La Florida in the Little Ice Age

The Spanish conquests in the New World took place in the 16th century during a period of cooler drier climate in the Northern Hemisphere. Known as the “Little Ice Age”, it lasted from about 1300 to about 1850. Evidence of it is seen in tree ring data and in its many historical impacts on agriculture and other human endeavors. In his account of the Narváez expedition, Cabeza de Vaca describes the natural environment at Apalache (Tallahassee, FL area) during June and July in 1528, and makes the surprising comment that, “There, the country is very cold.” It surely was cooler on average during the LIA relative to modern times, at least in the Northern Hemisphere. And the Florida panhandle was no doubt cooler than Cuba or Central Florida, where these men had recently come from. Why does this matter for the Narváez history? After six weeks of boat building near St. Marks, FL, they departed on October 2 (modern Gregorian calendar is 10 days later than their Julian calendar) westward along the coast toward Mexico. Their five boats were finally wrecked on the northern coast of Texas around November 16 after delays of a week or so due to cold northerly winds. Had they reached that point a month earlier, more favorable conditions might have allowed them to regather their strength and continue along the coast as it angled more southward. But the die was cast, and all but four perished on or near that coast.

Source: Wikipedia