Florida anyone

I love story telling, that is why I have told so many story's of all the places Pierre and I have been, their history's and such! I got to thinking that I have never told the history of Florida, the place I have lived for over 20 years, so here is Florida's story!

People first reached Florida at least 12,000 years ago. The rich variety of environments in prehistoric Florida supported a large number of plants and animals and the animal population included most mammals that we know today. In addition, many other large mammals that are now extinct (such as the saber-tooth tiger, mastodon, giant armadillo, and camel) roamed the land. The people who inhabited Florida at that time were hunters and gatherers, who only rarely sought big game for food. Modern researchers think that their diet consisted of small animals, plants, nuts, and shellfish. During the period prior to contact with Europeans, native societies of the peninsula developed cultivated agriculture, traded with others and increased their social organization, reflected in large temple mounds and village complexes.

  Written records about life in Florida began with the arrival of the Spanish explorer and adventurer Juan Ponce de León in 1513, he waded ashore on the northeast coast of Florida, possibly near present-day St. Augustine. He called the area la Florida, in honor of Pascua florida ("feast of the flowers"), Spain's Eastertime celebration. 

Ponce de Leon

On another voyage in 1521, Ponce de León landed on the southwestern coast of the peninsula, accompanied by two-hundred people, fifty horses, and numerous beasts of burden. His colonization attempt quickly failed because of attacks by native people. However, Ponce de León's activities served to identify Florida as a desirable place for explorers, missionaries, and treasure seekers.

In 1539 Hernando de Soto began another expedition of Florida in search of gold and silver but no great treasure troves awaited the Spanish conquistadores who explored Florida. However, their stories helped inform Europeans about Florida and its relationship to Cuba, Mexico, and Central and South America, from which Spain regularly shipped gold, silver, and other products.

 In 1559 Tristán de Luna y Arellano led another attempt by Europeans to colonize Florida. He established a settlement at Pensacola Bay, but a series of misfortunes caused his efforts to be abandoned after two years.

Spain was not the only European nation that found Florida attractive. In 1562 the French protestant Jean Ribault explored the area. Two years later, fellow Frenchman René Goulaine de Laudonnière established Fort Caroline at the mouth of the St. Johns River, near present-day Jacksonville.

Now these French adventurers prompted Spain to accelerate her plans for colonization and Pedro Menéndez de Avilés hastened his sail across the Atlantic and his sights set on removing the French and creating a Spanish settlement. Menéndez arrived in 1565 at a place he called San Augustín (St. Augustine) and established the first permanent European settlement in what is now the United States. He accomplished his goal of expelling the French and Menéndez captured Fort Caroline and renamed it San Mateo.

French response came two years later, when Dominique de Gourgues recaptured San Mateo. The English, also eager to exploit the wealth of the Americas, increasingly came into conflict with Spain's expanding empire. In 1586 the English captain Sir Francis Drake looted and burned the tiny village of St. Augustine.

The English colonists in the Carolina colonies were particularly hostile toward Spain. Led by Colonel James Moore, the Carolinians and their Creek Indian allies attacked Spanish Florida in 1702 and destroyed the town of St. Augustine. Britain gained control of Florida in 1763 and had ambitious plans for Florida first, it was split into two parts: East Florida, with its capital at St. Augustine; and West Florida, with its seat at Pensacola. The two Floridas remained loyal to Great Britain throughout the War for American Independence (1776–83). However, Spain regained control of the rest of Florida as part of the peace treaty that ended the American Revolution. When the British evacuated Florida, Spanish colonists as well as settlers from the newly formed United States came pouring in. Spain formally ceded Florida to the United States in 1821.Andrew Jackson establish a new territorial government on behalf of the United States in 1821, but what the U.S. inherited was a wilderness sparsely dotted with settlements of native Indian people, African Americans, and Spaniards.

As a territory of the United States, Florida was particularly attractive to people from the older Southern plantation areas of Virginia, the Carolinas, and Georgia, who arrived in considerable numbers. After territorial status was granted, the two Floridas were merged into one entity with a new capital city in Tallahassee. Established in 1824, Tallahassee was chosen because it was halfway between the existing governmental centers of St. Augustine and Pensacola.

By 1840 Floridians were concentrating on developing the territory and gaining statehood. The population had reached 54,477 people.

Florida now was divided informally into three areas: East Florida, from the Atlantic Ocean to the Suwannee River; Middle Florida, between the Suwannee and the Apalachicola Rivers; and West Florida, from the Apalachicola to the Perdido River. Florida became the twenty-seventh state in the United States on March 3, 1845.

During the Civil War, Florida was not ravaged as several other southern states were. Indeed, no decisive battles were fought on Florida soil. Before the Civil War, Florida had been well on its way to becoming another of the southern cotton states. Afterward, the lives of many residents changed. Beginning in 1868, the federal government instituted a congressional program of "reconstruction" in Florida and the other southern states. During the final quarter of the nineteenth century, potential investors became interested in enterprises that extracted resources from the water and land, cattle-raising, citrus industry grew, operations were as widely diverse as sponge harvesting in Tarpon Springs and phosphate mining. Beginning in the 1870s, residents from northern states visited Florida as tourists to enjoy the state's natural beauty and mild climate.

By the turn of the century, Florida's population and per capita wealth were increasing rapidly; the potential of the "Sunshine State" appeared endless. By the end of World War I, land developers had descended on this virtual gold mine. But Florida's economic bubble burst and hurricanes swept through the state in 1926 and again in 1928,

further damaging Florida's economy. By the time the Great Depression began in the rest of the nation in 1929, Floridians had already become accustomed to economic hardship.

World War II helped spurred economic development in Florida. Because of its year-round mild climate, the state became a major training center for soldiers, sailors, and aviators of the United States and its allies. One of the most significant trends of the postwar era has been steady population growth, Florida is now the fourth most populous state in the nation.

Since World War II, Florida's economy also has become more diverse. Tourism, cattle, citrus, and phosphate have been joined by a host of new industries. A interstate highway system exists throughout the state, and Florida is home to major international airports. The university and community college system has expanded rapidly, and high-technology industries have grown steadily.

  The citrus industry continues to prosper, tourism also remains important and Florida attractions bring millions of visitors to the state from across the U.S. and around the world. The space program with its historic launches from Cape Canaveral, lunar landings, and the development of the space shuttle program has helped bring a lot of media attention to the state.

Here are a few fun facts about Florida to boot!

We have 663 miles of beaches, and the only natural disasters we have are hurricanes and we can see those coming. Stone crab. We’re home to Publix, the greatest grocery store in the US of A. Being a mermaid is a viable career choice in Florida. Our state spawned Johnny Depp, Tom Petty, and Debbie Harr. Alien-seeking and rockets? Yeah, we do those at Cape Canaveral. 

Florida is the only place in the world you can find alligators and crocodiles living in the same ecosystem and Florida is the only state in the continental U.S. to have extensive coral reefs off its coasts. We care for everyone's granny and gramp, we inspired Ernest Hemingway and we live where people vacation!

Florida a kooky, whimsical, charming, messed-up swamp!;)