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101-560: The earliest descriptions of the sixteenth-century chiefdom of Acuera , from the accounts of the Hernando de Soto entrada of 1539, describe the principal town of Acuera as being located within a day's travel of the town of Ocale on the northern side of the Withlacoochee River . As with all of the Timucuan tribes, the principal town was the political center of a chiefdom which controlled

202-482: A St. Augustine motel pool, in which the owner poured acid into the water during a demonstration, influenced the passage of the 1964 Civil Rights Act . Economic prosperity in the 1920s stimulated tourism to Florida and related development of hotels and resort communities. Combined with its sudden elevation in profile was the Florida land boom of the 1920s , which brought a brief period of intense land development. In 1925,

303-543: A gross state product (GSP) of $ 1.647 trillion, is the fourth largest of any U.S. state and the 15th-largest in the world; the main sectors are tourism , hospitality , agriculture , real estate, and transportation . Florida is world-renowned for its beach resorts , amusement parks , warm and sunny climate, and nautical recreation; attractions such as Walt Disney World , the Kennedy Space Center , and Miami Beach draw tens of millions of visitors annually. Florida

404-649: A school shooting at Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida , leading to new gun control regulations at both the state and federal level. On June 24, 2021, a condominium in Surfside, Florida , near Miami collapsed , killing at least 97 people. The Surfside collapse is tied with the Knickerbocker Theatre collapse as the third-deadliest structural engineering failure in United States history, behind

505-586: A "Free and Independent State". The ordinance declared Florida's secession from the Union , allowing it to become one of the founding members of the Confederate States . The Confederacy received little military help from Florida; the 15,000 troops it offered were generally sent elsewhere. Instead of troops and manufactured goods, Florida did provide salt and, more importantly, beef to feed the Confederate armies. This

606-541: A Loyalist stronghold for the duration of the American Revolution . Spain regained both East and West Florida after Britain's defeat in the Revolutionary War and the subsequent Treaty of Versailles in 1783, and continued the provincial divisions until 1821. Defense of Florida's northern border with the United States was minor during the second Spanish period. The region became a haven for escaped slaves and

707-483: A base for Indian attacks against U.S. territories, and the U.S. pressed Spain for reform. Americans of English and Scots Irish descent began moving into northern Florida from the backwoods of Georgia and South Carolina . Though technically not allowed by the government authorities, they were never able to effectively police the border region and the backwoods settlers from the United States would continue to immigrate into Florida unchecked. These migrants, mixing with

808-645: A division the Spanish Crown kept after the brief British period. The British government gave land grants to officers and soldiers who had fought in the French and Indian War in order to encourage settlement. In order to induce settlers to move to Florida, reports of its natural wealth were published in England. A number of British settlers who were described as being "energetic and of good character" moved to Florida, mostly coming from South Carolina , Georgia and England. There

909-640: A larger territory with other settlements. In the case of the Acuera, their territory appears to have been what is today the Ocklawaha River Valley and the Ocala National Forest. The Acuera defeated and drove away the Spaniards from the de Soto expedition which attacked the chiefdom, one of the few Native American groups during the early part of the entrada to do so. Later in the sixteenth century, after

1010-420: A mission church at the site. Accordingly, excavations were undertaken during the summer of 2012 in an area where Spanish structural materials, including forged nails, had been found during previous studies at the site. Shovel testing, metal detector testing, and water screening were used during these excavations. Metal detector testing was initially employed to determine the presence of any historic structures at

1111-700: A mixed-race population of mestizos and mulattoes . The Spanish encouraged slaves from the Thirteen Colonies to come to Florida as a refuge, promising freedom in exchange for conversion to Catholicism . King Charles II of Spain issued a royal proclamation freeing all slaves who fled to Florida and accepted conversion and baptism. Most went to the area around St. Augustine , but escaped slaves also reached Pensacola. St. Augustine had mustered an all-black militia unit defending Florida as early as 1683. The geographical area of Spanish claims in Florida diminished with

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1212-575: A number of protests occurred in Florida during the 1950s and 1960s as part of the Civil Rights Movement. In 1956–1957, students at Florida A&M University organized a bus boycott in Tallahassee to mimic the Montgomery bus boycott and succeeded in integrating the city's buses. Students also held sit-ins in 1960 in protest of segregated seating at local lunch counters, and in 1964 an incident at

1313-427: A population of over 21 million, it is the third-most populous state in the United States and ranks eighth in population density as of 2020. Florida spans 65,758 square miles (170,310 km ), ranking 22nd in area among the states. The Miami metropolitan area , anchored by the cities of Miami , Fort Lauderdale , and West Palm Beach , is the state's largest metropolitan area , with a population of 6.138 million;

