History of Florida
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The history of Florida can be traced to when the first Native Americans began to inhabit the peninsula as early as 14,000 years ago. They left behind artifacts and archeological evidence. Florida's
written history Recorded history or written history describes the historical events that have been recorded in a written form or other documented communication which are subsequently evaluated by historians using the historical method. For broader world his ...
begins with the arrival of Europeans; the Spanish explorer
Juan Ponce de León Juan Ponce de León (, , , ; 1474 – July 1521) was a Spanish explorer and '' conquistador'' known for leading the first official European expedition to Florida and for serving as the first governor of Puerto Rico. He was born in Santervá ...
in 1513 made the first textual records. The state received its name from that ''
conquistador Conquistadors (, ) or conquistadores (, ; meaning 'conquerors') were the explorer-soldiers of the Spanish and Portuguese Empires of the 15th and 16th centuries. During the Age of Discovery, conquistadors sailed beyond Europe to the Americas, O ...
'', who called the peninsula ''La Pascua Florida'' in recognition of the verdant landscape and because it was the Easter season, which the Spaniards called ''
Pascua Florida Pascua Florida (pronounced ) is a Spanish term that means "flowery festival" or "feast of flowers" and is an annual celebration of Juan Ponce de León's arrival in what is now the state of Florida. While the holiday is normally celebrated on Apri ...
'' (Festival of Flowers). This area was the first mainland realm of the United States to be settled by
Europeans Europeans are the focus of European ethnology, the field of anthropology related to the various ethnic groups that reside in the states of Europe. Groups may be defined by common genetic ancestry, common language, or both. Pan and Pfeil (2004) ...
. Thus, 1513 marked the beginning of the
American frontier The American frontier, also known as the Old West or the Wild West, encompasses the geography, history, folklore, and culture associated with the forward wave of United States territorial acquisitions, American expansion in mainland North Amer ...
. From that time of contact, Florida has had many waves of colonization and immigration, including French and Spanish settlement during the 16th century, as well as entry of new Native American groups migrating from elsewhere in the South, and free black people and fugitive slaves, who in the 19th century became allied with the Native Americans as
Black Seminoles The Black Seminoles, or Afro-Seminoles are Native American-Africans associated with the Seminole people in Florida and Oklahoma. They are mostly blood descendants of the Seminole people, free Africans, and escaped slaves, who allied with Seminol ...
. Florida was under colonial rule by
Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...
from the 16th century to the 19th century, and briefly by
Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...
during the 18th century (1763–1783) before becoming a
territory A territory is an area of land, sea, or space, particularly belonging or connected to a country, person, or animal. In international politics, a territory is usually either the total area from which a state may extract power resources or a ...
of the United States in 1821. Two decades later, on March 3, 1845, Florida was admitted to the Union as the 27th U.S. state. Florida is nicknamed the "Sunshine State" due to its warm climate and days of sunshine. Florida's sunny climate, many beaches, and growth of industries have attracted northern migrants within the United States, international migrants, and vacationers since the
Florida land boom of the 1920s The Florida land boom of the 1920s was Florida's first real estate bubble. This pioneering era of Florida land speculation lasted from 1924 to 1926 and attracted investors from all over the nation. The land boom left behind entirely new, planned ...
. A diverse population, urbanization, and a diverse economy would develop in Florida throughout the 20th century. In 2014, Florida with over 19 million people, surpassed New York and became the third most populous state in the U.S. The economy of Florida has changed over its history, starting with natural resource exploitation in logging, mining, fishing, and
sponge diving Sponge diving is underwater diving to collect soft natural sponges for human use. Background Most sponges are too rough for general use due to their structural spicules composed of calcium carbonate or silica. But two genera, ''Hippospongia'' ...
; as well as
cattle ranching A ranch (from es, rancho/Mexican Spanish) is an area of land, including various structures, given primarily to ranching, the practice of raising grazing livestock such as cattle and sheep. It is a subtype of a farm. These terms are most often ...
, farming, and citrus growing. The tourism, real estate, trade, banking, and retirement destination businesses would develop as economic sectors later on.


Early history


Geology

The foundation of Florida was located in the continent of
Gondwana Gondwana () was a large landmass, often referred to as a supercontinent, that formed during the late Neoproterozoic (about 550 million years ago) and began to break up during the Jurassic period (about 180 million years ago). The final stages ...
at the South Pole 650 million years ago (Mya). When Gondwana collided with the continent of
Laurentia Laurentia or the North American Craton is a large continental craton that forms the ancient geological core of North America. Many times in its past, Laurentia has been a separate continent, as it is now in the form of North America, althoug ...
300 Mya, it had moved further north. 200 Mya, the merged continents containing what would be Florida, had moved north of the equator. By then, Florida was surrounded by desert, in the middle of a new continent,
Pangaea Pangaea or Pangea () was a supercontinent that existed during the late Paleozoic and early Mesozoic eras. It assembled from the earlier continental units of Gondwana, Euramerica and Siberia during the Carboniferous approximately 335 million y ...
. When Pangaea broke up 115 mya, Florida assumed a shape as a peninsula. The emergent
landmass A landmass, or land mass, is a large region or area of land. The term is often used to refer to lands surrounded by an ocean or sea, such as a continent or a large island. In the field of geology, a landmass is a defined section of continental ...
of Florida was
Orange Island Orange Island was a rock band based out of the town Clinton, Massachusetts. Orange Island formed in 1996 when cousins Charles Young and Brendan Dickhaut started writing music together and had David Chouinard playing bass guitar. After writing song ...
, a low-relief island sitting atop the carbonate Florida Platform which emerged about 34 to 28 million years ago. When
glaciation A glacial period (alternatively glacial or glaciation) is an interval of time (thousands of years) within an ice age that is marked by colder temperatures and glacier advances. Interglacials, on the other hand, are periods of warmer climate betw ...
locked up the world's water, starting 2.58 million years ago, the sea level dropped precipitously. It was approximately lower than present levels. As a result, the Florida peninsula not only emerged, but had a land area about twice what it is today. Florida also had a drier and cooler climate than in more recent times. There were few flowing rivers or
wetland A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded or saturated by water, either permanently (for years or decades) or seasonally (for weeks or months). Flooding results in oxygen-free (anoxic) processes prevailing, especially in the soils. The ...
s.


First Floridians

Paleo-Indians entered what is now Florida at least 14,000 years ago, during the last glacial period. With lower sea levels, the Florida peninsula was much wider, and the climate was cooler and much drier than in the present day. Fresh water was available only in
sinkhole A sinkhole is a depression or hole in the ground caused by some form of collapse of the surface layer. The term is sometimes used to refer to doline, enclosed depressions that are locally also known as ''vrtače'' and shakeholes, and to openi ...
s and
limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...
catchment basins, and paleo-Indian activity centered around these relatively scarce watering holes. Sinkholes and basins in the beds of modern rivers (such as the Page-Ladson site in the
Aucilla River The Aucilla River rises in Brooks County, Georgia, USA, close to Thomasville, and passes through the Big Bend region of Florida, emptying into the Gulf of Mexico at Apalachee Bay. Some early maps called it the Ocilla River. It is long and h ...
) have yielded a rich trove of paleo-Indian artifacts, including Clovis points. Excavations at an ancient stone
quarry A quarry is a type of open-pit mine in which dimension stone, rock, construction aggregate, riprap, sand, gravel, or slate is excavated from the ground. The operation of quarries is regulated in some jurisdictions to reduce their envi ...
(the Container Corporation of America site in Marion County) yielded "crude stone implements" showing signs of extensive wear from deposits below those holding Paleo-Indian artifacts.
Thermoluminescence dating Thermoluminescence dating (TL) is the determination, by means of measuring the accumulated radiation dose, of the time elapsed since material containing crystalline minerals was either heated (lava, ceramics) or exposed to sunlight (sediments ...
and
weathering Weathering is the deterioration of rocks, soils and minerals as well as wood and artificial materials through contact with water, atmospheric gases, and biological organisms. Weathering occurs ''in situ'' (on site, with little or no movement), ...
analysis independently gave dates of 26,000 to 28,000 years ago for the creation of the artifacts. The findings are controversial, and funding has not been available for follow-up studies. As the glaciers began retreating about 8000
BCE Common Era (CE) and Before the Common Era (BCE) are year notations for the Gregorian calendar (and its predecessor, the Julian calendar), the world's most widely used calendar era. Common Era and Before the Common Era are alternatives to the or ...
, the climate of Florida became warmer and wetter. As the glaciers melted, the sea level rose, reducing the land mass. Many prehistoric habitation sites along the old coastline were slowly submerged, making artifacts from early coastal cultures difficult to find. The paleo-Indian culture was replaced by, or evolved into, the Early Archaic culture. With an increase in population and more water available, the people occupied many more locations, as evidenced by numerous artifacts.
Archaeologists Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...
have learned much about the Early Archaic people of Florida from the discoveries made at Windover Pond. The Early Archaic period evolved into the Middle Archaic period around 5000 BC. People started living in villages near wetlands and along the coast at favored sites that were likely occupied for multiple generations. The Late Archaic period started about 3000 BC, when Florida's climate had reached current conditions and the sea had risen close to its present level. People commonly occupied both fresh and saltwater wetlands. Large shell
middens A midden (also kitchen midden or shell heap) is an old dump for domestic waste which may consist of animal bone, human excrement, botanical material, mollusc shells, potsherds, lithics (especially debitage), and other artifacts and ecofac ...
accumulated during this period. Many people lived in large villages with purpose-built earthwork
mound A mound is a heaped pile of earth, gravel, sand, rocks, or debris. Most commonly, mounds are earthen formations such as hills and mountains, particularly if they appear artificial. A mound may be any rounded area of topographically higher el ...
s, such as at Horr's Island, which had the largest permanently occupied community in the Archaic period in the southeastern United States. It also has the oldest
burial mound Burial, also known as interment or inhumation, is a method of final disposition whereby a dead body is placed into the ground, sometimes with objects. This is usually accomplished by excavating a pit or trench, placing the deceased and objec ...
in the East, dating to about 1450 BC. People began making fired pottery in Florida by 2000 BC. By about 500 BC, the Archaic culture, which had been fairly uniform across Florida, began to fragment into regional cultures. The post-Archaic cultures of eastern and southern Florida developed in relative isolation. It is likely that the peoples living in those areas at the time of first European contact were direct descendants of the inhabitants of the areas in late Archaic and
Woodland A woodland () is, in the broad sense, land covered with trees, or in a narrow sense, synonymous with wood (or in the U.S., the ''plurale tantum'' woods), a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunlight and limited shade (see ...
times. The cultures of the Florida panhandle and the north and central
Gulf A gulf is a large inlet from the ocean into the landmass, typically with a narrower opening than a bay, but that is not observable in all geographic areas so named. The term gulf was traditionally used for large highly-indented navigable bodie ...
coast of the Florida peninsula were strongly influenced by the
Mississippian culture The Mississippian culture was a Native Americans in the United States, Native American civilization that flourished in what is now the Midwestern United States, Midwestern, Eastern United States, Eastern, and Southeastern United States from appr ...
, producing two local variants known as the
Pensacola culture The Pensacola culture was a regional variation of the Mississippian culture along the Gulf Coast of the United States that lasted from 1100 to 1700 CE. The archaeological culture covers an area stretching from a transitional Pensacola/ Fort Wal ...
and the Fort Walton culture. Continuity in cultural history suggests that the peoples of those areas were also descended from the inhabitants of the Archaic period. In the panhandle and the northern part of the peninsula, people adopted cultivation of maize. Its cultivation was restricted or absent among the tribes who lived south of the
Timucuan The Timucua were a Native American people who lived in Northeast and North Central Florida and southeast Georgia. They were the largest indigenous group in that area and consisted of about 35 chiefdoms, many leading thousands of people. The var ...
-speaking people (i.e., south of a line approximately from present-day
Daytona Beach, Florida Daytona Beach, or simply Daytona, is a coastal Resort town, resort-city in east-central Florida. Located on the eastern edge of Volusia County, Florida, Volusia County near the East Coast of the United States, Atlantic coastline, its population ...
to a point on or north of Tampa Bay.) Peoples in southern Florida depended on the rich estuarine environment and developed a highly complex society without agriculture.


