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Although the Spanish did not really want Florida -- for there was no great source of wealth to be found there -- the easterly Atlantic trade winds are found at higher latitudes than the Caribbean. Getting back to Europe required coming north first and then tacking west off the North American coast. Spain needed a base at St. Augustine to support this navigation. The hard, practical realities of maritime empire made it necessary.

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Apr 30, 2023Liked by Theo Jordan

Beautiful, thank you for sharing. I just recently started following you, I knew you had something special and important to tell us. Keep up the good work.

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May 2, 2023Liked by Theo Jordan

Such an astonishing personal essay complete with eye-candy photos. I can actually feel the Almighty's presence viewing the photo of the chapel, via studying it. A Holy place, a place for quietude, a place in which to seek God, and what a wonderful place to have children baptized. I'm familiar with St. Augustine in general, but only cursorily. Your essay broadens my scope on the subject. Thank you, Theo, our prime intellectual and photographer, too, it appears, and is.

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