1414-582: A religious and social significance to the Acuera. The Acuera last appeared in Spanish records in 1697, in a report that (non-Christian) Acuera living in a village with the Ayapaja, under a single chief, had left the village to "live in the woods". The indigenous people living in mission villages along the road between St. Augustine and the western Timucuan provinces, and later, Apalachee Province, were subject to labor drafts. Workers were required to carry produce from

1515-535: A town called Aquouena (Acuera?) east of Eloquale (Ocale), on a tributary of the St. Johns River. The French also recorded a chief named Acquera being a vassal of Chief Utina . The 17th-century Spanish missions of San Luis de Acuera and Santa Lucia de Acuera were reported to be at distances from St. Augustine that are consistent with the missions being located near the Oklawaha River and Lake Weir. In 1836 Lake Weir

1616-521: Is 3 nautical miles (3.5 mi; 5.6 km) offshore in the Atlantic Ocean and 9 nautical miles (10 mi; 17 km) offshore in the Gulf of Mexico. At 345 feet (105 m) above mean sea level , Britton Hill is the highest point in Florida and the lowest highpoint of any U.S. state. Much of the state south of Orlando lies at a lower elevation than northern Florida, and is fairly level. Much of

1717-463: Is a 312-foot (95 m) peak in Lake County . On average, Florida is the flattest state in the United States. Lake Okeechobee , the largest lake in Florida, is the tenth-largest natural freshwater lake among the 50 states of the United States and the second-largest natural freshwater lake contained entirely within the contiguous 48 states , after Lake Michigan . The longest river within Florida

1818-506: Is a popular destination for retirees , seasonal vacationers , and both domestic and international migrants; it hosts nine out of the ten fastest-growing communities in the U.S. The state's close proximity to the ocean has shaped its culture , identity, and daily life; its colonial history and successive waves of migration are reflected in African , European , Indigenous , Latino , and Asian influences. Florida has attracted or inspired some of

1919-637: Is now the contiguous United States to be visited and settled by Europeans. The earliest known European explorers came with Juan Ponce de León . Ponce de León spotted and landed on the peninsula on April 2, 1513. He named it Florida (colloquially la Florida) in recognition of the flowery, verdant landscape and because it was the Easter season, which the Spaniards called Pascua Florida (Festival of Flowers). The following day they came ashore to seek information and take possession of this new land. The story that he

2020-455: Is the St. Johns River, at 310 miles (500 km) long. The drop in elevation from its headwaters South Florida to its mouth in Jacksonville is less than 30 feet (9.1 m). The climate of Florida is tempered somewhat by the fact that no part of the state is distant from the ocean. North of Lake Okeechobee , the prevalent climate is humid subtropical ( Köppen : Cfa ), while areas south of

2121-677: 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. Since the mid-20th century, Florida has experienced rapid demographic and economic growth. Its economy , with

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2222-598: The American alligator , American crocodile , American flamingo , Roseate spoonbill , Florida panther , bottlenose dolphin , and manatee . The Florida Reef is the only living coral barrier reef in the continental United States, and the third-largest coral barrier reef system in the world, after the Great Barrier Reef and the Belize Barrier Reef . Paleo-Indians entered Florida at least 14,000 years ago. By

2323-646: The Black Lives Matter movement. After Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico in September 2017, a large population of Puerto Ricans began moving to Florida to escape the widespread destruction. Hundreds of thousands of Puerto Ricans arrived in Florida after Maria dissipated, with nearly half of them arriving in Orlando and large populations also moving to Tampa, Fort Lauderdale, and West Palm Beach. A handful of high-profile mass shootings have occurred in Florida in

2424-607: The First Seminole War . The United States now effectively controlled East Florida. Control was necessary according to Secretary of State John Quincy Adams 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." More recent historians describe that after U.S. independence, settlers in Georgia increased pressure on Seminole lands, and skirmishes near

2525-506: The Franciscan missionary Francisco Pareja in the early 17th century. Pareja regarded the Santa Lucia de Acuera and Tucururu (which may have adjoined Acuera) dialects as the most divergent from what he considered the standard dialect, that of Mocama . The province of Acuera may have consisted of several small chiefdoms , including Avino, Eloquale, and Acuera. Utiaca may have been under