European contact and aftermath

At the time of first European contact in the early 16th century, Florida was inhabited by an estimated 350,000 people belonging to a number of tribes. (Anthropologist
Henry F. Dobyns Henry Farmer Dobyns, Jr. (July 3, 1925 – June 21, 2009) was an anthropologist, author and researcher specializing in the ethnohistory and demography of native peoples in the American hemisphere.
has estimated that as many as 700,000 people lived in Florida in 1492). The
Spanish Empire The Spanish Empire ( es, link=no, Imperio español), also known as the Hispanic Monarchy ( es, link=no, Monarquía Hispánica) or the Catholic Monarchy ( es, link=no, Monarquía Católica) was a colonial empire governed by Spain and its prede ...
sent Spanish explorers recording nearly one hundred names of groups they encountered, ranging from organized political entities such as the
Apalachee The Apalachee were an Indigenous people of the Southeastern Woodlands, specifically an Indigenous people of Florida, who lived in the Florida Panhandle until the early 18th century. They lived between the Aucilla River and Ochlockonee River,Bobby ...
, with a population of around 50,000, to villages with no known political affiliation. There were an estimated 150,000 speakers of dialects of the
Timucua language Timucua is a language isolate formerly spoken in northern and central Florida and southern Georgia by the Timucua peoples. Timucua was the primary language used in the area at the time of Spanish colonization in Florida. Differences among the ...
, but the
Timucua The Timucua were a Native American people who lived in Northeast and North Central Florida and southeast Georgia. They were the largest indigenous group in that area and consisted of about 35 chiefdoms, many leading thousands of people. The var ...
were organized as groups of villages and did not share a common culture. Other tribes in Florida at the time of first contact included the
Ais AIS may refer to: Medicine * Abbreviated Injury Scale, an anatomical-based coding system to classify and describe the severity of injuries * Acute ischemic stroke, the thromboembolic type of stroke * Androgen insensitivity syndrome, an intersex ...
,
Calusa The Calusa ( ) were a Native American people of Florida's southwest coast. Calusa society developed from that of archaic peoples of the Everglades region. Previous indigenous cultures had lived in the area for thousands of years. At the time of ...
,
Jaega The Jaega (also Jega, Xega, Jaece, Geiga) were Native Americans living in a chiefdom of the same name, which included the coastal parts of present-day Martin County and northern Palm Beach County, Florida at the time of initial European contac ...
,
Mayaimi The Mayaimi (also Maymi, Maimi) were Native American people who lived around Lake Mayaimi (now Lake Okeechobee) in the Belle Glade area of Florida from the beginning of the Common Era until the 17th or 18th century. In the languages of the Ma ...
,
Tequesta The Tequesta (also Tekesta, Tegesta, Chequesta, Vizcaynos) were a Native American tribe. At the time of first European contact they occupied an area along the southeastern Atlantic coast of Florida. They had infrequent contact with Europeans a ...
, and
Tocobaga Tocobaga (occasionally Tocopaca) was the name of a chiefdom, its chief, and its principal town during the 16th century. The chiefdom was centered around the northern end of Old Tampa Bay, the arm of Tampa Bay that extends between the present-day ...
. The populations of all of these tribes decreased markedly during the period of Spanish control of Florida, mostly due to epidemics of newly introduced
infectious diseases An infection is the invasion of tissues by pathogens, their multiplication, and the reaction of host tissues to the infectious agent and the toxins they produce. An infectious disease, also known as a transmissible disease or communicable dise ...
, to which the Native Americans had no natural
immunity Immunity may refer to: Medicine * Immunity (medical), resistance of an organism to infection or disease * ''Immunity'' (journal), a scientific journal published by Cell Press Biology * Immune system Engineering * Radiofrequence immunity desc ...
. Beginning late in the 17th century, when most of the
indigenous peoples Indigenous peoples are culturally distinct ethnic groups whose members are directly descended from the earliest known inhabitants of a particular geographic region and, to some extent, maintain the language and culture of those original people ...
were already much reduced in population,
tribes The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide usage of the term in English is in the discipline of anthropology. This definition is contested, in part due to conflic ...
from areas to the north of Florida, supplied with arms and occasionally accompanied by
white White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...
colonists from the
Province of Carolina Province of Carolina was a province of England (1663–1707) and Great Britain (1707–1712) that existed in North America and the Caribbean from 1663 until partitioned into North and South on January 24, 1712. It is part of present-day Alaba ...
, raided throughout Florida. They burned villages, wounded many of the inhabitants and carried captives back to Charles Towne to be sold into
slavery Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...
. Most of the villages in Florida were abandoned, and the survivors sought refuge at St. Augustine or in isolated spots around the state. Many tribes became extinct during this period and by the end of the 18th century. Some of the Apalachee eventually reached Louisiana, where they survived as a distinct group for at least another century. The Spanish evacuated the few surviving members of the Florida tribes to
Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...
in 1763 when Spain transferred the territory of Florida to the
British Empire The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts esta ...
following the latter's victory against France in the
Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War (1756–1763) was a global conflict that involved most of the European Great Powers, and was fought primarily in Europe, the Americas, and Asia-Pacific. Other concurrent conflicts include the French and Indian War (1754 ...
. In the aftermath, the
Seminole The Seminole are a Native American people who developed in Florida in the 18th century. Today, they live in Oklahoma and Florida, and comprise three federally recognized tribes: the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma, the Seminole Tribe of Florida, an ...
, originally an offshoot of the
Creek people The Muscogee, also known as the Mvskoke, Muscogee Creek, and the Muscogee Creek Confederacy ( in the Muscogee language), are a group of related indigenous (Native American) peoples of the Southeastern Woodlandsethnogenesis Ethnogenesis (; ) is "the formation and development of an ethnic group". This can originate by group self-identification or by outside identification. The term ''ethnogenesis'' was originally a mid-19th century neologism that was later introdu ...
. They have three federally recognized tribes: the largest is the
Seminole Nation of Oklahoma The Seminole Nation of Oklahoma is a List of federally recognized tribes, federally recognized Native Americans in the United States, Native American tribe based in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. It is the largest of the three federally recognized Se ...
, formed of descendants since removal in the 1830s; others are the smaller
Seminole Tribe of Florida The Seminole Tribe of Florida is a federally recognized Seminole tribe based in the U.S. state of Florida. Together with the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma and the Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida, it is one of three federally recognized Semi ...
and the
Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida The Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida is a federally recognized Native American tribe in the U.S. state of Florida. They were part of the Seminole nation until the mid-20th century, when they organized as an independent tribe, receiving fed ...
.


Colonial battleground


First Spanish rule (1513–1763)

Juan Ponce de León Juan Ponce de León (, , , ; 1474 – July 1521) was a Spanish explorer and '' conquistador'' known for leading the first official European expedition to Florida and for serving as the first governor of Puerto Rico. He was born in Santervá ...
, a famous Spanish conqueror and explorer, is usually given credit for being the first European to sight Florida in 1513, but he probably had predecessors. Florida and much of the nearby coast is depicted in the
Cantino planisphere The Cantino planisphere or Cantino world map is a manuscript Portuguese world map preserved at the Biblioteca Estense in Modena, Italy. It is named after Alberto Cantino, an agent for the Duke of Ferrara, who successfully smuggled it from Portu ...
, an early world map which was surreptitiously copied in 1502 from the most current Portuguese sailing charts and smuggled into Italy a full decade before Ponce sailed north from
Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and Unincorporated ...
on his voyage of exploration. Ponce de León may not have even been the first Spaniard to go ashore in Florida; slave traders may have secretly raided native villages before Ponce arrived, as he encountered at least one indigenous tribesman who spoke Spanish. However, Ponce's 1513 expedition to Florida was the first open and official one. He also gave Florida its name, which means "full of flowers." A dubious legend states that Ponce de León was searching for the
Fountain of Youth The Fountain of Youth is a mythical spring which allegedly restores the youth of anyone who drinks or bathes in its waters. Tales of such a fountain have been recounted around the world for thousands of years, appearing in the writings of Herod ...
on the island of Bimini, based on information from natives. On March 3, 1513, Juan Ponce de León organized and equipped three ships for an expedition departing from " Punta Aguada", Puerto Rico. The expedition included 200 people, including women and free black people. Although it is often stated that he sighted the peninsula for the first time on March 27, 1513, and thought it was an island, he probably saw one of the Bahamas at that time. He went ashore on Florida's east coast during the Spanish Easter feast,
Pascua Florida Pascua Florida (pronounced ) is a Spanish term that means "flowery festival" or "feast of flowers" and is an annual celebration of Juan Ponce de León's arrival in what is now the state of Florida. While the holiday is normally celebrated on Apri ...
, on April 7 and named the land ''La Pascua de la Florida.'' After briefly exploring the land south of present-day St. Augustine, the expedition sailed south to the bottom of the Florida peninsula, through the
Florida Keys The Florida Keys are a coral cay archipelago located off the southern coast of Florida, forming the southernmost part of the continental United States. They begin at the southeastern coast of the Florida peninsula, about south of Miami, and e ...
, and up the west coast as far north as Charlotte Harbor, where they briefly skirmished with the
Calusa The Calusa ( ) were a Native American people of Florida's southwest coast. Calusa society developed from that of archaic peoples of the Everglades region. Previous indigenous cultures had lived in the area for thousands of years. At the time of ...
before heading back to Puerto Rico. From 1513 onward, the land became known as ''La Florida''. After 1630, and throughout the 18th century, Tegesta (after the
Tequesta The Tequesta (also Tekesta, Tegesta, Chequesta, Vizcaynos) were a Native American tribe. At the time of first European contact they occupied an area along the southeastern Atlantic coast of Florida. They had infrequent contact with Europeans a ...
tribe) was an alternate name of choice for the Florida peninsula following publication of a map by the Dutch cartographer
Hessel Gerritsz Hessel Gerritsz ( – buried 4 September 1632) was a Dutch engraver, cartographer, and publisher. He was one of the notable figures in the Golden Age of Netherlandish cartography. Despite strong competition, he is considered by some "unques ...
in
Joannes de Laet Joannes or Johannes De Laet (Latinized as ''Ioannes Latius'') (1581 in Antwerp – buried 15 December 1649, in Leiden) was a Dutch geographer and director of the Dutch West India Company. Philip Burden called his ''History of the New World'', " ...
's ''History of the New World''. Further Spanish attempts to explore and colonize Florida were disastrous. Ponce de León returned to the Charlotte Harbor area in 1521 with equipment and settlers to start a colony, but was soon driven off by hostile Calusa, and de León died in Cuba from wounds received in the fighting.
Pánfilo de Narváez Pánfilo de Narváez (; 147?–1528) was a Spanish '' conquistador'' and soldier in the Americas. Born in Spain, he first embarked to Jamaica in 1510 as a soldier. He came to participate in the conquest of Cuba and led an expedition to Camagü ...
's expedition explored Florida's west coast in 1528, but his violent demands for gold and food led to hostile relations with the
Tocobaga Tocobaga (occasionally Tocopaca) was the name of a chiefdom, its chief, and its principal town during the 16th century. The chiefdom was centered around the northern end of Old Tampa Bay, the arm of Tampa Bay that extends between the present-day ...
and other native groups. Facing starvation and unable to find his support ships, Narváez attempted return to Mexico via rafts, but all were lost at sea and only four members of the expedition survived.
Hernando de Soto Hernando de Soto (; ; 1500 – 21 May, 1542) was a Spanish explorer and '' conquistador'' who was involved in expeditions in Nicaragua and the Yucatan Peninsula. He played an important role in Francisco Pizarro's conquest of the Inca Empire ...
landed in Florida in 1539 and began a multi-year trek through what is now the southeastern United States in which he found no gold and lost his life. In 1559
Tristán de Luna y Arellano Tristán de Luna y Arellano (1510 – September 16, 1573) was a Spanish explorer and Conquistador of the 16th century.Herbert Ingram Priestley, Tristan de Luna: Conquistador of the Old South: A Study of Spanish Imperial Strategy (1936). http://palm ...
established the first settlement in
Pensacola Pensacola () is the westernmost city in the Florida Panhandle, and the county seat and only incorporated city of Escambia County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 54,312. Pensacola is the principal ci ...
but, after a violent hurricane destroyed the area, it was abandoned in 1561. The horse, which the natives had hunted to extinction 10,000 years ago, was reintroduced into North America by the European explorers, and into Florida in 1538. As the animals were lost or stolen, they began to become feral. In 1564,
René Goulaine de Laudonnière Rene Goulaine de Laudonnière (c. 1529–1574) was a French Huguenot explorer and the founder of the French colony of Fort Caroline in what is now Jacksonville, Florida. Admiral Gaspard de Coligny, a Huguenot, sent Jean Ribault and Laudonnière ...
founded
Fort Caroline Fort Caroline was an attempted French colonial settlement in Florida, located on the banks of the St. Johns River in present-day Duval County. It was established under the leadership of René Goulaine de Laudonnière on 22 June, 1564, follow ...
in what is now
Jacksonville Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the List of United States cities by area, largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the co ...
, as a haven for
Huguenot The Huguenots ( , also , ) were a religious group of French Protestants who held to the Reformed, or Calvinist, tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, the Genevan burgomaster Be ...
Protestant refugees from religious persecution in France. Further down the coast, in 1565 Pedro Menéndez de Avilés founded San Agustín ( St. Augustine) which is the oldest continuously inhabited European settlement in any U.S. state. It is second oldest only to
San Juan, Puerto Rico San Juan (, , ; Spanish for "Saint John") is the capital city and most populous municipality in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the United States. As of the 2020 census, it is the 57th-largest city under the jur ...
, in the United States' current territory. From this base of operations, the Spanish began building
Catholic missions Missionary work of the Catholic Church has often been undertaken outside the geographically defined parishes and dioceses by religious orders who have people and material resources to spare, and some of which specialized in missions. Eventually, p ...
. All colonial cities were founded near the mouths of rivers. St. Augustine was founded where the
Matanzas Inlet Matanzas Inlet is a channel in Florida between two barrier islands and the mainland, connecting the Atlantic Ocean and the south end of the Matanzas River. It is south of St. Augustine, in the southern part of St. Johns County. The inlet is no ...
permitted access to the
Matanzas River The Matanzas River is a body of water in St. Johns and Flagler counties in the U.S. state of Florida. It is a narrow saltwater bar-bounded estuary sheltered from the Atlantic Ocean by Anastasia Island. The Matanzas River is in lengthU.S. Geolo ...
. Other cities were founded on the sea with similar inlets: Jacksonville, West Palm Beach, Fort Lauderdale, Miami, Pensacola, Tampa, Fort Myers, and others. On September 20, 1565, Menéndez de Avilés attacked Fort Caroline, killing most of the French Huguenot defenders. Two years later, Dominique de Gourgue recaptured the settlement for France, this time slaughtering the Spanish defenders. St. Augustine became the most important settlement in Florida. Little more than a fort, it was frequently attacked and burned, with most residents killed or fled. It was notably devastated in 1586, when English sea captain and sometime pirate Sir
Francis Drake Sir Francis Drake ( – 28 January 1596) was an English explorer, sea captain, privateer, slave trader, naval officer, and politician. Drake is best known for his circumnavigation of the world in a single expedition, from 1577 to 1580 (t ...
plundered and burned the city. Catholic missionaries used St. Augustine as a base of operations to establish over 100 far-flung missions throughout Florida. They converted 26,000 natives by 1655, but a revolt in 1656 and an epidemic in 1659 proved devastating. Pirate attacks and British raids were unrelenting, and the town was burned to the ground several times until Spain fortified it with the
Castillo de San Marcos The Castillo de San Marcos (Spanish for "St. Mark's Castle") is the oldest masonry fort in the continental United States; it is located on the western shore of Matanzas Bay in the city of St. Augustine, Florida. It was designed by the Spanish ...
(1672) and Fort Matanzas (1742). African slaves used primarily for labor were first introduced to Spanish Florida as early as 1580, when officials asked for permission to import slaves to bolster the workforce in and around St. Augustine. However, due to restrictions by the Spanish crown, the population of African slaves in Florida remained relatively low until around the period of British control in 1763. Throughout the 17th century, English settlers in
Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...
and Carolina gradually pushed the boundaries of Spanish territory south, while the French settlements along the
Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it f ...
encroached on the western borders of the Spanish claim. In 1702, Governor of Carolina James Moore and allied
Yamasee The Yamasees (also spelled Yamassees or Yemassees) were a multiethnic confederation of Native Americans who lived in the coastal region of present-day northern coastal Georgia near the Savannah River and later in northeastern Florida. The Yamas ...
and
Creek Indians The Muscogee, also known as the Mvskoke, Muscogee Creek, and the Muscogee Creek Confederacy ( in the Muscogee language), are a group of related indigenous (Native American) peoples of the Southeastern WoodlandsApalachee The Apalachee were an Indigenous people of the Southeastern Woodlands, specifically an Indigenous people of Florida, who lived in the Florida Panhandle until the early 18th century. They lived between the Aucilla River and Ochlockonee River,Bobby ...
Indians (the Apalachee massacre) opened Florida up to
slave raids Slave raiding is a military raid for the purpose of capturing people and bringing them from the raid area to serve as slaves. Once seen as a normal part of warfare, it is nowadays widely considered a crime. Slave raiding has occurred since ant ...
, which reached to the Florida Keys and decimated the native population. The
Yamasee War The Yamasee War (also spelled Yamassee or Yemassee) was a conflict fought in South Carolina from 1715 to 1717 between British settlers from the Province of Carolina and the Yamasee and a number of other allied Native American peoples, incl ...
of 1715–1717 in the Carolinas resulted in numerous Indian refugees, such as the Yamasee, moving south to Florida. In 1719, the French captured the Spanish settlement at Pensacola.


