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186
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2019
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Publié par
Date de parution
13 novembre 2019
Nombre de lectures
0
EAN13
9781643360157
Langue
English
Poids de l'ouvrage
5 Mo
The Gulf of Mexico presents a compelling, salt-streaked narrative of the earth's tenth largest body of water. In this beautifully written and illustrated volume, John S. Sledge explores the people, ships, and cities that have made the Gulf's human history and culture so rich. Many famous figures who sailed the Gulf's viridian waters are highlighted, including Ponce de León, Robert Cavelier de La Salle, Francis Drake, Elizabeth Agassiz, Ernest Hemingway, and Charles Dwight Sigsbee at the helm of the doomed Maine. Sledge also introduces a fascinating array of people connected to maritime life in the Gulf, among them Maya priests, French pirates, African American stevedores, and Greek sponge divers.
Gulf events of global historical importance are detailed, such as the only defeat of armed and armored steamships by wooden sailing vessels, the first accurate deep-sea survey and bathymetric map of any ocean basin, the development of shipping containers by a former truck driver frustrated with antiquated loading practices, and the worst environmental disaster in American annals.
Occasionally shifting focus ashore, Sledge explains how people representing a gumbo of ethnicities built some of the world's most exotic cities—Havana, way station for conquistadores and treasure-filled galleons; New Orleans, the Big Easy, famous for its beautiful French Quarter, Mardi Gras, and relaxed morals; and oft-besieged Veracruz, Mexico's oldest city, founded in 1519 by Hernán Cortés. Throughout history the residents of these cities and their neighbors along the littoral have struggled with challenges both natural and human-induced—devastating hurricanes, frightening epidemics, catastrophic oil spills, and conflicts ranging from dockside brawls to pirate raids, foreign invasion, civil war, and revolution. In the modern era the Gulf has become critical to energy production, fisheries, tourism, and international trade, even as it is threatened by pollution and climate change. The Gulf of Mexico: A Maritime History is a work of verve and sweep that illuminates both the risks of life on the water and the riches that come from its bounty.
Publié par
Date de parution
13 novembre 2019
Nombre de lectures
0
EAN13
9781643360157
Langue
English
Poids de l'ouvrage
5 Mo
The Gulf of Mexico
The Gulf of Mexico by Nicholas Holmes III, 2017.
The Gulf of Mexico
A Maritime History
John S. Sledge
2019 University of South Carolina
The Gulf of Mexico map by Nicholas H. Holmes III 2017
Published by the University of South Carolina Press
Columbia, South Carolina 29208
www.sc.edu/uscpress
28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data can be found at http://catalog.loc.gov/ .
ISBN 978-1-64336-014-0 (cloth)
ISBN 978-1-64336-015-7 (ebook)
Publication of this book was made possible through the generosity of the A. S. Mitchell Foundation, Mobile, Alabama.
FRONT COVER ILLUSTRATIONS : (top) the Gulf coast photographed by crew member of Expedition 58 of the International Space Station, 2019; (bottom) Carte d une partie des c tes de la Floride et de la Louisiane , 1778, courtesy of the Library of Congress
In memory of my cousins:
Mack Clarke, who fell off a shrimp boat and drowned in the Gulf, 1986
Terry Clarke, who died of a heart attack during Hurricane Georges, 1998
Shadows lengthen; and at last the woods dwindle behind you into thin bluish lines;-land and water alike take more luminous color;-lakes link themselves with sea-bays;-and the ocean-wind bursts upon you,-keen, cool, and full of light.
Lafcadio Hearn, Chita , 1889
Contents
List of Illustrations
Acknowledgments
Prologue: Small Craft Advisory
Introduction: The ungovernable Gulf
Chapter One
Indian Shore
Chapter Two
Spanish Sea
Chapter Three
Colonial Crossroads
Chapter Four
Pirates Haunt
Chapter Five
King Cotton s Pond
Chapter Six
Violent Sea
Chapter Seven
American Sea
Chapter Eight
Blowout!
Epilogue: The Wreck of the Rachel
Notes
Bibliography
Index
Illustrations
The Gulf of Mexico
Destin Harbor, 1974
The Gulf s seafloor
Coconut palm
Mangrove trees
Bah a de Tampa, 1809
A Chart of the Gulf Stream
Hurricane Ivan s awesome waves
How They Build Their Boats
A Mayan lighthouse
Hern n Cort s
Sophisticated Havana
View of the Camp of the Concession of Monseigneur Law
A Plan of the Siege of the Havana
Map of the Province of West Florida
A View of Pensacola
Jean Laffite
William C. C. Claiborne
USS Peacock overhauls pirates
New Orleans waterfront
Matagorda, Texas
Veracruz
Tobacco label
The Great Naval Blockade of Round Island
Raphael Semmes, ca. 1862
The USS Maine is destroyed
Sounding machine
Sponge diver
Boys tonging oysters, Mobile Bay, 1911
American ships at Veracruz, 1914
The Gulf of Mexico s first offshore oil rig
Song-n-Dance Girl
The wreck of the Rachel
following page 86
Watson and the Shark
A Norther in the Gulf of Mexico
A Mayan coastal village
La Florida , 1584
Floridae Americae Provinciae , 1591
Mexicque, ou Nouvelle Espagne , 1656
Joliet s map , 1674
Carte general de toute la c te de la Louisianne , 1747
Carte d une partie des c tes de la Floride et de la Louisiane , 1778
A new map of North America , 1763
A Plan of the Harbour of Pensacola , 1764
Carte r duite des c tes et de l interieur de la presqu le de la Floride , 1780
Plano y explicaci n del Real Astillero de la Habana
V e perspective de la ville de St. Fran ois de Campeche
Louisiana , Mathew Carey, 1814
Plan of the entrance of Barataria , 1813
Battle of Lake Borgne
Plan of the mouths of the Mississipi , 1813
Die Balize an der M ndung des Missisippi , 1828-35
Veracruz , 1869
Map of the United States of North America , 1839
Landing of the American forces under Genl. Scott, at Vera Cruz
following page 146
Scene in Vera Cruz during the bombardment
Cuba in 1851
Panorama of the seat of war: bird s eye view of Texas and part of Mexico
U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey, Gulf of Mexico
Oyster Boat, Mobile Bay
United Fruit Co. s Steamship Lines and Connections
This is what happens when you talk to others about ship sailings
Shrimp boats at Bayou La Batre, Ala.