2626-455: The Government of Florida . The marriage between Luisa de Abrego, a free black domestic servant from Seville, and Miguel Rodríguez, a white Segovian, occurred in 1565 in St. Augustine. It is the first recorded Christian marriage in the continental United States. Some Floridanos married or had unions with Pensacola , Creek , or African women, both slave and free, and their descendants created

2727-561: The Hyatt Regency walkway collapse and the collapse of the Pemberton Mill . Much of Florida is on a peninsula between the Gulf of Mexico, the Atlantic Ocean and the Straits of Florida . Spanning two time zones , it extends to the northwest into a panhandle , extending along the northern Gulf of Mexico. It is bordered on the north by Georgia and Alabama , and on the west, at the end of

2828-567: The King's Road connecting St. Augustine to Georgia . The road crossed the St. Johns River at a narrow point called Wacca Pilatka , now the core of Downtown Jacksonville , and formerly referred to by the British name "Cow Ford", reflecting the fact that cattle were brought across the river there. The British divided and consolidated the Florida provinces ( Las Floridas ) into East Florida and West Florida ,

2929-618: The Kingdom of Great Britain for control of Havana , Cuba , which had been captured by the British during the Seven Years' War . The trade was done as part of the 1763 Treaty of Paris which ended the Seven Years' War. Spain was granted Louisiana from France due to their loss of Florida. A large portion of the Florida population left, taking along large portions of the remaining Indigenous population with them to Cuba. The British soon constructed

3030-570: The Seaboard Air Line broke the FEC's southeast Florida monopoly and extended its freight and passenger service to West Palm Beach; two years later it extended passenger service to Miami. Devastating hurricanes in 1926 and 1928 , followed by the Great Depression , brought that period to a halt. Florida's economy did not fully recover until the military buildup for World War II . In 1939, Florida

3131-623: The Second Seminole War (1835–1842). Following the war, approximately 3,000 Seminole and 800 Black Seminole were removed to Indian Territory . A few hundred Seminole remained in Florida in the Everglades . On March 3, 1845, only one day before the end of President John Tyler 's term in office, Florida became the 27th state, admitted as a slave state and no longer a sanctuary for runaway slaves. Initially its population grew slowly. As European settlers continued to encroach on Seminole lands,

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3232-622: The Third Seminole War (1855–1858), having taken refuge in the Everglades, from where they never surrendered to the US. They fostered a resurgence in traditional customs and a culture of staunch independence. Florida had become a burden to Spain, which could not afford to send settlers or troops due to the devastation caused by the Peninsular War . Madrid, therefore, decided to cede the territory to

3333-451: The Timucua language . In 1539 the town first encountered Europeans when it was raided by soldiers of Hernando de Soto 's expedition. French colonists also knew this town during their brief tenure (1564–1565) in northern Florida. Late in the 16th century, Acuera came under Spanish influence as it expanded its settlements. Two or three Spanish missions were founded in the Acuera province in

3434-548: The Treaty of Payne's Landing (1832), which called for the relocation of all Seminole to Indian Territory (now Oklahoma ). Some resisted, leading to the Second Seminole War , the bloodiest war against Native Americans in United States history. By 1842, most Seminoles and Black Seminoles, facing starvation, were removed to Indian Territory west of the Mississippi River . Perhaps fewer than 200 Seminoles remained in Florida after

3535-487: The 1620s. No missions in Acuera province appear in Spanish records after the Timucuan Rebellion of 1656, but the Acuera appear to have remained in their traditional territory throughout the rest of the seventeenth century. In the late 1620s the Spanish resettled the indigenous people of Utiaca at the mission of San Diego de Helaca (or Laca) on the east side of the St. Johns River, where the route from St. Augustine to

3636-782: The 16th century, the earliest time for which there is a historical record, major groups of people living in Florida included the Apalachee of the Florida Panhandle , the Timucua of northern and central Florida, the Ais of the central Atlantic coast, the Mayaimi of the Lake Okeechobee area, the Tequesta of southeastern Florida, and the Calusa of southwest Florida. Florida was the first region of what

3737-506: The 17th century. Based on distances between indigenous towns reported by Spanish explorers, anthropologists Jerald T. Milanich and Charles Hudson locate the town of Acuera in central Florida near Lake Weir and Lake Griffin , near the headwaters of the Oklawaha River , a tributary of the St. Johns River . A map produced by Jacques le Moyne , who was part of the late 16th-century French attempt to colonize Florida at Fort Caroline , shows

3838-468: The 2012 excavations support the idea of the Hutto/Martin site being the place of the Acuera town and Santa Lucia de Acuera mission. They pointed to features of the site such as its similar location and size, discovered mission structure, and large percentage of Spanish and Native American artifacts to advance this claim. They also brought attention to differences in ceramic styles found within the vicinity of

