Firearm in the U.S. Found in Arizona

Independent researchers in Arizona have unearthed a bronze cannon linked to the 16th-century expedition of Francisco Vázquez de Coronado, and it is marked to be the oldest known firearm found in the continental United States.

The 42-inch-long, roughly 40-pound sand-cast bronze cannon was discovered at the location of a Spanish stone-and-adobe structure in the Santa Cruz Valley that is thought to have been a part of the short-lived settlement San Geronimo III.

To finance an expedition to North America in 1539, Vázquez de Coronado took out large loans and mortgaged his wife’s possessions. The Spanish conquistador and his 350 soldiers intended to locate the legendary (and nonexistent) Seven Cities of Gold north of Mexico. By 1541, they had reached southern Arizona, where they established a settlement they called San Geronimo III, or Suya. San Geronimo was the first European town in the American Southwest.

Rather than accumulating immense wealth, Coronado and his men plied, and spent the next three years plundering, enslaving, and murdering their way across the region. These transgressions did not go unanswered. In the predawn hours of one fateful morning in 1541, the native Sobaipuri launched a surprise attack on the town. Many settlers were killed in their beds, and the survivors fled in disarray. The cannon — meant to intimidate and protect — was never even loaded.

Although Coronado was bankrupt and facing war crime charges when his expedition came to an end in Mexico City, his impact on North America would last for many generations.

One site in particular has produced a large number of artifacts associated with the explorers, according to the authors of a study published on November 21st in the International Journal of Historical Archeology. Researchers found European pottery, weapon parts, including a 42-inch-long bronze cannon, and glass and olive jar fragments in the ruins of a stone and adobe building in Arizona’s Santa Cruz Valley.

“Not only is it the first gun ever recovered from the Coronado expedition, but consultation with experts throughout the continent and in Europe reveal that it is also the oldest firearm ever found inside the continental USA,” Archaeologist Deni Seymour explained.

The early firearm also called a wall gun, was typically used as a defensive weapon positioned on a wooden tripod on fortification walls and required two operators. However, in Coronado’s case, such a cannon would have been used offensively, typically to pierce the weaker walls of buildings in Indigenous communities.

Archaeologists were able to date the cannon to Coronado’s time using radiocarbon dating and optically stimulated luminescence techniques, and the other artifacts matched descriptions of the supplies and possessions of his expedition. However, the wall gun’s simple casting suggests that, in contrast to more elaborate Spanish cannons, it might have been built in Mexico or the Caribbean—and possibly even acquired from Ponce de León’s previous expedition.

By Oguz Kayra.

[fotograzio]

Pilgrimage of Metal: Guardian of the Anza Borrego Desert by Wayne S. Grazio Via Flickr: A striking metal sculpture of a cloaked pilgrim bearing a cross and a faithful companion stands solemnly in the vast Anza Borrego Desert. Framed by rugged mountains and under an expansive, blue sky, the artwork’s rusted patina echoes the harsh and timeless beauty of the landscape. While the sculpture brings a sense of narrative and spiritual symbolism to the scene, the bold, man-made figure disrupts the untouched serenity of the desert, inviting viewers to reflect on humanity's place within this natural expanse. This metal art piece is part of the Galleta Meadows Sculptures in Borrego Springs, California, created by artist Ricardo Breceda. The sculpture you’re seeing is titled "Juan Bautista de Anza" and depicts a Spanish explorer with a cross, symbolizing his historic expedition through the region in the 18th century.

[wandering-cemeteries]

Oak Grove Cemetery

Brunswick, Georgia

Jan. 2024

[cogumellow]

gothic quarter // barcelona, spain // january 2024 // ©

[illustratus]

Columbus in the New World by Edwin Austin Abbey

[artthatgivesmefeelings]

José Maria Veloso Salgado (Spanish, 1864-1945) Vasco da Gama before the Samorim of Calicut, 1898 Sociedade de Geografia de Lisboa

[historynerdj2]

History memes #55

[filmphotographyjournal]

Photo by M-L Pocket -- Submit to be featured. Show your work to 30K film photography lovers.

[elizakai]

errormare?

(error x nightmare)

Bonding and watching undernovela <3

Click image to get rid of the blur

(the heart…)

[s1lverd4sh]

"Hey! You're not Swiper!"

This two were helping me to get ready in the morning throughout my childhood

[cozybells]

I played the spanish version of this game. did you know that, instead of shining spirits, Grovyle and Dusknoir talk about memories? that's so cool right haha *breaks down crying*

[wandering-jana]

Town plaza, constructed in 1917 in the Spanish Colonial Revival style and 1920s church. Ajo, Southern Arizona

Feb. 2020

[wandering-cemeteries]

Bonaventure Cemetery

Savannah, Georgia

July 2024

[basicallyanotherwitchesthing]

Dr. Harry E. Gunn y Violet C. Gunn - Autotest - Roca - 1989

[illustratus]

Columbus Refuses a Plea to Turn Back by Tom Lovell

[artthatgivesmefeelings]

Francisco Aznar y García (Spanish, 1834-1911) Ávila, Exterior del ábside de la iglesia Catedral, ca.1860 Serie Monumentos Arquitectónicos de España