The Georgia Martyrs (set of 5 portraits)

The Five Georgia Martyrs were Fransciscan missionaries from Spain who arrived in coastal North America (at the time, part of Spanish Florida) and not long after the founding of St. Augustine in 1565.

Missions were established on St. Simon’s Island, St. Catherine’s Island, and Jekyll Island in present-day Georgia, and by all accounts they maintained a peaceful and harmonious existence with the Guale Native Americans. That harmony came to an abrupt end in the summer of 1597 when one of the young chieftains, Juanillo, who had been baptized into the faith, took a second wife. Father Pedro de Corpa rebuked the young leader for this decision.

This ultimately led to a revolt, which swiftly led to the death of Father de Corpa. Within three days, five of the six Franciscan missionaries were dead, and the sixth one, Francisco de Avila, endured torture before being released after negotiations by a Spanish officer from St. Augustine. Father de Avila later attested to the faithfulness and bravery of his fellow Franciscans as each faced imminent death.

• Dimensions: set of 5, each 8 x 10 in. image on 9 x 12 in. paper

• Archival pigment print on acid-free 100 lb. FLO paper, satin finish

• Open edition

• Hand-signed by the author

• Unframed

• Watermarks will not appear on your prints