Accession Number

1986.008.3031

Creation Date

circa 1620

Description

This five-pronged (three broken), iron fish spear from the wreck of the 1622 galleon Santa Margarita is 33.5 centimeters long. The iron was too corroded for display, and a resin cast was made. This spear was once mounted on a wooden shaft and would have been used by sailors and others to catch fish swimming alongside. Considering that fresh meat was scarce on a ship with no refrigeration, fish would have been a welcome addition to the shipboard fare. This is device is similar to the trident that the ancient god Neptune/Poseidon carried, but with five prongs the Margarita spear is a “pentadent.” 

Exhibition Label

Case Caption (2023):

Loading Provisions

Juan de Veas, aboard the Santa Margarita, and Diego de Medina, on the Nuestra Señora de Atocha held the posts of steward on their respective ships. In every port these officers would go ashore to bargain with local merchants for water, wine, cheese, and barrels of pork or beef preserved in salt. These were the basics of the crews’ diet, and it was up to each steward to purchase enough provisions without exceeding his budget for the voyage. Fishing was only an option if the ships were becalmed.

Officers and well-to-do passengers paid the stewards to buy them better provisions. The bottle tops found on the ships would have capped glass bottles holding brandy or fortified wine. In Havana, the stewards would have purchased live animals to be butchered during the voyage, ranging from cattle and hogs to chickens and turtles. These were expensive and
took up valuable space, but fresh meat was far preferable to salted.

Seeds from pumpkins, squash, chili peppers and olives, as well as nuts and dried fruit would have added some variety. However, rats, roaches, and other pests constantly attacked and contaminated the food, as the gnawed hazelnut shells indicate here.
Object Caption (2023):

Fish Spear
Hemp with reconstruction (c.1620)
Gift of Jamestown Inc.
1986.008.3031