Source: Photo on site in St. Augustine, Florida, by WTL© (2015)
Image Comments: This ship, docked in the Harbor of St. Augustine on the occasion of the 450th anniversary of the founding of the city, is an authentic replica of a Spanish galleon, and it is known as El Galeón Español. In fact, the name of this ship is El Galeón Andalucía, but represents the galleon that Menéndez de Avilés commanded on his colonization voyage from Spain to Puerto Rico to Florida in 1565. Menéndez's galleon 450 years ago was named the San Pelayo, for the Asturian king who defeated the Moors in the famous historical battle at Covadonga in northern Spain in 722 C.E., the proto-Spanish victory that stopped the Moors complete conquest of the Iberian Peninsula. The ship you see here has sailed more than 40,000 nautical miles. It's maiden voyage occurred immediately after it was launched in 2010 when it sailed from Spain to Shanghai, China. Professor Bobby Hom (the man in the pink shirt at the entrance kiosk on the dock) of Santa Fe College helps us gauge the size of this galleon. Note that historians attribute a large measure of the success of Spain's first phase in creating its vast world-encircling empire (1492 - 1825) to the imposing qualities of this vessel.
Humanities Question: In a short paragraph, give your first impressions of this ship.