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Abstract
The remote Spanish outpost of Fort San Marcos de Apalache served the frontier trade interests of Spain from the early 1600s to the early 1820s. Established first as a port for exports from the Apalachee Province, the fort remained the only long-term military outpost of colonial Spanish Florida between the larger settlements of St. Augustine and Pensacola. This thesis examines the historical role of the fort and the archaeological assemblage collected through four separate archaeological projects. Utilizing both historical and archaeological information, this thesis examines the fort’s role in the Spanish frontier trade with Native American groups and the significance of the relationships that developed between the Spanish and the Native Americans in West Florida during the colonial era.
