A Comfortable Life on the Spanish Frontier

Daily life for Spaniards at San Luis was not unlike that in other Hispanic communities. Shoemakers and tailors plied their trades. Off-duty soldiers drank wine, played at cards or dice, and stringed guitars or similar stringed instruments known as vihuelas. The village was alive with sounds and smells: roosters crowing, dogs barking, and stews cooking. Spaniards successfully introduced European plants and animals such as cattle, pigs, chickens, peaches, wheat, and peas. They also imported wine, olives, olive oil, and other basic Mediterranean foods that could not be locally produced. Spaniards set their tables with dishes from Mexico and the Orient and adorned themselves with fine European clothing and jewelry.

Tallahassee, Florida · United States