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The ancient history of the Keys was my first subject in Keys history. I found little on the 1500s, 1600s, and 1700s, what I call "the forgotten three centuries." I was told at the beginning by another historian that "there's nothing there" to study. But, armed with the knowledge of the two treasure fleets wrecked in the Keys, in 1622 and 1733, I suspected there was indeed "something there" and have now researched hundreds of events at the Keys before 1800. It has proved to be the most dramatic, varied history in the entire Western Hemisphere, due to the presence of the Florida Indians, the nearness of Havana, the frequent hurricans, and the shipping route past the Keys.
I am still working on my "Chronology of the Florida Keys, 1500-1800" and someday will publish same. I also have plans to write about the many British warships at the Keys that I found in that research.
The following work is available here in PDF format. You must have Adobe Acrobat Reader software installed on your computer in order to view these documents. Acrobat Reader is free and is available for download here.
Documents will open in a new window:
- 1716 - English Pirates off Key Biscayne
- The Florida Keys 450 Years Ago: Fontenada's Memoir
- 1817 Pirate Ship Wrecked on Keys Reef
- 1816 & 1817 - Pirate Luis Aury
- Bahamian Woodcutters
- Matecumbe Attack
- Wrecking of HMS Fly
- 1586 - Looking for Sir Francis Drake
- Search for the Angustius of 1733
- Mel Fisher's Matecumbe Search
- Julia Island Finds of the 1600s Era
- The Dutch at the Dry Tortugas
- American Revolution at the Florida Keys
- Compilation of Ship's Logs, HMS Winchester
- Key Largo's Name
- 1770 - Grounding of HMS Carysfort
- 1769 - Loss of the Ledbury
- 1742 - The English Meet a Spanish Fleet
- 1748 - Court Martial in England: Loss of H.M.S. Fowey
- The War of Jenkins' Ear
- Treasure in Trees and in the Sand
- Mel Fisher & Me
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