3939-493: The 21st century. In June 2016, a gunman killed 49 people at a gay nightclub in Orlando . It is the deadliest incident in the history of violence against LGBT people in the United States , as well as the deadliest terrorist attack in the U.S. since the September 11 attacks in 2001, and it was the deadliest mass shooting by a single gunman in U.S. history until the 2017 Las Vegas shooting . In February 2018, 17 people were killed in

4040-474: The Acuera people in historical times was part of the St. Johns culture . It is characterized by the people's creating shell middens from their refuse, and burial mounds for their dead. They made a "chalky" pottery based on the use of freshwater sponge spicules as a temper , sometimes decorated with check-stamping. "Santa Lucia de Acuera" was one of nine or ten dialects of the Timucua language named by

4141-420: The Acuera province, or Avino may have been an alternate name for Acuera. The mission of San Blas de Habino probably was abandoned by the late 1620s. The mission of Santa Lucia de Acuera was established by 1627, when Father Pareja named one of the dialects of the Timucua language after the mission. The mission of San Luis de Eloquale was noted in a Spanish report in 1630. Both missions may have been established by

Hutto/Martin Site - Misplaced Pages Continue

4242-537: The Acuera submission to Spain resulted in almost all missionaries being withdrawn from Spanish Florida. Acuera sent laborers to St. Augustine during the period from 1597 to 1602. People from Acuera also went to St. Augustine to trade deer skins, chestnuts, and pots. The mission of San Blas de Habino was established after 1610 to serve the towns of Avino, Tucuru and Utiaca, which were on the lower to middle Oklawaha River, at intervals of one-and-a-half to two leagues apart. The Spanish may have regarded this area as part of

4343-462: The Castilian language, and more to Florida. Spain established several settlements in Florida, with varying degrees of success. In 1559, Don Tristán de Luna y Arellano established a settlement at present-day Pensacola , making it one of the first settlements in Florida, but it was mostly abandoned by 1561. In 1564–1565, there was a French settlement at Fort Caroline , in present Duval County , which

4444-569: The Floridas, and in the meantime they were, with the advice of councils, to establish courts. This was the first introduction of the English-derived legal system which Florida still has today, including trial by jury , habeas corpus and county-based government. Neither East Florida nor West Florida sent any representatives to Philadelphia to draft the Declaration of Independence . Florida remained

4545-523: The Hutto/Martin site. Afterwards, archaeologists used shovel testing in areas where artifacts were found in order to understand the boundaries of the site and denote if artifacts were positioned in situ . Other methods such as water screening were used to separate discovered materials from sediment for further analysis. These excavations located a mission church structure, with burial pit features with associated human remains. Other artifacts recovered included Native American and Spanish artifacts dating to both

4646-655: The Indians from Florida. Seminoles offered sanctuary to blacks, and these became known as the Black Seminoles , and clashes between whites and Indians grew with the influx of new settlers. In 1832, the Treaty of Payne's Landing promised to the Seminoles lands west of the Mississippi River if they agreed to leave Florida. Many Seminoles left at this time. Some Seminoles remained, and the U.S. Army arrived in Florida, leading to

4747-719: The Indians. Most non-Indian residents were soldiers stationed at Fort Dallas . It was the most devastating Indian war in American history, causing almost a total loss of population in Miami. After the Second Seminole War ended in 1842, William English re-established a plantation started by his uncle on the Miami River . He charted the "Village of Miami" on the south bank of the Miami River and sold several plots of land. In 1844, Miami became

4848-634: The Mobile District of West Florida to the Mississippi Territory in 1812. Spain continued to dispute the area, though the United States gradually increased the area it occupied. In 1812, a group of settlers from Georgia, with de facto support from the U.S. federal government, attempted to overthrow the Floridan government in the province of East Florida. The settlers hoped to convince Floridians to join their cause and proclaim independence from Spain, but

4949-417: The Spanish consolidated missions closer to the road connecting St. Augustine to the Apalachee Province . Their efforts to maintain missions in Acuera province stopped after the 1656 rebellion. Even at the height of the Spanish founding missions in Acuera province, the Acuera were virtually unique among the Timucua peoples in that they appear to have created a "parallel" system of religious authority to that of

5050-455: The Timucuan Rebellion in 1656, the missions in Acuera territory were abandoned, though the Acuera appear to have maintained a relationship with the Spanish colonial government through at least the remainder of the seventeenth century. Survey of the Ocklawaha River Valley during Boyer's initial fieldwork along the Ocklawaha River in 2006-2007 indicated that numerous sites associated with the later St. Johns archaeological culture appeared to date to