Fugitive slaves and conflicts

The border between the British colony of Georgia and Spanish Florida was never clearly defined, and was the subject of constant harassment in both directions, until it was ceded by Spain to the U.S. in 1821. The
Spanish Crown , coatofarms = File:Coat_of_Arms_of_Spanish_Monarch.svg , coatofarms_article = Coat of arms of the King of Spain , image = Felipe_VI_in_2020_(cropped).jpg , incumbent = Felipe VI , incumbentsince = 19 Ju ...
, beginning with King Charles II in 1693, encouraged
fugitive slaves In the United States, fugitive slaves or runaway slaves were terms used in the 18th and 19th century to describe people who fled slavery. The term also refers to the federal Fugitive Slave Acts of 1793 and 1850. Such people are also called free ...
from the British North American colonies to escape and offered them freedom and refuge if they converted to Catholicism. This was well known through word of mouth in the colonies of Georgia and South Carolina, and hundreds of
enslaved Africans The Atlantic slave trade, transatlantic slave trade, or Euro-American slave trade involved the transportation by slave traders of enslaved African people, mainly to the Americas. The slave trade regularly used the triangular trade route and i ...
escaped to their freedom, which infuriated colonists in the British North American colonies. They settled in a buffer community north of St. Augustine, called Gracia Real de Santa Teresa de Mose, the first settlement made of free black people in North America. During this period, the British (including their North American colonies) repeatedly attacked Spanish Florida, especially in 1702 and again in 1740, when a large force under
James Oglethorpe James Edward Oglethorpe (22 December 1696 – 30 June 1785) was a British soldier, Member of Parliament, and philanthropist, as well as the founder of the colony of Georgia in what was then British America. As a social reformer, he hoped to re ...
sailed south from Georgia and besieged St. Augustine, but was unable to capture the
Castillo de San Marcos The Castillo de San Marcos (Spanish for "St. Mark's Castle") is the oldest masonry fort in the continental United States; it is located on the western shore of Matanzas Bay in the city of St. Augustine, Florida. It was designed by the Spanish ...
. The
1755 Lisbon earthquake The 1755 Lisbon earthquake, also known as the Great Lisbon earthquake, impacted Portugal, the Iberian Peninsula, and Northwest Africa on the morning of Saturday, 1 November, Feast of All Saints, at around 09:40 local time. In combination with ...
triggered a
tsunami A tsunami ( ; from ja, 津波, lit=harbour wave, ) is a series of waves in a water body caused by the displacement of a large volume of water, generally in an ocean or a large lake. Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and other underwater explo ...
that would have struck Central Florida with an estimated wave. Creek and Seminole Native Americans, who had established buffer settlements in Florida at the invitation of the Spanish government, also welcomed any fugitive slaves which reached their settlements. In 1771, Governor John Moultrie wrote to the
Board of Trade The Board of Trade is a British government body concerned with commerce and industry, currently within the Department for International Trade. Its full title is The Lords of the Committee of the Privy Council appointed for the consideration of ...
that "it has been a practice for a good while past, for negroes to run away from their Masters, and get into the Indian towns, from whence it proved very difficult to get them back." When British colonial officials in Florida pressed the Seminole to return runaway slaves, they replied that they had "merely given hungry people food, and invited the slaveholders to catch the runaways themselves."


British rule (1763–1783)

In
1763 Events January–March * January 27 – The seat of colonial administration in the Viceroyalty of Brazil is moved from Salvador to Rio de Janeiro. * February 1 – The Royal Colony of North Carolina officially creates Meck ...
, Spain traded Florida to the
Kingdom of Great Britain The Kingdom of Great Britain (officially Great Britain) was a Sovereign state, sovereign country in Western Europe from 1 May 1707 to the end of 31 December 1800. The state was created by the 1706 Treaty of Union and ratified by the Acts of ...
for control of
Havana Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.
, Cuba, which had been captured by the British during the
Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War (1756–1763) was a global conflict that involved most of the European Great Powers, and was fought primarily in Europe, the Americas, and Asia-Pacific. Other concurrent conflicts include the French and Indian War (1754 ...
. It was part of a large expansion of British territory following the country's victory in the Seven Years' War. Almost the entire Spanish population left, taking along most of the remaining indigenous population to Cuba. The British divided the territory into
East Florida East Florida ( es, Florida Oriental) was a colony of Great Britain from 1763 to 1783 and a province of Spanish Florida from 1783 to 1821. Great Britain gained control of the long-established Spanish colony of ''La Florida'' in 1763 as part of ...
and
West Florida West Florida ( es, Florida Occidental) was a region on the northern coast of the Gulf of Mexico that underwent several boundary and sovereignty changes during its history. As its name suggests, it was formed out of the western part of former S ...
. The British soon constructed the
King's Road King's Road or Kings Road (or sometimes the King's Road, especially when it was the king's private road until 1830, or as a colloquialism by middle/upper class London residents), is a major street stretching through Chelsea and Fulham, both ...
connecting St. Augustine to
Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...
. The road crossed the
St. Johns River The St. Johns River ( es, Río San Juan) is the longest river in the U.S. state of Florida and its most significant one for commercial and recreational use. At long, it flows north and winds through or borders twelve counties. The drop in eleva ...
at a narrow point, which the
Seminole The Seminole are a Native American people who developed in Florida in the 18th century. Today, they live in Oklahoma and Florida, and comprise three federally recognized tribes: the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma, the Seminole Tribe of Florida, an ...
called ''Wacca Pilatka'' and the British named "Cow Ford", both names ostensibly reflecting the fact that cattle were brought across the river there. The British government gave land grants to officers and soldiers who had fought in the
French and Indian War The French and Indian War (1754–1763) was a theater of the Seven Years' War, which pitted the North American colonies of the British Empire against those of the French, each side being supported by various Native American tribes. At the ...
in order to encourage settlement. In order to induce settlers to move to the two new colonies reports of the natural wealth of Florida were published in England. A large number of British colonists who were "energetic and of good character" moved to Florida, mostly coming from
South Carolina )''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...
,
Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...
and England, though there was also a group of settlers who came from the colony of
Bermuda ) , anthem = "God Save the King" , song_type = National song , song = " Hail to Bermuda" , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , mapsize2 = , map_caption2 = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = , e ...
. This would be the first permanent English-speaking population in what is now Duval County, Baker County, St. Johns County, and Nassau County. The British built good public roads and introduced the cultivation of sugar cane, indigo, and fruits, as well the export of lumber. As a result of these initiatives northeastern Florida prospered economically in a way it never did under Spanish rule. Furthermore, the British governors were directed to call general assemblies as soon as possible to make laws for the Floridas and in the meantime they were, with the advice of councils, to establish courts. This would be the first introduction of much of the English-derived legal system which Florida still has today, including
trial by jury A jury trial, or trial by jury, is a legal proceeding in which a jury makes a decision or findings of fact. It is distinguished from a bench trial in which a judge or panel of judges makes all decisions. Jury trials are used in a significant ...
,
habeas corpus ''Habeas corpus'' (; from Medieval Latin, ) is a recourse in law through which a person can report an unlawful detention or imprisonment to a court and request that the court order the custodian of the person, usually a prison official, t ...
, and county-based government. A Scottish settler named Dr. Andrew Turnbull transplanted around 1,500
indentured An indenture is a legal contract that reflects or covers a debt or purchase obligation. It specifically refers to two types of practices: in historical usage, an indentured servant status, and in modern usage, it is an instrument used for commercia ...
settlers, from
Menorca Menorca or Minorca (from la, Insula Minor, , smaller island, later ''Minorica'') is one of the Balearic Islands located in the Mediterranean Sea belonging to Spain. Its name derives from its size, contrasting it with nearby Majorca. Its capi ...
,
Majorca Mallorca, or Majorca, is the largest island in the Balearic Islands, which are part of Spain and located in the Mediterranean. The capital of the island, Palma, is also the capital of the autonomous community of the Balearic Islands. The Bal ...
,
Ibiza Ibiza (natively and officially in ca, Eivissa, ) is a Spanish island in the Mediterranean Sea off the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula. It is from the city of Valencia. It is the third largest of the Balearic Islands, in Spain. Its l ...
,
Smyrna Smyrna ( ; grc, Σμύρνη, Smýrnē, or , ) was a Greek city located at a strategic point on the Aegean coast of Anatolia. Due to its advantageous port conditions, its ease of defence, and its good inland connections, Smyrna rose to promi ...
,
Crete Crete ( el, Κρήτη, translit=, Modern: , Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the 88th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cyprus, and ...
,
Mani Peninsula The Mani Peninsula ( el, Μάνη, Mánē), also long known by its medieval name Maina or Maïna (Μαΐνη), is a geographical and cultural region in Southern Greece that is home to the Maniots (Mανιάτες, ''Maniátes'' in Greek), who cla ...
, and
Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...
, to grow
hemp Hemp, or industrial hemp, is a botanical class of ''Cannabis sativa'' cultivars grown specifically for industrial or medicinal use. It can be used to make a wide range of products. Along with bamboo, hemp is among the fastest growing plants o ...
,
sugarcane Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of (often hybrid) tall, Perennial plant, perennial grass (in the genus ''Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar Sugar industry, production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with ...
,
indigo Indigo is a deep color close to the color wheel blue (a primary color in the RGB color space), as well as to some variants of ultramarine, based on the ancient dye of the same name. The word "indigo" comes from the Latin word ''indicum'', m ...
, and to produce
rum Rum is a liquor made by fermenting and then distilling sugarcane molasses or sugarcane juice. The distillate, a clear liquid, is usually aged in oak barrels. Rum is produced in nearly every sugar-producing region of the world, such as the Ph ...
. Settled at New Smyrna, within months the colony suffered major losses primarily due to insect-borne diseases and Native American raids. Most crops did not do well in the sandy Florida soil. Those that survived rarely equaled the quality produced in other colonies. The colonists tired of their servitude and Turnbull's rule. On several occasions, he used African
slaves Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...
to whip his unruly settlers. The settlement collapsed and the survivors fled to safety with the British authorities in St. Augustine. Their descendants survive to this day, as does the name New Smyrna. In 1767, the British moved the northern boundary of West Florida to a line extending from the mouth of the
Yazoo River The Yazoo River is a river in the U.S. states of Louisiana and Mississippi. It is considered by some to mark the southern boundary of what is called the Mississippi Delta, a broad floodplain that was cultivated for cotton plantations before the ...
east to the
Chattahoochee River The Chattahoochee River forms the southern half of the Alabama and Georgia border, as well as a portion of the Florida - Georgia border. It is a tributary of the Apalachicola River, a relatively short river formed by the confluence of the Chatta ...
(32° 28′north latitude), consisting of approximately the lower third of the present states of
Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...
and
Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...
. During this time, Creek Indians migrated into Florida and formed the Seminole tribe.


