“Some people, moved by malice and excessive envy, have accused Spain of having brought dominion over the whole of the New World at no greater outlay of fortune than the expenditure of stupid and persistent madmen.”
Calderon’s Company is a group of “living-history”
volunteers based at De Soto National Memorial, in Bradenton, Florida. The
organization is named after Captain Pedro Calderón, who was left
in charge of the base camp and port with approximately 100 soldiers and
sailors, when Hernando de Soto began his entrada into La Florida in June
of 1539. Members of the company have since 1993 researched, constructed
arms and armor, and portrayed the garrison life of these sixteenth-century
conquistadors in the Tampa Bay area. Additionally, Calderon’s Company has
done public demonstrations at the De Soto Winter Encampment site in Tallahassee
and at various State Parks and museums throughout Florida. As well, the
group also frequently participates as an artillery unit at sixteenth century
reenactments in St. Augustine.
Photo Galleries
De Soto 2000
The 16th Century Spanish equivalent of the ACW "Gettysburg," well, with
100 living historians at least!
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