5151-416: The United States intervened to move the remaining Seminoles to the West. The Third Seminole War (1855–1858) resulted in the forced removal of most of the remaining Seminoles, although hundreds of Seminole Indians remained in the Everglades. The first settlements and towns in South Florida were founded much later than those in the northern part of the state. The first permanent European settlers arrived in

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5252-402: The United States through the Adams–Onís Treaty , which took effect in 1821. President James Monroe was authorized on March 3, 1821, to take possession of East Florida and West Florida for the United States and provide for initial governance. On behalf of the U.S. government, Andrew Jackson , whom Jacksonville is named after, served as a military commissioner with the powers of governor of

5353-419: The Utiaca fled with part of his people from San Diege de Helaca and returned to Acuera Province. Florida Florida ( / ˈ f l ɒr ɪ d ə / FLORR -ih-də , Spanish: [floˈɾiða] ) is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States . It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to

5454-508: The already present British settlers who had remained in Florida since the British period, would be the progenitors of the population known as Florida Crackers . These American settlers established a permanent foothold in the area. The British settlers who had remained also resented Spanish governance, leading to a rebellion in 1810 and the establishment for ninety days of the so-called Free and Independent Republic of West Florida on September 23. After meetings beginning in June, rebels overcame

5555-405: The border led to the First Seminole War (1816–1819). The United States purchased Florida from Spain by the Adams-Onis Treaty (1819) and took possession in 1821. The Seminole were moved out of their rich farmland in northern Florida and confined to a large reservation in the interior of the Florida peninsula by the Treaty of Moultrie Creek (1823). Passage of the Indian Removal Act (1830) led to

5656-424: The chief of Avino, while Piliuco, and possibly Mocoso, were towns under the chief of Acuera. Tucuru may have been under Avino, or may have been independent. The caciques (chiefs) of Tucuru and Eloquale visited St. Augustine earlier than the cacica (female chief) of Acuera did. Eloquale, a town on the Oklawaha River, may have been a new location for the town of Ocale , which was near the Withlacoochee River when

5757-419: The county seat, and six years later a census reported there were ninety-six residents in the area. The Third Seminole War was not as destructive as the second, but it slowed the settlement of southeast Florida. At the end of the war, a few of the soldiers stayed. American settlers began to establish cotton plantations in north Florida, which required numerous laborers, which they supplied by buying slaves in

5858-420: The de Soto expedition stopped there for two weeks in 1539. Ocale was also referred to as Cale and Etocale by Spanish chroniclers of the de Soto expedition. After the de Soto expedition stayed in 1539 at the town of Mocoso on Tampa Bay, it may have been relocated to the province of Acuera. In 1539 Hernando de Soto landed in Tampa Bay with more than 600 men and 200 horses. The expedition intended to live off

5959-414: The de Soto expedition, portrayed the Acuera as proud and fierce warriors. With the establishment of Fort Caroline in 1564 by French Huguenots near the mouth of the St. Johns River, the Acuera, along with most other Timucua speakers, came into continuing contact with Europeans. The Spanish drove the French out of Florida the next year and established St. Augustine. During this period the Acuera chiefdom

6060-472: The defense of the Captaincy General of Cuba and the Spanish West Indies . In 1738, the governor of Florida Manuel de Montiano established Fort Gracia Real de Santa Teresa de Mose near St. Augustine, a fortified town for escaped slaves to whom Montiano granted citizenship and freedom in return for their service in the Florida militia, and which became the first free black settlement legally sanctioned in North America. In 1763 , Spain traded Florida to

6161-463: The domestic market. By 1860, Florida had only 140,424 people, of whom 44% were enslaved. There were fewer than 1,000 free African Americans before the American Civil War. On January 10, 1861, nearly all delegates in the Florida Legislature approved an ordinance of secession, declaring Florida to be "a sovereign and independent nation"—an apparent reassertion to the preamble in Florida's Constitution of 1838, in which Florida agreed with Congress to be

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6262-448: The early 19th century. People came from the Bahamas to South Florida and the Keys to hunt for treasure from the ships that ran aground on the treacherous Great Florida Reef . Some accepted Spanish land offers along the Miami River. At about the same time, the Seminole Indians arrived, along with a group of runaway slaves. The area was affected by the Second Seminole War , during which Major William S. Harney led several raids against