Florida in the American Revolutionary War

When representatives from thirteen North American colonies declared independence from Great Britain in 1776, many Floridians condemned the action. East and West Florida were backwater outposts whose populations included a large percentage of British military personnel and their families. There was little trade in or out of the colonies, so they were largely unaffected by the Stamp Act Crisis of 1765 and other taxes and policies which brought other British colonies together in common interest against a shared threat. Thus, a majority of Florida residents were
Loyalists Loyalism, in the United Kingdom, its overseas territories and its former colonies, refers to the allegiance to the British crown or the United Kingdom. In North America, the most common usage of the term refers to loyalty to the British Cr ...
, and both East and West Florida declined to send representatives to any sessions of the
Continental Congress The Continental Congress was a series of legislative bodies, with some executive function, for thirteen of Britain's colonies in North America, and the newly declared United States just before, during, and after the American Revolutionary War. ...
. During the
American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...
, some Floridians actually helped lead raids into nearby states. Continental forces attempted to invade East Florida early in the conflict, but they were defeated on May 17, 1777, at the Battle of Thomas Creek in today's Nassau County when American Colonel John Baker surrendered to the British. Another American incursion into the same area was repelled at the Battle of Alligator Bridge on June 30, 1778. The two Floridas remained loyal to Great Britain throughout the war. However, Spain, participating indirectly in the war as an ally of France, captured
Pensacola Pensacola () is the westernmost city in the Florida Panhandle, and the county seat and only incorporated city of Escambia County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 54,312. Pensacola is the principal ci ...
from the British in 1781. The
Peace of Paris (1783) The Peace of Paris of 1783 was the set of treaties that ended the American Revolutionary War. On 3 September 1783, representatives of King George III of Great Britain signed a treaty in Paris with representatives of the United States of America ...
ended the Revolutionary War and returned all of Florida to Spanish control, but without specifying the boundaries. The Spanish wanted the expanded northern boundary Britain had made to West Florida, while the new United States demanded the old boundary at the 31st parallel north. This border controversy was resolved in the 1795
Treaty of San Lorenzo Pinckney's Treaty, also known as the Treaty of San Lorenzo or the Treaty of Madrid, was signed on October 27, 1795 by the United States and Spain. It defined the border between the United States and Spanish Florida, and guaranteed the United S ...
when Spain recognized the 31st parallel as the boundary.


Departure of the British

Just as most residents of Spanish Florida had left when Britain gained possession of the territory in 1763, the impending return to Spanish control in 1783 saw a vast exodus of those who had settled in the area over the previous twenty years. This included many
Loyalists Loyalism, in the United Kingdom, its overseas territories and its former colonies, refers to the allegiance to the British crown or the United Kingdom. In North America, the most common usage of the term refers to loyalty to the British Cr ...
who had fled there during the American War of Independence and had caused East Florida's population to swell considerably if temporarily.


Second Spanish rule (1783–1821)

Spain's reoccupation of Florida involved the arrival of some officials and soldiers at St. Augustine and Pensacola but very few new settlers. Most British residents had departed, leaving much of the territory depopulated and unguarded. North Florida continued to be the home of the newly amalgamated black–native American Seminole culture and a haven for people escaping slavery in the southern United States. Settlers in southern Georgia demanded that Spain control the Seminole population and capture runaway slaves, to which Spain replied that the slave owners were welcome to recapture the runaways themselves. Americans began moving into northern Florida from the backwoods of
Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...
and
South Carolina )''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...
. Though technically not allowed by the Spanish authorities, the Spanish were never able to effectively police the border region, and a mix of American settlers, escaped slaves, and Native Americans would continue to migrate into Florida unchecked. The American migrants, mixing with the few remaining settlers from Florida's British period, would be the progenitors of the population known as
Florida Cracker Florida crackers were colonial-era British and American pioneer settlers in what is now the U.S. state of Florida; the term is also applied to their descendants, to the present day, and their subculture among white Southerners. The first cracke ...
s.


Republic of West Florida

Ignoring Spanish territorial claims, American settlers, along with some remaining British settlers, established a permanent foothold in the western end of West Florida during the first decade of the 1800s. In the summer of 1810, they began planning a rebellion against Spanish rule which became open revolt in September. The rebels overcame the Spanish garrison at
Baton Rouge Baton Rouge ( ; ) is a city in and the capital of the U.S. state of Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-sma ...
and proclaimed the "Free and Independent Republic of West Florida" on September 23. (None of it was within what is today the state of Florida.) Their flag was the original " Bonnie Blue Flag", a single white star on a blue field. On October 27, 1810, most of the Republic of West Florida was annexed by proclamation of President
James Madison James Madison Jr. (March 16, 1751June 28, 1836) was an American statesman, diplomat, and Founding Father. He served as the fourth president of the United States from 1809 to 1817. Madison is hailed as the "Father of the Constitution" for hi ...
, who claimed that the region was included in the
Louisiana Purchase The Louisiana Purchase (french: Vente de la Louisiane, translation=Sale of Louisiana) was the acquisition of the territory of Louisiana by the United States from the French First Republic in 1803. In return for fifteen million dollars, or app ...
and incorporated it into the newly formed
Territory of Orleans The Territory of Orleans or Orleans Territory was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from October 1, 1804, until April 30, 1812, when it was admitted to the Union as the State of Louisiana. History In 1804, ...
. Some leaders of the newly declared republic objected to the takeover, but all had deferred to arriving American troops by mid-December 1810. The
Florida Parishes The Florida Parishes ( es, Parroquias de Florida, french: Paroisses de Floride), on the east side of the Mississippi River—an area also known as the Northshore or Northlake region—are eight parishes in the southeastern portion of the U.S. stat ...
of the modern state of
Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...
include most of the territory claimed by the short-lived Republic of West Florida. Spain sided with Great Britain during the
War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It bega ...
, and the U.S. annexed the
Mobile District The Mobile District was an administrative division of the Spanish colony of West Florida, which was claimed by the short-lived Republic of West Florida, established on September 23, 1810. Reuben Kemper led a small force in an attempt to capture M ...
of West Florida to the
Mississippi Territory The Territory of Mississippi was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from April 7, 1798, until December 10, 1817, when the western half of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Mississippi. T ...
in May 1812. The surrender of Spanish forces at
Mobile Mobile may refer to: Places * Mobile, Alabama, a U.S. port city * Mobile County, Alabama * Mobile, Arizona, a small town near Phoenix, U.S. * Mobile, Newfoundland and Labrador Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups and labels * Mobile ( ...
in April 1813 officially established American control over the area, which was eventually divided between the states of
Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...
and
Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...
.


Republic of East Florida

In March 1812, Americans took control of
Amelia Island Amelia Island is a part of the Sea Islands chain that stretches along the East Coast of the United States from South Carolina to Florida; it is the southernmost of the Sea Islands, and the northernmost of the barrier islands on Florida's Atlanti ...
on the Atlantic coast declared that they were a republic free from Spanish rule in what would become known as the
Patriot War The Patriot War was a conflict along the Canada–United States border in which bands of raiders attacked the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, British colony of Upper Canada more than a dozen times between December 1837 and Decembe ...
. The revolt was organized by General George Mathews of the U.S. Army, who had been authorized to secretly negotiate with the Spanish governor for American acquisition of East Florida. Instead, Mathews organized a group of frontiersmen in Georgia, who arrived at the Spanish town of Fernandina and demanded the surrender of all of Amelia Island. Upon declaring the island a republic, he led his volunteers along with a contingent of regular army troops south towards St. Augustine. Upon hearing of Mathews' actions, Congress became alarmed that he would provoke war with Spain, and Secretary of State
James Monroe James Monroe ( ; April 28, 1758July 4, 1831) was an American statesman, lawyer, diplomat, and Founding Father who served as the fifth president of the United States from 1817 to 1825. A member of the Democratic-Republican Party, Monroe was ...
ordered Matthews to return all captured territory to Spanish authorities. After several months of negotiations on the withdrawal of the Americans and compensation for their foraging through the countryside, the countries came to an agreement, and Amelia Island was returned to the Spanish in May 1813.


First Seminole War

The unguarded Florida border was an increasing source of tension late in the second Spanish period. Seminoles based in
East Florida East Florida ( es, Florida Oriental) was a colony of Great Britain from 1763 to 1783 and a province of Spanish Florida from 1783 to 1821. Great Britain gained control of the long-established Spanish colony of ''La Florida'' in 1763 as part of ...
had been accused of raiding Georgia settlements, and settlers were angered by the stream of slaves escaping into Florida, where they were welcomed.
Negro Fort Negro Fort (African Fort) was a short-lived fortification built by the British in 1814, during the War of 1812, in a remote part of what was at the time Spanish Florida. It was intended to support a never-realized British attack on the U.S. via ...
, an abandoned British fortification in the far west of the territory, was manned by both indigenous and black people. The
United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...
would lead increasingly frequent incursions into Spanish territory, including the 1817–1818 campaign against the Seminole Indians by
Andrew Jackson Andrew Jackson (March 15, 1767 – June 8, 1845) was an American lawyer, planter, general, and statesman who served as the seventh president of the United States from 1829 to 1837. Before being elected to the presidency, he gained fame as ...
that became known later as the
First Seminole War The Seminole Wars (also known as the Florida Wars) were three related military conflicts in Florida between the United States and the Seminole, citizens of a Native American nation which formed in the region during the early 1700s. Hostilities ...
. Jackson took temporary control of Pensacola in 1818, and though he withdrew due to Spanish objections, the United States continued to effectively control much of West Florida. According to Secretary of State
John Quincy Adams John Quincy Adams (; July 11, 1767 – February 23, 1848) was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, and diarist who served as the sixth president of the United States, from 1825 to 1829. He previously served as the eighth United States S ...
, this was necessary because Florida had become "a derelict open to the occupancy of every enemy, civilized or savage, of the United States, and serving no other earthly purpose than as a post of annoyance to them."


End of Spanish control

After Jackson's incursions, Spain decided that Florida had become too much of a burden, as it could not afford to send settlers or garrisons to properly occupy the land and was receiving very little revenue from the territory. Madrid therefore decided to cede Florida to the United States. The transfer was negotiated as part of the
Adams–Onís Treaty The Adams–Onís Treaty () of 1819, also known as the Transcontinental Treaty, the Florida Purchase Treaty, or the Florida Treaty,Weeks, p.168. was a treaty between the United States and Spain in 1819 that ceded Florida to the U.S. and defined t ...
, which also settled several boundary disputes between Spanish colonies and the U.S. in exchange for American payment of $5,000,000 in claims against the Spanish government. The treaty was signed in 1819 and took effect in 1821, and the United States formally took possession of Florida on July 17, 1821.


