On 12 October 2015, the Most Rev. Gregory L. Parkes, Bishop Emeritus of Pensacola-Tallahassee, sent the martyrdom records of 86 Catholics, Spaniards and Native Americans to the Vatican in a solemn ceremony. The deeds, dated between 1549 and 1715, have revived an almost forgotten history –one that could become a major pilgrimage route.
This is the Camino Real de Florida, a network of roads and trails that connected the Spanish forts and missions of Florida during the viceregal colonial period –an important but little-known chapter in American history. Unlike its counterparts in the southwestern United States and California, the Camino Real de Florida has left very few visible traces, making its reconstruction a challenge for historians and archaeologists.
The Camino Real de Florida developed during the First Spanish Period (1565-1763) in a hot and humid environment –very different from that of the American Southwest. That is, the missions and settlements along this road were built with less durable materials, which contributed to their quick disappearance once abandoned.
By 1706, all of Florida’s missions had been abandoned or destroyed by attacks from James Moore’s English forces and their native allies. This early destruction, coupled with Florida’s humid climate, led to the almost complete absence of any visible architectural remains of these missions and the consequent disappearance of the roads that connected them.
Although there are no standing remains of any of these buildings and roads, colonial-era documents and archaeology have identified numerous missions that once thrived along the Camino Real. Some of the most important are Nombre de Dios (present-day St Augustine), San Diego de Salamototo, San Francisco de Potano, Santa Fe de Teleco, San Martin de Timucua and San Luis de Talimali (present-day Tallahassee).
The reconstruction of the route of the Camino Real has been possible thanks to a combination of the study of Spanish colonial documents and archaeology. Historians and archaeologists have leaned on two major “anchors” to reconstruct the general route: St. Augustine to the east, and Mission San Luis (in present-day Tallahassee) to the west.
Historical documents have been crucial in establishing the sequence of missions along the Camino Real and the estimated distances between them. Archaeology, meanwhile, has been essential in discovering the exact locations of these missions, dating them and providing details about life in these settlements.
Although the original Camino Real no longer exists as such, visitors interested in Florida’s Spanish colonial history can explore several significant sites.
One of them is the St Augustine Historic District, including St Francis Barracks, which offer interpretive information about the Camino Real and Spanish colonial life in Florida. St Augustine is also home to the oldest surviving Catholic shrine in the US: Our Lady of La Leche.
Meanwhile, Mission San Luis in Tallahassee has recently been rebuilt and opened to the public, offering a glimpse of what a Spanish mission was like in the 17th century. Ichetucknee Springs State Park houses the remains of Mission San Martin de Timucua, which provides information about the Camino Real and the missions it connected.
In anticipation of the possible beatification of the Florida Martyrs, the construction of a shrine in their honor has been announced in Tallahassee. There is currently a small oratory on the esplanade, which is already becoming a destination for the faithful and those interested in early American history.
The Camino Real in Florida, although less visible than its western counterparts, represents an important chapter in the Spanish colonial history of North America. Its study and reconstruction continue to shed light on the complex web of Spanish-Native interactions in colonial Florida. Despite the lack of substantial physical remains, the legacy of the Camino Real lives on in historical memory and in ongoing efforts to preserve and interpret this important cultural heritage.