Castillo de San Marcos
St. Augustine, FL
March 31, 2022
Description:
Castillo de San Marcos stands today as a monument to the Spanish empire’s 300-year occupation of Florida and to the interaction and clashes of cultural groups that built the unified nation that is the United States today. This historic monument was constructed to protect Spain’s settlement in St. Augustine. Castillo de San Marcos is both architecturally impressive as the oldest surviving masonry fortress in the United States and culturally significant because its stone walls are a testament to the endurance of this nation’s Latino heritage and to the other cultural groups that have played a role in its story. The Castillo illustrates the resourcefulness of the Spanish and their capable military engineers in the New World and the history and cultural influences of various groups associated with the site.
Exterior 1
Exterior 2
Artifact 1
In the image above, there is a point on the fort. It extends off from the original square structure. These is called bastions and are located on all of the 4 sides of the Castillo de San Marcos. These bastions enable there to be absolutely no blind spots where enemies could hide. There used to be guards on all of the corners so all the land below could be seen.
Artifact 2
The photo above includes an artifact titled the "Sizzling Salvo". This was used by the soldiers as a way to heat cannonballs until they are glowing. During a naval attack, one soldier tends the coal fire and loads the cannonball. After 30 minutes the other soldiers would remove the red hot shots with tongs. The cannonballs would then be shot at the enemy's ship. Although, soldiers never fired these hot cannonballs during battle.
In Conversation 1
Fort Ticonderoga is another significant fort, like Castillo de San Marcos. The fort pictured above is located in the state of New York in Lake Champlain. Fort Ticonderoga was in use during the Revolutionary war. Since it was in Northern New York, it secured a passageway north to Canada and gave the patriots an important cache of artillery. This structure, as well as the Castillo de San Marcos have bastions, which allow there to be no blind spots of the land down below. These bastions aided during battle since there is the ability to see if anyone were to sneak up upon them.
In Conversation 2
Above, I have inserted a picture of a map in one of the childhood tv shows (Avatar The Last Airbender) I used to watch. When I learned that the community had to live inside the Castillo de San Marcos, I immediately thought of how the city of Ba Sing Se lived inside the inner walls of the city. It is somewhat similar due to both communities, the Spanish and the citizens of Ba Sing Se, living inside their little "cities" in order for their own protection.
Literature In Conversation
"Crazy to live without a wall to protect you" -Octavia Butler, Parable of the Sower, page 8
This quote may be short but it has a lot of impact behind it. In the Parable of the Sower, Lauren lived in the walls of her community/neighborhood. They lived surrounded by walls for the entire neighborhood's safety. Which is why I related "living with walls" to the Castillo de San Marcos. The soldiers and the community had to live within the walls of the fort in order to have protection from enemies. This living situation was not permanent because they were able to venture out as time passed.
Creative Component
For the creative component for the Castillo de San Marcos, I did a digital drawing of an overhead view of the fort. For this digital drawing, I used the app procreate and I was able to make use of the different brushes they offer and different textures. This drawing was my first thought to make because I have always seen pictures of the Castillo de San Marcos so I decided to make one.
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