6363-414: The east, and the Straits of Florida and Cuba to the south. About two-thirds of Florida occupies a peninsula between the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean . It has the longest coastline in the contiguous United States , spanning approximately 1,350 miles (2,170 km), not including its many barrier islands . It is the only state that borders both the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean. With

6464-423: The establishment of St. Augustine in 1565, and the beginnings of Spanish missionization of the cultures of Florida, the female chief of the Acuera and a number of her principal leaders rendered obedience to the Spanish governor of Florida in 1597. By the 1620s, the mission of Santa Lucia de Acuera had been established in the principal town of the Acuera chiefdom, together with at least one other mission, San Luis, to

6565-422: The establishment of English settlements to the north and French claims to the west. English colonists and buccaneers launched several attacks on St. Augustine in the 17th and 18th centuries, razing the city and its cathedral to the ground several times. Spain built the Castillo de San Marcos in 1672 and Fort Matanzas in 1742 to defend Florida's capital city from attacks, and to maintain its strategic position in

6666-402: The federal government used the facility to process, document and provide medical and dental services for the newcomers. As a result, the Freedom Tower was also called the "Ellis Island of the South". In recent decades, more migrants have come for the jobs in a developing economy. With a population of more than 18   million, according to the 2010 census, Florida is the most populous state in

6767-402: 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 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

6868-443: The garrison at Baton Rouge (now in Louisiana ) and unfurled the flag of the new republic: a single white star on a blue field. This flag would later become known as the " Bonnie Blue Flag ". In 1810, parts of West Florida were annexed by the proclamation of President James Madison , who claimed the region as part of the Louisiana Purchase . These parts were incorporated into the newly formed Territory of Orleans . The U.S. annexed

6969-423: The interior of the state. Florida's economy has been based primarily upon agricultural products such as citrus fruits, strawberries, nuts, sugarcane and cattle. The boll weevil devastated cotton crops during the early 20th century. Until the mid-20th century, Florida was the least-populous state in the southern United States . In 1900, its population was only 528,542, of whom nearly 44% were African American,

7070-440: The lake (including the Florida Keys ) have a true tropical climate (Köppen: Aw , Am , and Af ). Mean high temperatures for late July are primarily in the low 90s Fahrenheit (32–34   °C). Mean low temperatures for early to mid-January range from the low 40s Fahrenheit (4–7   °C) in north Florida to above 60 °F (16 °C) from Miami on southward. With an average daily temperature of 70.7 °F (21.5 °C), it

7171-475: The land, taking food stored in the towns along their path. De Soto received a report of a large town named Acuera, said to have abundant maize . De Soto's main forces moved north from Tampa Bay to Ocale, where they stopped for two weeks. While at Ocale, de Soto twice sent soldiers to seize maize from Acuera. The Acuera strongly resisted the Spanish incursions. Garcilaso de la Vega , known as El Inca, in his later romanticized and somewhat less than reliable history of

7272-405: The later precontact period, and were likely associated with the Acuera chiefdom. During the course of this fieldwork, one such site was located which had both Native American and colonial Spanish artifacts present, near the town of Moss Bluff. This site, recorded as the Hutto/Martin site (8MR3447), was considered the most likely candidate for the site of the principal town of the Acuera chiefdom and

7373-492: The location of the seventeenth-century Santa Lucia de Acuera Spanish mission and sixteenth-century Acuera town. Archaeologists also came to this conclusion by comparing records of Acuera, such as in the de Soto entrada . The Hutto/Martin site ultimately provides an understanding of the Native American cultures in this Florida region during the Spanish contact era. It also helps archaeologists further analyze interactions between

7474-432: The mission structure compared to the rest of the site. Throughout the rest of the site, St. Johns II style ceramics were found, which are associated with Native American assemblages. But in areas near the church, archaeologists uncovered Leon/Jefferson wares, which are tied to missionized Native American groups. Archaeologists proposed this may have suggested traces of people not from Acuera, or fugitives, whose past presence

7575-424: The missionaries. Their traditional religious leaders, who had substantial followings, openly practiced their beliefs. Historical and recent archaeological evidence suggests that conversion to Catholicism may have been limited to either the chiefly class or to refugees from other Timucuan groups forced into missions. After the Timucuan Rebellion in 1656, the Acuera seem to have either defied or not been subject to

7676-449: The most populous city is Jacksonville . Florida's other major population centers include Tampa Bay , Orlando , Cape Coral , and the state capital of Tallahassee . 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

7777-417: The most prominent American writers, including Ernest Hemingway , Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings , and Tennessee Williams , and continues to attract celebrities and athletes, especially in golf , tennis , auto racing , and water sports . Florida has been considered a battleground state in American presidential elections , particularly those in 2000 and 2016 . Florida's climate varies from subtropical in

