{"product_id":"an-early-florida-adventure-story-john-h-hann-9780813081434","title":"An Early Florida Adventure Story: The Fray Andrés de San Miguel Account","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eA rare eyewitness account of a journey from Spain to the Americas during the Spanish colonial period\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAmong\u003cbr\u003e documents of Florida's Spanish colonial period, few eyewitness accounts\u003cbr\u003e exist. One of these, the 1595 narrative by Fray Andrés de San Miguel, \u003cbr\u003eexpertly translated into English by John Hann, describes the two-year \u003cbr\u003eodyssey of a teenager from Spain across the Atlantic to Mexico, Havana, \u003cbr\u003eand Florida and finally back to Spain. The future friar's account of his\u003cbr\u003e experiences as a young sailor brings to life the fleets of Spain and \u003cbr\u003ereveals how his journeys would change his life forever. It also provides\u003cbr\u003e vivid information about the Indigenous people of the Georgia and \u003cbr\u003eFlorida coast. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eAfter Andrés's ship passed Cape Canaveral, it was \u003cbr\u003ebattered by a four-day storm and separated from the fleet. The officers \u003cbr\u003ecommandeered the only launch and escaped; the crew kept the ship afloat \u003cbr\u003eand improvised a box-like vessel in which 30 survivors reached shore \u003cbr\u003enear the mouth of the Altamaha River--more dead than alive for lack of \u003cbr\u003efood and water. The author offers detailed descriptions of the Guale \u003cbr\u003eIndians and of Mission San Pedro Mocama on Cumberland Island. He also \u003cbr\u003eprovides vignettes of life in St. Augustine and, on his way to Havana, \u003cbr\u003eof encounters with South Florida Indians who came out to trade and with a\u003cbr\u003e gentlemanly English pirate. The adventure closes with Fray Andrés' \u003cbr\u003ereturn to Cadiz, Spain, where he witnessed the 1596 British siege and \u003cbr\u003eburning of that port. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eOnly seventeen years old at the time of \u003cbr\u003ethe voyage, Fray Andrés presents a cold-eyed view of the sailing \u003cbr\u003eexperience in the sixteenth century, trenchant observations of the \u003cbr\u003ebehavior of the ship's officers and the circumstances of the survival of\u003cbr\u003e the crew, and insight into the ambitions, concerns, and religiosity of \u003cbr\u003ethe Spaniards. The book includes Hann's translation of a brief \u003cbr\u003eintroductory essay written by Fray Andrés' Mexican publisher, telling of\u003cbr\u003e the young man's entry into the Carmelites and his later life as a \u003cbr\u003echurch architect, builder, and hydrographic expert involved in the \u003cbr\u003edrainage of the valley of Mexico City.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e John H. Hann,Fray Andrés de San Miguel\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 0813081432\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780813081434\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e University Press of Florida\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 12\/09\/2025\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 128\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback","brand":"John H. Hann","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":47424947683583,"sku":"9780813081434","price":24.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_805c665b-4677-4ec3-9df3-48df1e17dbfd.jpg?v=1761535962","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/an-early-florida-adventure-story-john-h-hann-9780813081434","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}