Territory and statehood


Florida Territory (1822–1845)

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...
became an
organized territory Territories of the United States are sub-national administrative divisions overseen by the federal government of the United States. The various American territories differ from the U.S. states and tribal reservations as they are not sover ...
of the United States on March 30, 1822. The Americans merged
East Florida East Florida ( es, Florida Oriental) was a colony of Great Britain from 1763 to 1783 and a province of Spanish Florida from 1783 to 1821. Great Britain gained control of the long-established Spanish colony of ''La Florida'' in 1763 as part of ...
and
West Florida West Florida ( es, Florida Occidental) was a region on the northern coast of the Gulf of Mexico that underwent several boundary and sovereignty changes during its history. As its name suggests, it was formed out of the western part of former S ...
(although the majority of West Florida was annexed to
Territory of Orleans The Territory of Orleans or Orleans Territory was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from October 1, 1804, until April 30, 1812, when it was admitted to the Union as the State of Louisiana. History In 1804, ...
and
Mississippi Territory The Territory of Mississippi was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from April 7, 1798, until December 10, 1817, when the western half of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Mississippi. T ...
), and established a new capital in
Tallahassee Tallahassee ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat and only incorporated municipality in Leon County. Tallahassee became the capital of Florida, then the Florida Territory, in 1824. In 2020, the population ...
, conveniently located halfway between the East Florida capital of St. Augustine and the West Florida capital of Pensacola. The boundaries of Florida's first two counties, Escambia and St. Johns, approximately coincided with the boundaries of West and East Florida respectively. The free black and Indigenous slaves, Black Seminoles, living near St. Augustine, fled to Havana, Cuba to avoid coming under US control. Some Seminole also abandoned their settlements and moved further south. Hundreds of
Black Seminoles The Black Seminoles, or Afro-Seminoles are Native American-Africans associated with the Seminole people in Florida and Oklahoma. They are mostly blood descendants of the Seminole people, free Africans, and escaped slaves, who allied with Seminol ...
and fugitive slaves escaped in the early nineteenth century from
Cape Florida Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Recreation Area occupies approximately the southern third of the island of Key Biscayne, at coordinates . This park includes the Cape Florida Light, the oldest standing structure in Greater Miami. In 2005, it was ra ...
to
The Bahamas The Bahamas (), officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the West Indies in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic. It takes up 97% of the Lucayan Archipelago's land area and is home to ...
, where they settled on
Andros Island Andros Island is an archipelago within the Bahamas, the largest of the Bahamian Islands. Politically considered a single island, Andros in total has an area greater than all the other 700 Bahamian islands combined. The land area of Andros consis ...
. As settlement increased, pressure grew on the United States government to remove the Indians from their lands in Florida. Many settlers in Florida developed plantation agriculture, similar to other areas of the Deep South. To the consternation of new landowners, the Seminoles harbored and integrated runaway black slaves, and clashes between whites and Indians grew with the influx of new settlers. In 1832, the United States government signed the
Treaty of Payne's Landing The Treaty of Payne's Landing (Treaty with the Seminole, 1832) was an agreement signed on 9 May 1832 between the government of the United States and several chiefs of the Seminole Indians in the Territory of Florida, before it acquired statehood. ...
with some of the Seminole chiefs, promising them lands west of the Mississippi River if they agreed to leave Florida voluntarily. Many Seminoles left then, while those who remained prepared to defend their claims to the land. White settlers pressured the government to remove all of the Indians, by force if necessary, and in 1835, the U.S. Army arrived to enforce the treaty. The
Second Seminole War The Second Seminole War, also known as the Florida War, was a conflict from 1835 to 1842 in Florida between the United States and groups collectively known as Seminoles, consisting of Native Americans in the United States, Native Americans and ...
began at the end of 1835 with the
Dade Battle The Dade battle (often called the Dade massacre) was an 1835 military defeat for the United States Army. The U.S. was attempting to force the Seminoles to move away from their land in Florida and relocate to Indian Territory (in what would becom ...
, when Seminoles ambushed Army troops marching from
Fort Brooke Fort Brooke was a historical military post established at the mouth of the Hillsborough River in present-day Tampa, Florida in 1824. Its original purpose was to serve as a check on and trading post for the native Seminoles who had been confined ...
(Tampa) to reinforce
Fort King Fort King (also known as Camp King or Cantonment King) was a United States military fort in north central Florida, near what later developed as the city of Ocala. It was named after Colonel William King, commander of Florida's Fourth Infantry and ...
(Ocala). They killed or mortally wounded all but one of the 110 troops. Between 900 and 1,500 Seminole warriors effectively employed guerrilla tactics against United States Army troops for seven years.
Osceola Osceola (1804 – January 30, 1838, Asi-yahola in Muscogee language, Creek), named Billy Powell at birth in Alabama, became an influential leader of the Seminole people in Florida. His mother was Muscogee, and his great-grandfather was a S ...
, a charismatic young war leader, came to symbolize the war and the Seminoles after he was arrested by Brigadier General
Joseph Marion Hernandez Joseph is a common male given name, derived from the Hebrew Yosef (יוֹסֵף). "Joseph" is used, along with "Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the mo ...
while negotiating under a white truce flag in October 1837, by order of General
Thomas Jesup Thomas Sidney Jesup (December 16, 1788 – June 10, 1860) was a United States Army officer known as the "Father of the Modern Quartermaster Corps". His 52-year (1808–1860) military career was one of the longest in the history of the United St ...
. First imprisoned at
Fort Marion The Castillo de San Marcos (Spanish for "St. Mark's Castle") is the oldest masonry fort in the continental United States; it is located on the western shore of Matanzas Bay in the city of St. Augustine, Florida. It was designed by the Spanish ...
, he died of
malaria Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects humans and other animals. Malaria causes symptoms that typically include fever, tiredness, vomiting, and headaches. In severe cases, it can cause jaundice, seizures, coma, or death. S ...
at
Fort Moultrie Fort Moultrie is a series of fortifications on Sullivan's Island, South Carolina, built to protect the city of Charleston, South Carolina. The first fort, formerly named Fort Sullivan, built of palmetto logs, inspired the flag and n ...
in
South Carolina )''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...
less than three months after his capture. The war ended in 1842. The U.S. government is estimated to have spent between $20 million ($ in dollars) and $40 million ($ in dollars) on the war; at the time, this was considered a large sum. Almost all of the Seminoles were forcibly exiled to Creek lands west of the Mississippi; several hundred remained in the
Everglades The Everglades is a natural region of tropical climate, tropical wetlands in the southern portion of the U.S. state of Florida, comprising the southern half of a large drainage basin within the Neotropical realm. The system begins near Orland ...
.


Statehood (1845)

On March 3, 1845, Florida became the 27th state of the United States of America. Its first governor was William Dunn Moseley. Almost half the state's population were enslaved African Americans working on large cotton and sugar
plantations A plantation is an agricultural estate, generally centered on a plantation house, meant for farming that specializes in cash crops, usually mainly planted with a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. The ...
, between the Apalachicola and Suwannee rivers in the north central part of the state. Like the people who owned them, many slaves had come from the coastal areas of Georgia and the Carolinas. They were part of the
Gullah The Gullah () are an African Americans, African American ethnic group who predominantly live in the South Carolina Lowcountry, Lowcountry region of the U.S. states of Georgia, Florida, South Carolina, and North Carolina, within the coastal plain ...
Geechee The Gullah () are an African American ethnic group who predominantly live in the Lowcountry region of the U.S. states of Georgia, Florida, South Carolina, and North Carolina, within the coastal plain and the Sea Islands. Their language and cultu ...
culture of the
Lowcountry The Lowcountry (sometimes Low Country or just low country) is a geographic and cultural region along South Carolina's coast, including the Sea Islands. The region includes significant salt marshes and other coastal waterways, making it an impor ...
. Others were enslaved African Americans from the upper South who had been sold to traders taking slaves to the deep South. In the 1850s, with the potential transfer of ownership of federal land to the state, including Seminole land, the federal government decided to convince the remaining Seminoles to emigrate. The Army reactivated Fort Harvie and renamed it to
Fort Myers Fort Myers (or Ft. Myers) is a city in southwestern Florida and the county seat and commercial center of Lee County, Florida, United States. The Census Bureau's Population Estimates Program calculated that the city's population was 92,245 in 20 ...
. Increased Army patrols led to hostilities, and eventually a Seminole attack on Fort Myers which killed two United States soldiers. The
Third Seminole War The Seminole Wars (also known as the Florida Wars) were three related military conflicts in Florida between the United States and the Seminole, citizens of a Native American nation which formed in the region during the early 1700s. Hostilities ...
lasted from 1855 to 1858 which ended with most of the remaining Seminoles, mostly women and children moving to Indian Territory. In 1859, another 75 Seminoles surrendered and were sent to the West, but a small number continued to live in the Everglades. On the eve of the Civil War, Florida had the smallest population of the Southern states. It was invested in plantation agriculture, which was dependent on the labor of enslaved African Americans. By 1860, Florida had 140,424 people, of whom 44% were enslaved and fewer than 1,000 were
free people of color In the context of the history of slavery in the Americas, free people of color (French: ''gens de couleur libres''; Spanish: ''gente de color libre'') were primarily people of mixed African, European, and Native American descent who were not ...
. Florida also had one of the highest per capita murder rates prior to the Civil War, thanks to a weakened central government, the institution of slavery, and a troubled political history.


Civil War through late 19th century

Following
Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation thro ...
's election in 1860, Florida joined other Southern states in seceding from the
Union Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...
.
Secession Secession is the withdrawal of a group from a larger entity, especially a political entity, but also from any organization, union or military alliance. Some of the most famous and significant secessions have been: the former Soviet republics le ...
took place January 10, 1861, and after less than a month as an independent republic, Florida became one of the founding seven states of the
Confederate States of America The Confederate States of America (CSA), commonly referred to as the Confederate States or the Confederacy was an unrecognized breakaway republic in the Southern United States that existed from February 8, 1861, to May 9, 1865. The Confeder ...
. During the Civil War, Florida was an important supply route for the
Confederate Army The Confederate States Army, also called the Confederate Army or the Southern Army, was the military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) during the American Civil War (1861–1865), fighting ...
. Therefore, Union forces operated a
naval blockade A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions. It includ ...
around the entire state, and Union troops occupied major ports such as
Cedar Key Cedar Key is a city in Levy County, Florida, United States. The population was 702 at the 2010 census. The Cedar Keys are a cluster of islands near the mainland. Most of the developed area of the city has been on Way Key since the end of the 19th ...
,
Jacksonville Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the List of United States cities by area, largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the co ...
,
Key West Key West ( es, Cayo Hueso) is an island in the Straits of Florida, within the U.S. state of Florida. Together with all or parts of the separate islands of Dredgers Key, Fleming Key, Sunset Key, and the northern part of Stock Island, it cons ...
, and
Pensacola Pensacola () is the westernmost city in the Florida Panhandle, and the county seat and only incorporated city of Escambia County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 54,312. Pensacola is the principal ci ...
. Though numerous skirmishes occurred in Florida, including the
Battle of Natural Bridge The Battle of Natural Bridge was fought during the American Civil War in what is now Woodville, Florida near Tallahassee on March 6, 1865. A small group of Confederate troops and volunteers, which included teenagers from the nearby Florida Mil ...
, the Battle of Marianna and the
Battle of Gainesville The Battle of Gainesville was an American Civil War engagement fought on August 17, 1864, when a Confederate force defeated Union detachments from Jacksonville, Florida. The result of the battle was the Confederate occupation of Gainesville for ...
, the only major battle was the
Battle of Olustee The Battle of Olustee or Battle of Ocean Pond was fought in Baker County, Florida on February 20, 1864, during the American Civil War. It was the largest battle fought in Florida during the war. Union General Truman Seymour had landed troops ...
near Lake City.


Reconstruction era

During the
Reconstruction era The Reconstruction era was a period in American history following the American Civil War (1861–1865) and lasting until approximately the Compromise of 1877. During Reconstruction, attempts were made to rebuild the country after the bloo ...
that followed the Civil War, moderate Republicans took charge of the state, but they became deeply factionalized and lost public support. Florida was a peripheral region that attracted little outside attention. The state was thinly populated, had relatively few
freedmen A freedman or freedwoman is a formerly enslaved person who has been released from slavery, usually by legal means. Historically, enslaved people were freed by manumission (granted freedom by their captor-owners), abolitionism, emancipation (gra ...
, had played no great role in the war and saw little violence, and increasingly became a haven for sunshine-hunting Northerners. The moderate regime plunged into complicated maneuvering and infighting. It drafted a conservative constitution. The extended contest between liberals and radicals inside the Republican Party alienated so many voters that the Democrats took power. They rigged elections,
disenfranchised Disfranchisement, also called disenfranchisement, or voter disqualification is the restriction of suffrage (the right to vote) of a person or group of people, or a practice that has the effect of preventing a person exercising the right to vote. D ...
black voters, and made the state a reliable part of the "
Solid South The Solid South or Southern bloc was the electoral voting bloc of the states of the Southern United States for issues that were regarded as particularly important to the interests of Democrats in those states. The Southern bloc existed especial ...
". A state convention was held in 1868 to rewrite the constitution. After meeting the requirements of Congress, including ratification of the 13th and 14th Amendments to the U.S. Constitution, Florida was readmitted to the Union on June 25, 1868. This did not end the struggle for political power among groups in the state. Southern whites objected to freedmen's political participation and complained of illiterate representatives to the state legislature. But of the six members who could not read or write during the seven years of Republican rule, four were white. After Federal troops left the South in 1877, conservative white Democrats engaged in
voter suppression Voter suppression is a strategy used to influence the outcome of an election by discouraging or preventing specific groups of people from voting. It is distinguished from political campaigning in that campaigning attempts to change likely voting ...
and intimidation, regaining control of the state legislature. This was accomplished partly through violent actions by white paramilitary groups targeting freedmen and their allies to discourage them from voting. Thanks to government enticements, entrepreneurs like Henry Flagler,
Henry B. Plant Henry Bradley Plant (October 27, 1819 – June 23, 1899), was a businessman, entrepreneur, and investor involved with many transportation interests and projects, mostly railroads, in the southeastern United States. He was founder of the Plant Sy ...
, and
Hamilton Disston Hamilton Disston (August 23, 1844 – April 30, 1896)"He Died Without Warning", ''The Washington Post'' (May 1, 1896). was an industrialist and real-estate developer who purchased 4 million acres (16,000 km²) of Florida land in 1881, an are ...
, invested heavily in Florida, especially its infrastructure. The development of railroads and other transportation in the state led the population to almost double in the 1880s and 1890s.


