Various American Indian tribes have inhabited Florida for at least 14,000 years. In 1513, Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de León became the first known European to make landfall, calling the region La Florida (land of flowers) ([la floˈɾiða]). Florida subsequently became the first area in the continental U.S. to be permanently settled by Europeans, with the settlement of St. Augustine, founded in 1565, being the oldest continuously inhabited city. Florida was a Spanish territory frequently attacked and coveted by Great Britain before Spain ceded it to the U.S. in 1819 in exchange for resolving the border dispute along the Sabine River in Spanish Texas. Florida was admitted as the 27th state on March 3, 1845, and was the principal location of the Seminole Wars (1816–1858), the longest and most extensive of the American Indian Wars. The state seceded from the Union on January 10, 1861, becoming one of the seven original Confederate States, and was readmitted to the Union after the Civil War on June 25, 1868.
The indigenous people of the Everglades region arrived in the Floridapeninsula of what is now the United States approximately 14,000 to 15,000 years ago, probably following large game. The Paleo-Indians found an arid landscape that supported plants and animals adapted to prairie and xeric scrub conditions. Large animals became extinct in Florida around 11,000 years ago.
Climate changes 6,500 years ago brought a wetter landscape. The Paleo-Indians slowly adapted to the new conditions. Archaeologists call the cultures that resulted from the adaptations Archaic peoples. They were better suited for environmental changes than their ancestors, and created many tools with the resources they had. Approximately 5,000 years ago, the climate shifted again to cause the regular flooding from Lake Okeechobee that gave rise to the Everglades ecosystems. (Full article...)
... that Homestead, Florida, radio station WOIR was credited with saving the lives of hundreds of farmworkers in a labor camp before the arrival of Hurricane Andrew?
... that the launch of a Florida TV station was brought forward nearly two months because the local ABC affiliate stopped airing more than half of its prime-time shows?
Florida is a place of unparalleled diversity of backgrounds, experiences and vision. It makes our culture unique, but it can also make it difficult to define a common identity and create a sense of community that reaches beyond our neighborhoods to all corners of our state
Image 7Juan Ponce de León was one of the first Europeans to set foot in the current United States; he led the first European expedition to Florida, which he named. (from History of Florida)
Image 11Snow is very uncommon in Florida, but has occurred in every major Florida city at least once; snow does fall very occasionally in North Florida (from Geography of Florida)
Image 19Soldiers and crowds in Downtown Miami 20 minutes after Japan's surrender ending World War II (1945). (from History of Florida)
Image 20Timucua Indians at a column erected by the French in 1562 (from History of Florida)
Image 21A 1527 map by Vesconte Maggiolo showing the east coast of North America with "Tera Florida" at the top and "Lavoradore" at the bottom. (from History of Florida)
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