More than 400 years ago explorer Tristan de Luna had some ambitious plans—he was going to establish the first permanent Spanish settlement in a land called Florida, and use this base to explore North America and spread the Christian religion.
In June 1559 de Luna and 1,500 colonists, soldiers, and friars boarded a dozen ships in Veracruz, Mexico, expecting to reach their destination in two weeks. But it was a raucous summer on the Gulf of Mexico, and for two months storms blew de Luna's fleet back and forth across the water.
In mid-August, the sea-weary settlers finally landed near what is now Pensacola. Most of their food was gone, and many of their horses had been killed in the long, tempestuous crossing.
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