Disenfranchisement

From 1885 to 1889, after regaining power, the white-dominated state legislature passed statutes to impose
poll tax A poll tax, also known as head tax or capitation, is a tax levied as a fixed sum on every liable individual (typically every adult), without reference to income or resources. Head taxes were important sources of revenue for many governments fr ...
es and other barriers to
voter registration In electoral systems, voter registration (or enrollment) is the requirement that a person otherwise eligible to vote must register (or enroll) on an electoral roll, which is usually a prerequisite for being entitled or permitted to vote. The ru ...
and voting, to eliminate voting by black people and poor whites. These two groups had threatened white Democratic power with a
populist Populism refers to a range of political stances that emphasize the idea of "the people" and often juxtapose this group against " the elite". It is frequently associated with anti-establishment and anti-political sentiment. The term developed ...
coalition. As these groups were stripped from voter rolls, white Democrats established power in a one-party state, as happened across the South. In this period, white violence rose against black people, particularly in the form of
lynching Lynching is an extrajudicial killing by a group. It is most often used to characterize informal public executions by a mob in order to punish an alleged transgressor, punish a convicted transgressor, or intimidate people. It can also be an ex ...
s, which reached a peak around the turn of the century. The
Great Freeze The Great Freeze is the back-to-back freezes of 1894–1895 in Northern Florida, where the brutally cold weather destroyed much of the citrus crop. Entire communities, such as Earnestville, faded after the citrus crops and trees were lost to th ...
of 1894–5 ruined citrus crops, which had a detrimental ripple effect on the economy of Central Florida in particular. By 1900 the state's African Americans numbered more than 200,000, roughly 44 percent of the total population. This was the same proportion as before the Civil War, and they were effectively disenfranchised. Not being able to vote meant they could not sit on juries, and were not elected to local, state or federal offices. They also were not recruited for
law enforcement Law enforcement is the activity of some members of government who act in an organized manner to enforce the law by discovering, deterring, rehabilitating, or punishing people who violate the rules and norms governing that society. The term en ...
or other government positions. After the end of Reconstruction, the Florida legislature passed
Jim Crow laws The Jim Crow laws were state and local laws enforcing racial segregation in the Southern United States. Other areas of the United States were affected by formal and informal policies of segregation as well, but many states outside the Sout ...
establishing
racial segregation Racial segregation is the systematic separation of people into race (human classification), racial or other Ethnicity, ethnic groups in daily life. Racial segregation can amount to the international crime of apartheid and a crimes against hum ...
in public facilities and transportation. Separate railroad cars or sections of cars for different races were required beginning in 1887. Separate waiting rooms at railroad stations were required beginning in 1909. Without political representation, African Americans found that their facilities were underfunded and they were pushed into a second-class position. For more than six decades, white Democrats controlled virtually all the state's seats in Congress, which were apportioned based on the total population of the state rather than only the whites who voted.


Spanish American War

After the start of the first liberation war in Cuba, known as the
Ten Years' War The Ten Years' War ( es, Guerra de los Diez Años; 1868–1878), also known as the Great War () and the War of '68, was part of Cuba's fight for independence from Spain. The uprising was led by Cuban-born planters and other wealthy natives. O ...
, around 100,000 Cubans fled their homes to avoid the violence and upheaval. Generally speaking, the rich and middle class Cubans settled in Europe or northern cities like New York, Philadelphia, and Boston. Meanwhile, the more poor workers ended up settling in south Florida, first in Key West and then eventually in Tampa. However, there were also a number of Spanish living in Florida. Because of the heterogeneous nature of Florida's population, there were both pro and anti-war sentiments leading up to the start of the
Spanish-American War Spanish Americans ( es, españoles estadounidenses, ''hispanoestadounidenses'', or ''hispanonorteamericanos'') are Americans whose ancestry originates wholly or partly from Spain. They are the longest-established European American group in th ...
. Because of their proximity to Cuba, Floridians worried that their cities could come under direct attack with the outbreak of war.
Tampa Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and the seat of Hillsborough County ...
would serve as an embarkation port for troops heading to Cuba. Major General Nelson A. Miles ordered a base built in Miami despite earlier rejections by a board of officers. Soldiers began arriving on June 24, 1898. They were volunteers, mostly from the southern states.


Since 1900

In 1900, Florida was largely agricultural and frontier; most Floridians lived within 50 miles of the Georgia border. The population grew from 529,000 in 1900 to 18.3 million in 2009. The population explosion began with the great land boom of the 1920s as Florida became a destination for vacationers and a southern land speculator's paradise. People from throughout the Southeast migrated to Florida during this time, creating a larger southern culture in the central part of the state, and expanding the existing one in the northern region. By 1920, Florida had the highest rate of lynchings per capita, although the overall total had declined. Violence of whites against black people continued into the post-World War II period, and there were lynchings and riots in several small towns in the early 1920s. Florida had the only recorded lynching in 1945, in October after the war's end, when a black man was killed after being falsely accused of assaulting a white girl. In the 1920s, many developers invested in land in the southern part of the State in areas such as Miami, and Palm Beach attracting more people in the Southern States. When the Crash came in 1929, prices of houses plunged, but the sunshine remained. Hurt badly by the
Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
and the land bust, Florida, along with many other States, kept afloat with federal relief money under the Franklin D. Roosevelt Administration. After World War II, the state would grow dramatically going from having a population of 2.7 million in 1950 to 16 million by 2000. It would go from being the 27th most populated state in 1940 to being the 4th by 2000 and 3rd by 2014. Florida's strong population growth would follow other states in the southern and western United States. It would follow the same trend as many residents moving to the state were from the Midwest and Northeastern US. Many new residents in Florida were elderly and as a result the average age in Florida would increase from 28.8 in 1950 to 39.3 by 2000. Technological reasons behind Florida's growth included air conditioning and
DDT Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane, commonly known as DDT, is a colorless, tasteless, and almost odorless crystalline chemical compound, an organochloride. Originally developed as an insecticide, it became infamous for its environmental impacts. ...
.


Race relations

After World War I, there was a rise in lynchings and other racial violence directed by whites against black people in the state, as well as across the South. It was due in part from strains of rapid social and economic changes, as well as competition for jobs, and lingering resentment resulting from the
Reconstruction Reconstruction may refer to: Politics, history, and sociology *Reconstruction (law), the transfer of a company's (or several companies') business to a new company *'' Perestroika'' (Russian for "reconstruction"), a late 20th century Soviet Unio ...
after the Civil War, as well as tensions among both black and white populations created by the return of black veterans. Whites continued to resort to lynchings to keep dominance, and tensions rose. Florida led the South and the nation in lynchings per capita from 1900 to 1930. A second incarnation of the
Ku Klux Klan The Ku Klux Klan (), commonly shortened to the KKK or the Klan, is an American white supremacist, right-wing terrorist, and hate group whose primary targets are African Americans, Jews, Latinos, Asian Americans, Native Americans, and ...
, from WWI until 1925, encouraged suppression of black people and other minorities. White mobs committed massacres, accompanied by wholesale destruction of black houses, churches, and schools, in the small communities of Ocoee, November 1920;
Perry Perry, also known as pear cider, is an alcoholic beverage made from fermented pears, traditionally the perry pear. It has been common for centuries in England, particularly in Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, and Worcestershire. It is also made ...
in December 1922; and
Rosewood Rosewood refers to any of a number of richly hued timbers, often brownish with darker veining, but found in many different hues. True rosewoods All genuine rosewoods belong to the genus ''Dalbergia''. The pre-eminent rosewood appreciated in ...
in January 1923. The governor appointed a special grand jury and special prosecuting attorney to investigate Rosewood and
Levy County Levy County is a county located on the Gulf coast and in the northern part of the U.S. state of Florida. As of the 2020 census, the population was 42,915. Its county seat is Bronson. History Levy County was created in 1845, after the Seminol ...
, but the jury did not find sufficient evidence to prosecute. Rosewood was never resettled. To escape segregation, lynchings, and civil rights suppression, 40,000 African Americans migrated from Florida to northern cities in the Great Migration from 1910 to 1940. That was one-fifth of their population in 1900. They sought better lives, including decent-paying jobs, better education for their children, and the chance to vote and participate in political life. Many were recruited for jobs with the
Pennsylvania Railroad The Pennsylvania Railroad (reporting mark PRR), legal name The Pennsylvania Railroad Company also known as the "Pennsy", was an American Class I railroad that was established in 1846 and headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was named ...
.


Boom of 1920s

The 1920s were a prosperous time for much of the nation, including Florida. The state's new railroads opened up large areas to development, spurring the
Florida land boom of the 1920s The Florida land boom of the 1920s was Florida's first real estate bubble. This pioneering era of Florida land speculation lasted from 1924 to 1926 and attracted investors from all over the nation. The land boom left behind entirely new, planned ...
. Investors of all kinds, many from outside Florida, raced to buy and sell rapidly appreciating land in newly
plat In the United States, a plat ( or ) (plan) is a cadastral map, drawn to scale, showing the divisions of a piece of land. United States General Land Office surveyors drafted township plats of Public Lands Surveys to show the distance and bear ...
ted communities such as Miami and Palm Beach. Led by entrepreneurs
Carl Fisher Carl may refer to: *Carl, Georgia, city in USA *Carl, West Virginia, an unincorporated community * Carl (name), includes info about the name, variations of the name, and a list of people with the name *Carl², a TV series * "Carl", an episode of te ...
and George Merrick, Miami was transformed by
land speculation In finance, speculation is the purchase of an asset (a commodity, goods, or real estate) with the hope that it will become more valuable shortly. (It can also refer to short sales in which the speculator hopes for a decline in value.) Many s ...
and ambitious building projects into an emerging metropolis. A growing awareness in the areas surrounding Florida, along with the Northeast about the attractive south Florida winter climate, along with local promotion of speculative investing, spurred the boom. A majority of the people who bought land in Florida hired intermediaries to accomplish the transactions. By 1924, the main issues in state elections were how to attract more industry and the need to build and maintain good roads for tourists. During the time frame, the population grew from less than one million in 1920, to 1,263,540 in 1925. By 1925, the market ran out of buyers to pay the high prices, and soon the boom became a bust. The
1926 Miami Hurricane The Great Miami Hurricane of 1926 was a large and intense tropical cyclone that devastated the Greater Miami area and caused catastrophic damage in the Bahamas and the U.S. Gulf Coast in September of the year 1926, accruing a US$100 mill ...
, which nearly destroyed the city further depressed the real estate market. In 1928 another hurricane struck Southern Florida. The
1928 Okeechobee hurricane The Okeechobee hurricane of 1928, also known as the San Felipe Segundo hurricane, was one of the deadliest hurricanes in the recorded history of the North Atlantic basin, and the fourth deadliest hurricane in the United States, only behind the ...
made landfall near Palm Beach, severely damaging the local infrastructure. In townships near Lake Okeechobee, the storm breached a dike separating the water from land, creating a
storm surge A storm surge, storm flood, tidal surge, or storm tide is a coastal flood or tsunami-like phenomenon of rising water commonly associated with low-pressure weather systems, such as cyclones. It is measured as the rise in water level above the n ...
that killed over 2,000 people and destroying the towns of Belle Glade and Pahokee. Tourists continued to arrive in Florida by train. The introduction of the automobile resulted in an increased number traveling on sometimes macadamized, sometimes dirt roads. The destination was usually Miami or Miami Beach. Roadside attractions included orange shops and alligator wrestling. Tourism was confined to the winter months. Summers were uncomfortably hot for visitors.


