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San Luis de Talimali was among the largest and most important missions in Spanish Florida. Its parishioners were Apalachee Indians who were descendants of the people whose village Hernando de Soto appropriated during the winter of 1539-1540. Although these Apalachee remained fiercely hostile to Spaniards through the rest of the sixteenth century, some of their principal leaders gave obedience to the Spanish governor and asked for friars in 1608. Unlike conversion in much of Spanish America, that among the Apalachee appears to have been voluntary. San Luis was among the first missions to be established when the formal Franciscan effort began in Apalachee in 1633. The mission moved to its present site in 1656 at the request of Spanish military authorities, who placed a blockhouse and small garrison there (1). Recognized as the western capital of La Florida, San Luis was home to a Spanish deputy-governor and one of Apalachee's most powerful chiefs. With the development of ranching beginning in the 1670s, San Luis also became the site of Florida's only sizeable European community beyond St. Augustine. The State of Florida purchased San Luis in 1983, and initiated a full-time program of archaeological and historical research. It is now the most thoroughly investigated mission in Spanish Florida. Ten years ago, after amassing a considerable amount of painstaking research, we reached a critical juncture and had to determine the scope and form our future endeavors would take. Beyond scholarly publications and presentations, we wanted to exploit the potential of San Luis as an instrument of public education. Museum profession als proposed that we take full advantage of our outdoor setting and develop a living history program, a suggestion which is currently being implemented. The immediacy and nonabstract nature of reconstructions, combined with the sights, sounds, and smells of the past brought to life, will engage visitors of all ages and from all walks of life in the learning process. The first phase of reconstruction at San Luis required the combined talents of archaeologists and historians. For archaeolo gists, buildings represent extremely complex artifacts that combine an infinite number of attributes. The interpretation of archaeologically defined structures becomes increasingly complicated in a pluralistic community, such as San Luis, with European planners and a native labor force. From a historical perspective, there was more to be learned about Indian buildings in Spanish documents than there was about European structures. No doubt Spaniards took their own architecture for granted. |
