The French Thorn
Rival Explorers in the Spanish Sea, 1682-1762
978-0-89096-480-4 Cloth
6 x 9 x 0 in
448 pp. 6 b&w photos., 20 maps., Gloss.
Pub Date: 11/01/1991
Available
BUY NOW
- Cloth $49.50 s
There followed eighty years of territorial rivalry during which Spain and France alternated from symbiotic alliance to actual warfare. The French presence served repeatedly as a spur to Spanish exploration and settlement of the coastal region from Tampico to peninsular Florida. France, meanwhile, sought expansion on either side of its Mississippi wedge, deftly driven between the Spanish claims east and west, until a third rival, the English, terminated the French tenure in America.
The French Thorn--sequel to Weddle's Spanish Sea--is more than a history of exploration rivalry. In artful prose the author recreates the drama and pathos of La Salle; the vitality of Iberville and Escandon; and the dash and daring of Saint-Denis. He takes the reader on venturesome sea voyages in wooden ships; across the coastal plains with colorful Spanish entradas; and up pristine rivers with the French voyageurs.
Reproductions of twenty French and Spanish maps from the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries enhance Weddle's information. Well-documented and readable, The French Thorn will appeal to anyone interested in this time and place in history, from the formal historian to the exploration enthusiast.
About the Author
Published by Texas A&M University Press