Presentation Title: “The Galveztown Replica Project”
Speaker: Dr. Sam Turner, LAMP
When: Tuesday, October 13th, 2009, at 7:00 pm
Where: Bowden Building located at 120 Church St., Pensacola, Florida
Sponsored by: Pensacola Archaeological Society
The Galveztown Replica Project is a collaborative project between the Astilleros Nereo, a shipyard in Málaga, Spain, and the St. Augustine Lighthouse & Museum in St. Augustine, Florida. The project, conceived at the Astilleros Nereo entails the building of a full scale, 18th century sailing brig, representative of the Galveztown of Bernardo de Gálvez using historical and archaeological data to achieve a high degree of historical accuracy. The purpose of the project is to illuminate the life and achievements of Málaga’s famous native son, Bernardo de Gálvez, and to highlight Spain’s contribution to the American Revolutionary War effort and its ultimate success.
The role of Spain, lead by Bernardo de Gálvez during his tenure as Governor of Spanish Louisiana, as an ally of the American colonies in their efforts to achieve independence has been overshadowed by the efforts of France that were themselves funded in part by Spain. The Project is intended to address this historical imbalance and to be a vehicle for building good relations between citizens of Spain and the United States in the same spirit as the Spanish-American alliance of the Revolutionary War. Therefore the Project has a United States based collaborative effort in the form of a partnership with the St. Augustine Lighthouse & Museum.