Florida's First Catholic Martyrs
Posted by: 
Markerman62
N 27° 56.411 W 082° 27.610
17R E 356344 N 3091433
Replacement marker located on Bayshore Boulevard at the Tarpon Weigh Station/Jose Gaspar ship, Tampa
Waymark Code: WM14ZVQ
Location: Florida, United States
Date Posted: 09/19/2021
Views: 1
Somewhere along the shores of Tampa Bay during the summer of 1549, Catholic priest (from the Dominican Order) Fray Luis Cancer de Barbastro, fellow Dominican priest Fray Diego de Tolosa, and an oblate named Fuentes, were killed by a group of local Native Americans. The two priests and the layman came to the Gulf coast on a mission to peacefully convert the Florida Natives to Christianity. Previous Spanish incursions into the Tampa Bay area were marked by violence toward the indigenous population, making them suspicious of any non-Natives. Despite instructions to the ship's pilot to avoid areas with previous Spanish contacts, the Dominicans' ship sailed directly to Tampa Bay, sealing the fate of Fray Luis and his companions.
Marker Number: None
Date: 2021
County: Hillsborough
Marker Type: City
Sponsored or placed by: Originally erected by the Hillsborough County Historical Commission-Replacement marker erected by the Hillsborough County Historical Advisory Council
Website: Not listed
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