7878-537: The newly acquired territory for a brief period. On March 30, 1822, the U.S. Congress merged East Florida and part of West Florida into the Florida Territory . By the early 1800s, Indian removal was a significant issue throughout the southeastern U.S. and also in Florida. In 1830, the U.S. Congress passed the Indian Removal Act and as settlement increased, pressure grew on the U.S. government to remove

7979-468: The north to tropical in the south. It is the only state besides Hawaii to have a tropical climate , and the only continental state with both a tropical climate, located at the southern portion of the state, and a coral reef . Florida has several unique ecosystems, including Everglades National Park , the largest tropical wilderness in the U.S. and among the largest in the Americas . Unique wildlife include

8080-462: The north. Mission Santa Lucia de Acuera was occupied from roughly 1627 to 1656. After the mission's establishment, the Acuera appear to have maintained much more of their cultural and religious traditions and beliefs than most of the other Native American chiefdoms missionized by the Spanish, and Santa Lucia de Acuera appears to have been a haven for fugitives from the Spanish labor draft as well as non-Catholic Native Americans from outside Florida. After

8181-583: The order of Spanish governor Diego de Rebolledo to consolidate along the Camino Real. During the latter half of the seventeenth century, Spanish records indicate the Acuera maintained a traditional religious and political system, with multiple towns and villages. Calesa, nephew of the Acuera chief Jabahica, was tried in 1678 by the Governor of Florida for multiple murders (he was accused of six, and admitted in court to three). Boyer has argued that these killings had

8282-516: The panhandle, by Alabama. It is the only state that borders both the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico. Florida also is the southernmost of the 48 contiguous states, Hawaii being the only one of the fifty states reaching farther south. Florida is west of the Bahamas and 90 miles (140 km) north of Cuba . Florida is one of the largest states east of the Mississippi River , and only Alaska and Michigan are larger in water area. The water boundary

8383-750: The pre-automobile era, railroads played a key role in the state's development, particularly in coastal areas. In 1883, the Pensacola and Atlantic Railroad connected Pensacola and the rest of the Panhandle to the rest of the state. In 1884 the South Florida Railroad (later absorbed by Atlantic Coast Line Railroad ) opened full service to Tampa . In 1894 the Florida East Coast Railway reached West Palm Beach ; in 1896 it reached Biscayne Bay near Miami . Numerous other railroads were built all over

8484-405: The region's Native American groups and Spanish colonials. 29°05′36″N 81°54′07″W  /  29.0933°N 81.9020°W  / 29.0933; -81.9020 Acuera Acuera (Timucua: Acuero ?, "Timekeeper") was the name of both an indigenous town and a province or region in central Florida during the 16th and 17th centuries. The indigenous people of Acuera spoke a dialect of

8585-801: The same proportion as before the Civil War. Forty thousand blacks, roughly one-fifth of their 1900 population levels in Florida, left the state in the Great Migration . They left due to lynchings and racial violence and for better opportunities in the North and the West. Disfranchisement for most African Americans in the state persisted until the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s gained federal legislation in 1965 to enforce protection of their constitutional suffrage. In response to racial segregation in Florida,

8686-555: The settlers lost their tenuous support from the federal government and abandoned their cause by 1813. Traditionally, historians argued that Seminoles based in East Florida began raiding Georgia settlements and offering havens for runaway slaves. The United States Army led increasingly frequent incursions into Spanish territory, including the 1817–1818 campaign against the Seminole Indians by Andrew Jackson that became known as

8787-419: The site of Santa Lucia de Acuera. Subsequent excavations at the Hutto/Martin site between 2009 and 2010 uncovered mission-era Spanish structures as well as Native American residential structures, further suggesting it was the location of the Acuera chiefdom and Santa Lucia de Acuera mission. The 2009-2010 excavations, while they provided evidence that the Hutto/Martin site was the site of Acuera, did not locate

8888-440: The sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Taken in conjunction with the previous archaeological discoveries at the site as well as the historical record of the Acuera chiefdom, the 2012 excavations at the site suggest that the Hutto/Martin site represents both the site of the seventeenth-century Santa Lucia de Acuera mission, and is almost certainly the location of the sixteenth-century town of Acuera as well. Archaeologists held that

