Padre Island

Padre Island is a long, narrow barrier island off the Texas coast, separating the Gulf of Mexico from the shallow waters of the Laguna Madre. Its sandy shore lies along a maritime route once traveled by Spanish ships carrying goods from New Spain. Indigenous peoples visited and inhabited the island before colonial settlement.

In April 1554 a storm drove three Spanish ships ashore on the island. The wrecks left survivors on a coast far from Spanish settlements; parties were sent to report the disaster and organize salvage, while others faced a difficult journey along the coast. The ships and their cargoes reveal both the wealth carried across the Gulf and the danger posed by storms and low, difficult shores to vessels navigating its waters.