This bronze cannon, from the collection of Musée de l’Armée (Museum of the Army) in Paris, France, bears the crest of the French King Henry II, who reigned from 1547 to 1559. It has “1548” cast into its surface at the breech, indicating the year this gun was manufactured. It also displays two bows w/broken bowstrings surrounding a crescent moon, representing the Roman goddess Diana, included to honor the King’s mistress, Diane de Poitiers. This cannon & its iconography is very similar to a cannon discovered on the wreck of a French ship found off the coast of Cape Canaveral, believed to be the wreck of La Trinité, the flagship of Jean Ribault. Ribault commanded a fleet of 7 ships sent by French King Charles IX in 1565 to re-supply the French settlement of Fort Caroline, at present-day Jacksonville, FL. Instead a massive & sudden storm wrecked his fleet, & the Spanish led by Pedro Menendez conquered the French fort and secured the territory of La Florida for the Spanish crown with St. Augustine as its capital.
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