Prohibition

Prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic ...
had been popular in north Florida, but was opposed in the rest of the south, which became a haven for speakeasies and rum-runners in the 1920s. During 1928–32 a broad coalition of judges, lawyers, politicians, journalists, brewers, hoteliers, retailers, and ordinary Floridians organized to try to repeal the ban on alcohol. When the federal government legalized near beer and light wine in 1933, the wet coalition launched a successful campaign to legalize these beverages at the state level. Floridians subsequently joined in the national campaign to repeal the 18th Amendment, which succeeded in December 1933. The following November, state voters repealed Florida's constitutional ban on liquor and gave local governments the power to legalize or outlaw alcoholic beverages.


Great Depression

The
Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
began with the Stock Market crash of 1929. By that time, the economy had already declined in much of Florida from the collapse three years earlier of the land boom. During the late 1920s and early 1930s Florida would face a variety of problems with some of them stemming from the collapse of the Florida Land Boom and the Great Depression. Two hurricanes with one occurring in 1926 and another in 1928 Okeechobee hurricane, 1928 would hurt the state further economically. The state government would be in debt which was then a violation of Florida's Constitution and over 150 municipalities would also be in debt as they had defaulted on their municipal bonds which had mainly been issued as a way to pay for infrastructure during the Florida land boom. Many property owners often owed taxes to local governments which further worsened the situation. A separate issue would be with Florida's virgin timber crop being virtually cut down by the 1930s. During the New Deal (1933–40) a variety of projects would be built by the Works Progress Administration (WPA). There would be work camps for the young men of the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC). Apart from the New Deal being implemented, Florida would see David Sholtz become elected as Governor in 1932. As governor, he would manage to implement social welfare programs while simultaneously expanding the amount of tax revenue received by the state government and getting it out of debt. He would also be strongly aligned with President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and was a personal friend of his. Toward the end of Sholtz's tenure his reputation among Floridians which was previously positive would decline as his ethics became questioned. As a result Fred P. Cone would become elected as governor in 1936. While being governor he would be incredibly hands-off and had a fiscally conservative approach. From 1930 to 1935, college students selected Fort Lauderdale, Daytona Beach, and Panama City Beach as great places to take a spring break and party. The 1960s film ''Where the Boys Are'' increased attendance in Fort Lauderdale to 50,000 annually. When this figure increased to 250,000 in 1985, the city began to pass laws restricting student activities. As a result, students moved to Daytona Beach from 1980 to 1990s. The figure for Fort Lauderdale dropped to 20,000; 350,000 visited Daytona Beach. Daytona Beach passed laws constraining underage drinking. Students then began patronizing Panama City, where 500,000 visited in 2013. Florida legalized gambling in 1931 allowing a Parimutuel betting establishment. By 2014, there were 30 such establishments, generating $200 million in state taxes and fees. Anticipating war, the Army and Navy decided to use the state as a primary training area. The Navy chose the coastal areas, the Army, the inland areas. In 1940, the population was about 1.5 million. Average annual income was $308 ($ in dollars).


World War II and the development of the space industry

Prior to the United States entering World War II, Florida was found in polling by Gallup, Inc., Gallup to be among the most supportive states for interventionism. In the years leading up to World War II, 100 ships were sunk off the coast of Florida. More ships sank after the country entered the war. About 248,000 Floridians served in the war. Around 50,000 of these were African Americans. During the war, shipbuilding would make up two-thirds of all industrial growth seen in the state. Thousands of people would be hired by shipbuilding companies during the war to work in Pensacola, Panama City, Jacksonville and Tampa. There would be labor shortages during the war as many of those who worked at industrial jobs were now serving in the military. Local and migrant laborers who worked in the orchards and field would end up leaving for higher paying jobs. The state became a major hub for the United States Armed Forces. Naval Air Station Pensacola was originally established as a naval station in 1826 and became the first American naval aviation facility in 1917. The entire nation mobilized for World War II and many bases, especially air bases, were established in Florida, to include: * Naval Air Station Whiting Field * Naval Air Station Ellyson Field * Tyndall AFB, Tyndall Field * Dale Mabry Army Airfield * Naval Air Station Jacksonville * Naval Station Mayport * Naval Air Station Cecil Field * Camp Blanding * Daytona Beach International Airport, Naval Air Station Daytona Beach * Naval Air Station DeLand * Naval Air Station Sanford * Orlando Executive Airport, Orlando Army Air Base * McCoy AFB, Pinecastle Army Airfield * Kissimmee Army Airfield * Patrick Space Force Base, Naval Air Station Banana River * Naval Air Station Melbourne * Lakeland Army Airfield * Naval Air Station Fort Lauderdale * Coast Guard Air Station Miami, Naval Air Station Miami * Naval Air Station Richmond * Page Field Army Airfield * Naval Air Station Key West * Truman Annex, Naval Station Key West * Homestead Air Reserve Base, Homestead Army Air Field Numerous others were also established that exist today as military installations/facilities, civilian airports, or other facilities under different names. Present day Eglin Air Force Base, Hurlburt Field, and MacDill Air Force Base (now the home of U.S. Central Command and U.S. Special Operations Command) were also developed as U.S. Army Air Forces installations during this time. During the Cold War, Florida's coastal access and proximity to Cuba encouraged the development of these and other military facilities. Since the end of the Cold War, the military has closed some facilities, including major bases such as NAS Sanford, McCoy AFB, NAS Cecil Field, and NTC Orlando, and realigned others such as Homestead AFB being transferred to the Air Force Reserve Command and realigned as Homestead Air Reserve Base, or Saufley Field, NAS Saufley Field realigned as Saufley Field, NETPDC Saufley Field, but their presence is still significant in the state and local economies. Apart from military bases, Florida would also be home to 22 prisoner of war camps. Starting in May 1943, the Allied powers would send captured Nazi soldiers to the United States with about of 10,000 of them going to 22 camps in Florida. Many of these camps would be located in or near military bases. The population increased by 46% during the 1940s. Because of Cape Canaveral's relative closeness to the equator, compared to other potential locations, it was chosen in 1949 as a test site for the country's nascent missile program. Patrick Space Force Base and the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station launch site began to take shape as the 1950s progressed. By the early 1960s, the Space Race was in full swing. As programs were expanded and employees joined, the space program generated a huge boom in the communities around Cape Canaveral. This area is now collectively known as the Space Coast and features the Kennedy Space Center. It is also a major center of the Aerospace engineering, aerospace industry. To date, all manned orbital spaceflights launched by the United States, including the only men to visit the Moon, have been launched from Kennedy Space Center.


Post-World War II growth, changes and the Civil Rights Movement

Florida's population mix has changed. After World War II, Florida was transformed as the development of air conditioning and the Interstate highway system encouraged migration by residents of the North and Midwest. In 1950, Florida was ranked twentieth among the states in population; 50 years later it was ranked fourth, and 14 years later was number three. Due to low tax rates and warm climate, Florida became the destination for many retirees from the Northeast, Midwest and Canada. Prior to development, Florida salt marshes were capable of producing large numbers of mosquitoes. The Aedes sollicitans, salt marsh mosquito does not lay its eggs in standing water, preferring moist sand or mud instead. Biologists learned to control them by "source reduction", the process of removing the moist sand needed by the mosquitoes to breed. To achieve this goal, large sections of coastal marshes were either ditched or diked to remove the moist sand that the mosquitoes required to lay eggs on. Together with chemical controls, it yielded a qualified success.


Changes in demographics

In the early postwar period, the state's population had changed markedly by migration of new groups, as well as emigration of African Americans, 40,000 of whom moved north in earlier decades of the 20th century during the Great Migration. By 1960 the number of African Americans in Florida had increased to 880,186, but declined proportionally to 18% of the state's population. This was a much smaller proportion than in 1900, when the census showed they comprised 44% of the state's population, while numbering 230,730 persons. The median age would also end up increasing as the state became a popular destination for retirees; going from 28.8 in 1950 to 39.3 by 2000. The Cuban Revolution of 1959 resulted in a large wave of Cuban immigration into South Florida, which transformed Miami into a major center of commerce, finance and transportation for all of Latin America. Emigration from Haiti, other Caribbean states, and Central and South America continues to the present day. The population of Asian-Americans increased in Florida during the postwar years, growing from 1,142 counted by the US Census Bureau in 1950 to 154,302 by 1990. During the 1970s and 1980s Asian-Americans would end up becoming the largest foreign-born group of people in Florida.


Civil Rights movement

Like other states in the South, Florida had many African-American leaders who were active in the civil rights movement. In the 1940s and '50s, a new generation started working on issues, emboldened by veterans who had fought during World War II and wanted to gain more civil rights. Harry T. Moore built the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) in Florida, rapidly increasing its membership to 10,000. Because Florida's voter laws were not as restrictive as those of Georgia and Alabama, he had some success in registering black voters. In the 1940s he increased voter registration among black people from 5 to 31% of those age-eligible. But the state had white groups who resisted change, to the point of attacking and killing black people. In December 1951 whites Murder of Harry and Harriette Moore, bombed the house of activists Harry Moore and his wife Harriette, who both died of injuries from the blast. Although their murders were not solved then, a state investigation in 2006 reported they had been killed by an independent unit of the
Ku Klux Klan The Ku Klux Klan (), commonly shortened to the KKK or the Klan, is an American white supremacist, right-wing terrorist, and hate group whose primary targets are African Americans, Jews, Latinos, Asian Americans, Native Americans, and ...
. Numerous bombings were directed against African Americans in 1951–1952 in Florida.


2000 presidential election controversy

Florida became the battleground of the controversial 2000 US presidential election which took place on November 7, 2000. The count of the popular votes was extremely close, triggering automatic recounts. These recounts triggered accusations of fraud and manipulation, and brought to light voting irregularities in the state. Subsequent recount efforts degenerated into arguments over mispunched ballots, "hanging chads", and controversial decisions by Florida Secretary of State Katherine Harris and the Florida Supreme Court. Ultimately, the United States Supreme Court ruled in ''Bush v. Gore'' to end all recounts, allowing Harris to certify the election results. The final official Florida count gave the victory to George W. Bush over Al Gore by 537 votes, a 0.009% margin of difference. The process was extremely divisive, and led to calls for electoral reform in Florida. Florida has the strictest laws penalizing and disenfranchising felons and other criminals, even if they have served their sentences. Together with other penalties, it excluded many minorities who may have voted for the Democratic candidate.


Everglades, hurricanes, drilling and the environment

Long-term scientific attention has focused on the fragility of the
Everglades The Everglades is a natural region of tropical climate, tropical wetlands in the southern portion of the U.S. state of Florida, comprising the southern half of a large drainage basin within the Neotropical realm. The system begins near Orland ...
. In 2000 Congress authorized the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP) at $8 billion. The goals are to restore the health of the Everglades ecosystem and maximize the value to people of its land, water, and soil. Hurricane Andrew in August 1992 struck Homestead, Florida, Homestead, just south of Miami, as a Category 5 hurricane, leaving forty people dead, 100,000 homes damaged or destroyed, more than a million people left without electricity, and damages of $20–30 billion. Much of South Florida's sensitive vegetation was severely damaged. The region had not seen a storm of such power in decades. Besides heavy property damage, the hurricane nearly destroyed the region's insurance industry. The western panhandle was damaged heavily in 1995 Atlantic hurricane season, 1995, with hurricanes Hurricane Allison (1995), Allison, Hurricane Erin (1995), Erin, and Hurricane Opal, Opal hitting the area within the span of a few months. The storms increased in strength during the season, culminating with Opal's landfall as a Category 3 in October. Florida also suffered heavily during the 2004 Atlantic hurricane season, when four major storms struck the state. Hurricane Charley made landfall in Charlotte County area and cut northward through the peninsula, Hurricane Frances struck the Atlantic coast and drenched most of central Florida with heavy rains, Hurricane Ivan caused heavy damage in the western Panhandle, and Hurricane Jeanne caused damage to the same area as Frances, including compounded Coastal erosion, beach erosion. Damage from all four storms was estimated to be at least $22 billion, with some estimates going as high as $40 billion. In 2005, South Florida was struck, by Hurricanes Hurricane Katrina, Katrina and Hurricane Wilma, Wilma. The panhandle was struck by Hurricane Dennis. Florida has historically been at risk from hurricanes and tropical storms. These have resulted in higher risks and property damage as the concentration of population and development has increased along Florida's coastal areas. Not only are more people and property at risk, but development has overtaken the natural system of wetlands and waterways, which used to absorb some of the storms' energy and excess waters. Environmental issues include preservation and restoration of the Everglades, which has moved slowly. There has been pressure by industry groups to drill for Crude oil, oil in the eastern Gulf of Mexico but so far, large-scale drilling off the coasts of Florida has been prevented. The federal government declared the state an agricultural disaster area because of 13 straight days of freezing weather during the growing season in January 2010. Oranges have been grown and sold in Florida since 1872. Production dropped 59% from the 2008–9 season to the 2016–7 season. The decline was mostly due to canker, citrus greening disease, and hurricane damage.


Fishing

In 2009–2010, "there were hardly any fish off Florida...they are finding fish all over Florida" in 2016. The federal government believes this is due to federal restraints on fishing.