Container ship at Mobile, Ala.
Tanker Mega Borg incident
Deepwater Horizon Incident map
View of Havana
Acknowledgments
First, my profoundest thanks go to Joseph Meaher and the trustees of the A. S. Mitchell Foundation, whose generous support made this book possible. When I told Cap n Joe that I wanted to write a maritime history of the Gulf, he immediately asked how the Foundation could help further the project. He also asked if I planned to cover Cabeza de Vaca s epic odyssey along our shores, and I assured him that I did!
I am grateful as well to the many people who expressed their sincere interest during my research phase and shared their rich tidbits of Gulf lore. Jody Kamins Harper made available her extensive interviews with family member Charlie Bodden, whom she had the foresight to record as he recalled working some of the Gulf s last lumber schooners. Retired Orange Beach charter boat captain Earl Callaway graciously spent an entire day taking me around the Alabama shore and regaling me with the most wonderful stories. He is a man of parts. Former Destin History and Fishing Museum executive director Kathy Marler Blue provided valuable insight into charter fishing s early days, and John Ray Nelson of Bon Secour Fisheries told me about his century-plus-old company and life on board Mobile Bay sailing luggers. John Dindo showed me around the Dauphin Island Sea Lab, and his wife, Charlene Dindo, thoughtfully gave a copy of my earlier book on the Mobile River to the legendary naturalist E. O. Wilson, who knows the central Gulf Coast well. I am also indebted to Greg Anderson, Dave Berault, Jack E. Davis, Hardy Jackson, Mike Feore, Watt Key, John Hunter, David Smithweck, Jim Delgado, Ken Cooper, Margaret Long, and Michael Shipler for much good information. Lincoln Paine s thoughts on maritime history in general and its pursuit as a field of study helped me stay focused during many long months of composition.
Among the individuals and institutions to which I am indebted are retired director Greg Waselkov, Bonnie Gums, and Sarah Mattics of the Center for Archaeological Studies, University of South Alabama; past director Tony Zodrow and former chair E. B. Peebles III at GulfQuest National Maritime Museum of the Gulf of Mexico; Amy Raley, education manager at GulfQuest; Jocko Potts, Stephen Potts, Anita Miller, Maggie Lacey, Lawren Largue, Chelsea (Capability) Adams, and Breck Pappas of Mobile Bay magazine; director Jimmy Lyons, Judy Adams, harbormaster Terry Gilbreath, and Maria Conchita Mendez at the Alabama Port Authority; Kelly Barfoot at the Mobile Bay National Estuarine Program; Mike Bunn at Blakeley State Park; Gail Walker Graham at the Orange Beach Indian and Sea Museum; Siva Blake at the Civil District Court, Orleans Parish; Germaine Bienvenu, LSU Libraries; Rebecca Smith, Historic New Orleans Collection; Katie Barry at the Stark Museum of Art in Orange, Texas; Barbara Howard at the Harte Research Institute for Gulf of Mexico Studies in Corpus Christie; Julio Larramendi, Honors College, University of Alabama; Melinda Rose, photographer; Michael Mastro, photographer; Tina McDowell at the Carnegie Institution of Science in Washington, D.C.; and Emerson Hunton and John Powell at the Newberry Library, Chicago. All of these wonderful people took time out of their busy schedules to help me on my way. If I can ever return the favor, I certainly will.
As always, I hold my friends dear. Eugene LeVert was a wonderful sounding board on nautical matters. Scotty Kirkland was never too busy to discuss the finer points of reading and writing history. Nick Beeson was a rock, obtaining highresolution photographs from a dozen sources and remaining good-humored throughout what must have been far too many intrusions. Grey Redditt Jr. was always ready to talk about Havana, David and Simona Newell took my wife, Lynn, and me on several unforgettable trips up coastal rivers, across choppy bays, and even out onto the heaving Gulf itself on board their handsome Stauter-Built boat, Roy Hoffman never failed with sage literary advice, Nick Holmes III happily agreed to draw the very fine Gulf of Mexico map to go with this book, and his secretary, Margaret Davis, helped facilitate.
I feel fortunate indeed to have a publishing home with the University of South Carolina Press. Former director Jonathan Haupt pounced on this book the minute I inquired, and incoming director Richard Brown was equally enthusiastic. A writer doesn t get that every day. Assistant Director for Operations Linda Haines Fogle (recently retired) and Marketing and Sales Director Suzanne Axland were always generous with their time and never failed to make me laugh. Their professionalism is exceeded only by their good cheer. I am also grateful for the anonymous readers close attention to the manuscript.
Lastly, my family has been terrific. My mother, Jeanne Sledge, read the manuscript as I wrote each chapter and offered encouragement as well as suggested improvements. Lynn edited it with her usual nuance and care, while our children, Matthew and Elena, both grown and living in Birmingham, were admirably patient with a father who was often preoccupied by the past. My younger brother, Henry, his wife, Andrea, and their son, Jack, all love the Gulf and go there frequently, and their early enthusiasm was much appre