8989-612: The southeastern United States and the third-most populous in the United States. The population of Florida has boomed in recent years with the state being the recipient of the largest number of out-of-state movers in the country as of 2019. Florida's growth has been widespread, as cities throughout the state have continued to see population growth. In 2012, the killing of Trayvon Martin , a young black man, by George Zimmerman in Sanford drew national attention to Florida's stand-your-ground laws , and sparked African American activism, including

9090-499: The state is at or near sea level. Some places, such as Clearwater have promontories that rise 50 to 100 ft (15 to 30 m) above the water. Much of Central and North Florida, typically 25 mi (40 km) or more away from the coastline, have rolling hills with elevations ranging from 100 to 250 ft (30 to 76 m). The highest point in peninsular Florida (east and south of the Suwannee River ), Sugarloaf Mountain ,

9191-459: The western Timucuam provinces and Apalachee to St. Augustine, and also to work in the town of St. Augustine. Residents of those villages, escaping such labor duties, fled southward into the Acuera, Agua Dulce and Mayaca provinces (by the 1640s the Spanish referred to those provinces as a group as the Diminiyuti or Ibiniyuti Province [ ibiniuti was Timucuan for "water land"]). In 1648, the cacique of

9292-512: The western Timucuan missions crossed the river. They were probably needed there to serve the river crossing, as the original inhabitants, the Agua Dulce people , were greatly reduced in numbers. Epidemics of new infectious diseases, which were endemic among the Europeans, caused high mortality rates and severely affected Timucua mission communities in the 1650s. Following the Timucua rebellion of 1656,

9393-464: Was also a group of settlers who came from the colony of Bermuda . This was the first permanent English-speaking population in what is now Duval County , Baker County , St. Johns County and Nassau County . The British constructed good public roads and introduced the cultivation of sugar cane, indigo and fruits, as well as the export of lumber. The British governors were directed to call general assemblies as soon as possible in order to make laws for

9494-569: Was described as "still very largely an empty State." Subsequently, the growing availability of air conditioning , the climate, and a low cost of living made the state a haven. Migration from the Rust Belt and the Northeast sharply increased Florida's population after 1945. In the 1960s, many refugees from Cuba , fleeing Fidel Castro 's communist regime, arrived in Miami at the Freedom Tower , where

9595-426: Was destroyed by the Spanish. Today a reconstructed version of the fort stands in its location within Jacksonville. In 1565, the settlement of St. Augustine (San Agustín) was established under the leadership of admiral and governor Pedro Menéndez de Avilés , creating what would become the oldest, continuously occupied European settlements in the continental U.S. and establishing the first generation of Floridanos and

9696-581: Was identified on an Anglo-American map as "Lake Ware." Milanich and Hudson speculate that "Ware" was derived from "Acuera". Boyer has identified the Hutto/Martin Site, 8MR3447, a little to the north of Lake Weir, as being the site of the 17th-century mission of Santa Lucia de Acuera and the likely site of the town of Acuera recorded in the Ranjel account of the Hernando de Soto entrada . The territory occupied by

9797-401: Was known to have been within the town. Other aspects, such as the low burial population densities that were measured in association to the mission structure, were said to be indications of resistance to Catholic religion. This was also known of the Acuera people. Based on the archaeological evidence and 2012 excavations at the Hutto/Martin site, archaeologists determined that the site was indeed

9898-577: Was particularly important after 1864, when the Confederacy lost control of the Mississippi River, thereby losing access to Texas beef. The largest engagements in the state were the Battle of Olustee , on February 20, 1864, and the Battle of Natural Bridge , on March 6, 1865. Both were Confederate victories. The war ended in 1865. Following the American Civil War, Florida's congressional representation

9999-482: Was restored on June 25, 1868, albeit forcefully after Reconstruction and the installation of unelected government officials under the final authority of federal military commanders. After the Reconstruction period ended in 1876, white Democrats regained power in the state legislature. In 1885, they created a new constitution, followed by statutes through 1889 that disfranchised most blacks and many poor whites. In

10100-481: Was searching for the Fountain of Youth is mythical and appeared only long after his death. In May 1539, Hernando de Soto skirted the coast of Florida, searching for a deep harbor to land. He described a thick wall of red mangroves spread mile after mile, some reaching as high as 70 feet (21 m), with intertwined and elevated roots making landing difficult. Europeans introduced Christianity , cattle, horses, sheep,

10201-505: Was subject to or associated with the Utina chiefdom, but became independent of Utina as that chiefdom declined in power. The cacica (female chief) of Acuera went to St. Augustine in 1597 to render obedience to Spain. Most of the other Timucua chiefdoms had also done so by this time, and had requested missionaries be sent to their provinces. However, a rebellion in Guale that occurred shortly before

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