Infrastructure

Consistent with usage throughout the country, more than 51% of homes in Florida in 2015 use mobile phones or wireless only.


Tourism

During the late 19th century, Florida became a popular tourist destination as Henry Flagler's railroads expanded into the area. In 1891, railroad magnate Henry Plant built the luxurious Tampa Bay Hotel in
Tampa Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and the seat of Hillsborough County ...
; the hotel was later adapted for use as the campus for the University of Tampa. Flagler built the Florida East Coast Railway from
Jacksonville Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the List of United States cities by area, largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the co ...
to Key West. Along the route he provided grand accommodations for passengers, including the Ponce de Leon Hotel in St. Augustine, the Ormond Hotel in Ormond Beach, Florida, Ormond Beach, the Royal Poinciana Hotel and the Breakers Hotel in Palm Beach, and the Royal Palm Hotel (Miami), Royal Palm Hotel in Miami. In February 1888, Florida had a special tourist: President Grover Cleveland, the first lady, and his party visited Florida for a couple of days. He visited the Subtropical Exposition in Jacksonville, where he made a speech supporting tourism to the state; he took a train to St. Augustine, meeting Henry Flagler; and a train to Titusville, Florida, Titusville, where he boarded a steamboat and visited Rockledge. On his return trip, he visited Sanford, Florida, Sanford and Winter Park, Florida, Winter Park. Flagler's railroad connected cities on the east coast of Florida. This created more urbanization along that corridor. Development also followed the construction of Turnpikes I-95 in east Florida, and I-75 in west Florida. These routes aided tourism and urbanization. Northerners from the East Coast used I-95 and tended to settle along that route. People from the MidWest tended to use I-75, and settled along the west coast of Florida.


Theme parks

Florida's first theme parks were developed in the 1930s and included Cypress Gardens (1936) near Winter Haven, Florida, Winter Haven, and Marineland (Florida), Marineland (1938) near St. Augustine.


Disney World

Disney selected Orlando over several other sites for an updated and expanded version of their Disneyland Park in California. In 1971, the Magic Kingdom, the first component of the resort, opened and became Florida's best-known attraction, attracting tens of millions of visitors a year. It stimulated the development of other attractions, as well as large tracts of housing and related businesses. The Orlando, Florida, Orlando area became an international resort and convention destination, featuring a wide variety of themed parks. Other area theme parks include Universal Orlando Resort and SeaWorld.


Boating

In 2017, 50,000 vessels were damaged by Hurricane Irma. This resulted in about $500 million worth of damage, predominately in the
Florida Keys The Florida Keys are a coral cay archipelago located off the southern coast of Florida, forming the southernmost part of the continental United States. They begin at the southeastern coast of the Florida peninsula, about south of Miami, and e ...
.


See also

* Florida Historical Society * History of the Southern United States * Indigenous people of the Everglades region * Royal Governor of La Florida, List of Royal Governors of La Florida * Maritime History of Florida * Museum of Florida History * State Library and Archives of Florida * T. T. Wentworth Jr. Florida State Museum * List of time capsules#Timeline, Time Capsules in Florida *Women's suffrage in Florida ; History of places in Florida * History of Brevard County, Florida * History of Florida State University * History of Fort Lauderdale, Florida * History of Jacksonville, Florida * History of Miami * Timeline of Orlando, Florida * History of Pensacola, Florida * History of Sarasota, Florida * History of St. Petersburg, Florida * History of Tampa, Florida * History of Tallahassee, Florida * History of the University of Florida * History of West Palm Beach, Florida * History of Ybor City


References


Further reading


Surveys

* Burnett, Gene M. ''Florida's Past: People and Events That Shaped the State''. Pineapple Press: 1998. . * Colburn, David R. and deHaven-Smith, Lance. ''Government in the Sunshine State: Florida since Statehood.'' (1999). 168 pp. * Colburn, David R. and Landers, Jane L., eds. ''The African American Heritage of Florida.'' (1995). 392 pp. * Fernald, Edward A. and Purdum, Elizabeth, eds. ''Atlas of Florida.'' (1992). 280 pp. * Gannon, Michael. ''The New History of Florida''. University Press of Florida: 1996. . 480pp * Gannon, Michael. ''Florida: A Short History'' (2003) 192 pages * George, Paul S., ed. ''A Guide to the History of Florida.'' (1989). 300 pp. * Manley, Walter W., II and Brown, Canter Jr., eds. ''The Supreme Court of Florida, 1917–1972'' (2007)


Indians and colonial

* Brown, Robin C. ''Florida's First People: 12,000 Years of Human History''. Pineapple Press: 1994. . * Henderson, Ann L., and Gary R. Mormino. ''Spanish Pathways in Florida: 1492–1992''. Pineapple Press: 1991. . * Landers, Jane. ''Black Society in Spanish Florida''. University of Illinois Press: 1999. * Milanich, Jerald T. ''Florida's Indians from Ancient Times to the Present.'' (1998). 224 pp. * Murphree, Daniel S. ''Constructing Floridians: Natives and Europeans in the Colonial Floridas, 1513–1783'' (2007)


To 1900

* Baptist, Edward E. ''Creating an Old South: Middle Florida's Plantation Frontier before the Civil War.'' (2002) 408 pp
online review
* Brown, Canter, Jr. ''Ossian Bingley Hart: Florida's Loyalist Reconstruction Governor.'' (1997). 320 pp. on reconstruction * Brown, Canter Jr. and Larry Eugene Rivers. ''For a Great and Grand Purpose: The Beginnings of the AMEZ Church in Florida, 1864–1905.''(2004) 268ppl the other large black churc
online review
* Hoffman, Paul E. ''Florida's Frontiers.'' (History of the Trans-Appalachian Frontier series.) (2002). 470 pp. * Klingman, Peter D. "Race and Faction in the Public Career of Florida's Josiah T. Walls." in Howard N. Rabinowitz, ed. ''Southern Black Leaders of the Reconstruction Era'' (1982). 59–78. * Klingman, Peter D. ''Josiah Walls: Florida's Black Congressman of Reconstruction'' (1976). * * Kokomoor, Kevin. "A Re-assessment of Seminoles, Africans, and Slavery on the Florida Frontier", ''Florida Historical Quarterly'', Fall 2009, Vol. 88 Issue 2, pp 209–236 * Nulty, William H. ''Confederate Florida: The Road to Olustee.'' (1990). * Revels, Tracy J. ''Grander in Her Daughters: Florida's Women during the Civil War.'' (2004) 221 pp
online review
* Richardson, Joe M. "Jonathan C. Gibbs: Florida's Only Negro Cabinet Member." ''Florida Historical Quarterly'' 42.4 (1964): 363–368
in JSTOR
* Rivers, Larry Eugene. ''Slavery in Florida: Territorial Days to Emancipation.'' (2000). 369 pp
online review
* Rivers, Larry Eugene, and Brown, Canter, Jr. ''Laborers in the Vineyard of the Lord: The Beginnings of the AME Church in Florida, 1865–1895.'' (2001). 244 pp. history of the leading black denomination
online review
* Sprague, John T. ''The Florida War.'' (1964), on Seminole war 597 pp. * Taylor, Robert A. ''Rebel Storehouse: Florida in the Confederate Economy.'' (1995). 218 pp
online review
* Warren, Harris G. "Textbook Writers and the Florida" Purchase" Myth." ''Florida Historical Quarterly'' 41.4 (1963): 325–33
online


20th century

* Akin, Edward N. ''Flagler: Rockefeller Partner and Florida Baron.'' (1988). 305 pp. * Colburn, David R. and deHaven-Smith, Lance. ''Florida's Megatrends: Critical Issues in Florida.'' (2002). 161 pp
online review
* Colburn, David R. ''From Yellow Dog Democrats to Red State Republicans: Florida and Its Politics since 1940.'' (2007) 272p
online review
* Colburn, David R. and Scher, Richard K. ''Florida's Gubernatorial Politics in the Twentieth Century.'' (1980). 342 pp. * Kleinberg, Eliot. ''War in Paradise: Stories of World War II in Florida.'' (1999). 96pp. * Klingman, Peter D. ''Neither Dies nor Surrenders: A History of the Republican Party in Florida, 1867–1970.'' (1984). 233 pp. * Manley, Walter W., II and Canter Brown. ''The Supreme Court of Florida, 1917–1972.'' (2006). 428 pp
online review
* Newton, Michael. ''The Invisible Empire: The Ku Klux Klan in Florida.'' (2001). 260 pp. *Peirce, Neal R. ''The Deep South States of America: People, Politics, and Power in the Seven Deep South States''. 1974 * Rowe, Anne E. ''The Idea of Florida in the American Literary Imagination.'' (1986). 159 pp. * Stuart, John A., and John F. Stack, eds. ''The New Deal in South Florida: Design, Policy, and Community Building, 1933–1940.'' 263 pp
online review
* Vickers, Raymond B. ''Panic in Paradise: Florida's Banking Crash of 1926.'' (1994). 336 pp. * Wagy, Tom R. ''Governor LeRoy Collins of Florida: Spokesman of the New South.'' (1985). 264 pp. Democratic governor 1955–61


Regions, social and economic history

* Carlson, Amanda B., and Robin Poynor, eds. ''Africa in Florida: Five Hundred Years of African Presence in the Sunshine State'' (University Press of Florida, 2014) 462 pp. heavily illustrated. * Drobney, Jeffrey. ''Lumbermen and Log Sawyers: Life, Labor, and Culture in the North Florida Timber Industry, 1830–1930.'' (1997). 241 pp. * Faherty, William Barnaby ''Florida's Space Coast: The Impact of NASA on the Sunshine State.'' (2002) 224p
online review
* Grant, Roger H. ''Rails through the Wiregrass: A History of the Georgia & Florida Railroad'' (2007) * Hann, John H. ''Apalachee: The Land between the Rivers.'' (1988). 450 pp. * Hollander, Gail M. ''Raising Cane in the 'Glades: The Global Sugar Trade and the Transformation of Florida'' (2007) * McNally, Michael J. ''Catholic Parish Life on Florida's West Coast, 1860–1968.'' (1996). 503 pp. * Middleton, Sallie. "Space Rush: Local Impact of Federal Aerospace Programs on Brevard and Surrounding Counties", ''Florida Historical Quarterly'', Fall 2008, Vol. 87 Issue 2, pp 258–289 * Otis, Katherine Ann. "Everything Old Is New Again: A Social and Cultural History of Life on the Retirement Frontier, 1950–2000" PhD dissertation; ''Dissertation Abstracts International'', 2008, Vol. 69 Issue 4, p 1513–1513 * Stronge, William B. ''The Sunshine Economy: An Economic History of Florida since the Civil War'' (2008) * Turner, Gregg M. ''A Journey into Florida Railroad History'' (2008)


Environment

* Barnes, Jay. ''Florida's Hurricane History.'' (1998). 330 pp. * Barnett, Cynthia. ''Mirage: Florida and the Vanishing Water of the Eastern U.S.'' (2007). 240 pp
online review
* Grunwald, Michael, "Swamped: Harry Truman, South Florida, and the Changing Political Geography of American Conservation", in ''The Environmental Legacy of Harry S. Truman'', ed. Karl Boyd Brooks, pp 75–88. (Kirksville: Truman State University Press, 2009) . xxxvi, 145 pp.  * Kendrick, Baynard. ''A History of Florida Forests'' (2 vol 2007) * McCally, David. ''The Everglades: An Environmental History.'' (1999). 215 pp. * Miller, James J. ''An Environmental History of Northeast Florida.'' (1998). 223 pp. * Ogden, Laura. "The Everglades Ecosystem and the Politics of Nature", ''American Anthropologist'', March 2008, Vol. 110 Issue 1, pp 21–32 * Poole, Leslie Kemp. ''Saving Florida: Women's Fight for the Environment in the Twentieth Century'' (University Press of Florida, 2015). x, 274 pp. * Williams, John M. and Duedall, Iver W. ''Florida Hurricanes and Tropical Storms, 1871–2001.'' (2002). 176 pp
online review


Primary sources

* Phillips, Ulrich Bonnell, and James David Glunt, eds. ''Florida Plantation Records: From the Papers of George Noble Jones.'' (University Press of Florida, 2006). 596 pp. ; Originally published in 1927. * Romans, Bernard. ''A Concise Natural History of East and West Florida.'' ed. by Kathryn E. Holland Braund, (1999). 442 pp. online review travel in 1770s


External links


Florida Bureau of Archeological Research

Florida Memory
over 500,000 photographs and documents from the State Archives of Florida. * Boston Public Library, Map Center
Maps of Florida
various dates.
"Map of the Peninsula of Florida"
from ca. 1639 via the World Digital Library
A History of Central Florida Podcast

Florida Digital Newspaper Library
hosted at the George A. Smathers Libraries at the University of Florida
P. K. Yonge Library of Florida History
{{Authority control History of Florida, History of the Southern United States by state, Florida History of the United States by state, Florida