Spanish Muskets

[deepcreekdale]

I think the main reason the Spanish have been written out of our history might be a little guilt over the fact they helped us in the Revolution (If General Galvez had not taken Pensacola from the British, Cornwallis would not have needed to retreat to Yorktown and almost all the powder used in the continental army was from Spain) then we basically seized Florida from them when they were tied up fighting Napolean. You always hate most those you have cheated. Although I had a feral hog on my front porch a few nights ago and he didn't seem to have much of a Spanish accent any more.

[Tacksman45]

Just finished one for a customer. Nice collection of parts, no major problems with it. Do watch your barrel though. They use a somewhat generic Colerain barrel, though, it is a  few inches too long and has a wedding band between the octagon and round where it should be a gradual transition. Easily shortened and the transition area is easily fixed with a file and some draw filing.
My friend Guido is right, it is listed in the catalog as a 1752 model, it was changed a little over it's production run, iron vs brass, wood vs steel ramrod. And I whole heartedly agree, the patilla or miquelet lock is far more reliable and stronger than the french/english/german style of lock.

Absolutely gorgeous work as always Dale!

[DavidC]

I think the Spanish just don't very good representation in television or film as far as the colonial era goes. By the 19th century we equate Spain with mexico in most media so there's a lot of animosity there, plus they're the most associated with native American deaths and slavery, and rightfully so. It feels a bit like celebrating imperial Germany pre-wwi even if you know that empire had nothing to do with the Chaplin impersonator.

I would be interested in more Spanish rifles as I know nothing about them. And that musket is great looking.

[alacran]

I think the Spanish just don't very good representation in television or film as far as the colonial era goes. By the 19th century we equate Spain with mexico in most media so there's a lot of animosity there, plus they're the most associated with native American deaths and slavery, and rightfully so. It feels a bit like celebrating imperial Germany pre-wwi even if you know that empire had nothing to do with the Chaplin impersonator.

I would be interested in more Spanish rifles as I know nothing about them. And that musket is great looking.

The AWI was a civil war. Englishmen fighting Englishmen. The Bourbon kings were happy to help one side against the other. Neither France or Spain was advocating the dissolution of monarquies. It was more of the enemy of my enemy is my fried.
By the same token the English colonists would take help wherever they could get it. A marriage of convenience if you will.
As Dale points out, without the fall of Pensacola, at the hands of the Spanish Governor of Louisiana, Bernardo de Galvez, Yorktown would have not happened.
Once the war was over we almost went to war against France. The Spanish became the dreaded Papists. Never mind that the English were Papists before Henry VIII was King. The animosity towards Spain has its roots to that period.
As far as Native American deaths and slavery goes, you have got to be kidding me.

[DavidC]

I don't see how the kingdom responsible for the overwhelming majority of all black slavery in the Americas and with the highest death toll on native Americans is a joke.

And modern animosity toward colonial Spain is most certainly not rooted in events about which people are entirely ignorant. Little distinction is drawn in educational literature between colonial Spain and the countries that eventual developed from Spain's colonial holdings. Columbus's treatment in recent times are a good microcosm for why a celebration of Spanish and Hispanic heritage from the colonial era seems unlikely, especially given that the majority of Americans with ties to the colonial northeast have no Hispanic ties themselves.

There is an abundance of literature on the relationships between colonial powers and American history with Spain receiving the same marginalized treatment that the Korean war gets in modern educational curricula; Spain is dismissed as an ever present economic bugaboo until it mystically becomes Mexico and then ceases to be relevant.

I'm not arguing this is morally right, I'm noting observations based on more recent educational experience than many of the people on this forum.

Que sera, sera

[alacran]

Spain mystically becomes Mexico? The half million Mexicans that died fighting an 11 year for independence from Spain would beg to differ.
The English were as responsible as Spain was for black slavery in the Americas, as well as all other European colonial powers.
 All this being said it really has little to do with Spanish muskets.
It is getting close to being a political discussion and I suggest we can carry it on by way of PMs, if you wish to do so.

[DavidC]

I agree, I don't want to ruin the mystique of a nice gun and something from the rifle shoppe to boot. In my parts the rifle Shoppe is almost a myth as their kits seem to be years out before FedEx even has the chance to turn the stocks into jigsaw puzzles.