The First European Colony in the United States Juan Ponce de León, the discoverer and first governor of La Florida, established the first European colony in the United States on the west coast of Florida in 1521. Although its location has never been determined, historians have theorized that it likely occurred somewhere in the Charlotte Harbor area. The settlement is believed to have lasted only three to four months. It was abandoned when conflict with the local Indians resulted in Juan Ponce being mortally wounded. The survivors took him to Cuba where he died of his wounds. In 1528, seven years after the Ponce de León settlement had been abandoned, Pánfilo de Narváez landed just north of the entrance to Tampa Bay with an expedition of 400 men and 10 women. On one of their first inland expeditions they encountered the Tocobaga Indians at their main village in today’s Safety Harbor, where they found many cargo boxes and European artifacts that may have been remnants of the Ponce de León settlement. The inland exploration by Narváez and three hundred of his men, seeking a non-existent large bay to their north, resulted in the deaths of all but four, who became the first to explore inland North America, finally reaching the Pacific eight years later. Rare and seldom-seen Spanish maps produced by the royal mapmakers in Seville in 1527 show the location and latitude for the Bay of Juan Ponce. MacDougald produces compelling evidence that Narváez was seeking the Bay of Juan Ponce, and that the first European colony established in the United States occurred in Tampa Bay, likely in the area known today as Safety Harbor in Old Tampa Bay, the site of the Tocobaga village visited by Narváez.

Florida is a story of astonishing growth, a state swelling from 500,000 residents at the outset of the 20th century to some 16 million at the end. As recently as mid-century, on the eve of Pearl Harbor, Florida was the smallest state in the South. At the dawn of the millennium, it is the fourth largest in the country, a megastate that was among those introducing new words into the American vernacular: space coast, climate control, growth management, retirement community, theme park, edge cities, shopping mall, boomburbs, beach renourishment, Interstate, and Internet. Land of Sunshine, State of Dreams attempts to understand the firestorm of change that erupted into modern Florida by examining the great social, cultural, and economic forces driving its transformation. Gary Mormino ranges far and wide across the landscape and boundaries of a place that is at once America's southernmost state and the northernmost outpost of the Caribbean. From the capital, Tallahassee--a day's walk from the Georgia border--to Miami--a city distant but tantalizingly close to Cuba and Haiti--Mormino traces the themes of Florida's transformation: the echoes of old Dixie and a vanishing Florida; land booms and tourist empires; revolutions in agriculture, technology, and demographics; the seductions of the beach and the dynamics of a graying population; and the enduring but changing meanings of a dreamstate. Beneath the iconography of popular culture is revealed a complex and complicated social framework that reflects a dizzying passage from New Spain to Old South, New South to Sunbelt.

A history of maps in the Florida Keys.

For God, Glory, and Gold chronicles the pivotal three decades from 1513 to 1543, marking the establishment of the United States' first European colony, the inaugural inland exploration of North America, an epic of survival unmatched in American history, and the two most extensive expeditions ever to traverse the continent. This book presents a focused and compelling narrative that vividly resurrects the past in a clear and engaging way. Meticulously researched, it offers a fresh perspective on the bold ventures of Juan Ponce de Leo´n, Pa´nfilo de Narva´ez, Hernando de Soto, and Francisco Va´zquez de Coronado, who delved into the heartlands of the Southeast and Southwest in pursuit of wealth and renown. For God, Glory, and Gold showcases rare early 16th-century maps, meticulously scanned, enlarged, and brought to life in vibrant color. The author skillfully intertwines historical chronicles, vivid depictions, and these extraordinary cartographic gems, transporting readers back to an era of audacious exploration and cultural collision. The narrative vividly depicts the hardships and often tragic aftermaths of Spain's initial expeditions to explore and settle in North America. With its blend of concise, engaging storytelling and exquisite visual aids, For God, Glory, and Gold is a must-have for those interested in the early Spanish exploration and settlement of what would later become the United States.

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The first major exploration of the North American continent began in Florida in April 1528. Pánfilo de Narváez led an inland expedition with 300 men. Only four survived. The courageous quartet endured an astonishing eight-year odyssey, traversing more than 3,500 miles from Florida to the shores of the Pacific Ocean. One of the survivors, Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca wrote his book, the Relación, in 1542, detailing their amazing journey. Yet, precisely where this expedition began has long been debated by researchers and historians. In this book, author James E. MacDougald provides an analysis of published research and a new investigation, finally establishing that one of America's most important historic events began in present-day St. Petersburg, on the shores of Boca Ciega Bay. Based on MacDougald's years of study, he adds a new and independent analysis, using research resources not available to many previous historians that details one of the most important Spanish expeditions in North America.