Florida and the Spanish Conquistador
As Christopher Columbus first set foot on an island in the Bahamas on October 12, 1492, Spain stood poised to become the greatest world power of its time. Columbus opened the door to a rich New World, which the Spanish were quick to enter. Columbus sailed from Spain intending to discover a trade route to China and the Far East. Instead, he found the Caribbean islands of Puerto Rico, Hispaniola, and Cuba and on later voyages, the mainland of Central and South America. The discovery of gold in the islands whetted Spain's appetite for the New World and the age of the conquistador began. In May 1493, Pope Alexander VI issued a papal bull dividing the New World into Spanish and Portuguese possessions, which was formalized as the Treaty of Tordesillas in 1494. Columbus immediately led a second expedition to bring settlers to colonize the new lands. Juan Ponce de León sailed on this voyage and settled on Hispaniola, from which he would sail to Florida in 1513. Columbus discovered Jamaica and Puerto Rico during his second voyage and Trinidad and Venezuela on a third voyage in 1498. By this time, Europeans had sailed along the Atlantic coasts of North and South America and had begun planting colonies.
Christopher Columbus: A detailed account of Columbus’s life, times and voyages.
Imperial Spain: A tutorial on 15th century Spain, Columbus’s voyages, the Spanish pattern of settlement in the New World, and the conquests of Mexico and Peru.
The Settlement of Florida: Provides an overview of colonial Florida, from the landing of Ponce de León to the establishment of the city of St. Augustine.
Spanish Florida: The history of European settlement of Florida, including information on Spanish, French, and British attempts at settlement.
After losing his appointment as governor of Puerto Rico, Juan Ponce de León received a patent from Charles V to discover and settle the Island of Bimini. Ponce De León sailed northwest from Puerto Rico on March 3, 1513 and sighted land on Easter Sunday, March 27. He named this land “La Florida” in honor of Easter's “La Pascua Florida” (Festival of Flowers) ). On April 2, Ponce de León landed near present-day St. Augustine and claimed the land for Spain before continuing his voyage along the coast and returning to Puerto Rico. The fierce attacks of the Native Americans discouraged Ponce de León from colonizing Florida during his first voyage. On his second voyage in 1514, he landed at an unknown location on the Florida coast with two ships full of settlers. Natives again attacked and drove the would-be settlers back to the ships. Ponce De León then sailed to Cuba and died from wounds received in the attack. Although he did not found the settlement in Florida that his patent allowed, Ponce de León is remembered for discovering and naming the peninsula.
Ponce de León: Overview of Ponce de León’s discovery of Florida.
Who was Ponce de León?: Information about Ponce de León, his life, discovery of Florida. Includes information on historical perspectives on Ponce de León and myths about the man and his actions.
Ponce de León’s Voyages: Full text of a book by the regional historian and author T. Frederick Davis on Ponce de León’s voyages to Florida.
Ponce de León: Account of his second voyage to Florida and his death.
Biography of Ponce de León: Full text of a biography on Ponce de León. Includes his life in Spain, his governorship, and his exploration of Florida.
Ponce de León Biography: Biography of Ponce de León.
Panfilo de Narváez sailed from Jagua (Cienfuegos) toward Havana in 1527. Storms blew him off course into the Gulf of Mexico and he landed on Florida’s west coast, north of Tampa in present-day Sarasota Bay. Narváez took possession of Florida in the name of the Spanish Crown and declared himself governor. When the natives told him there was gold in a city called Apalachee, Narváez and his company marched north to find it. The city turned out to be nothing more than an impoverished town. Narváez and his men wandered along the Florida panhandle for months before finally returning to the Gulf Coast. Narváez and his remaining men set out for Mexico City in rafts, which capsized near the Texas coast. Narváez drowned and the surviving men took years to finally reach Mexico City. One of the survivors, Alvar Nuñez Cabeza de Vaca, wrote an account of the expedition and of his own later travels which became an important historical record of Florida's native peoples and geography.
Panfilo de Narváez: An account of Narváez’s expeditions.
Panfilo de Narváez's Florida Expedition: Includes an account of Narváez’s voyages and brief overviews of Ponce de León, Tristán de Luna, and Hernando de Soto.
Timeline of Panfilo de Narváez: Short biography and timeline of Narváez’s life and voyages.
Alvar Nuñez Cabeza de Vaca’s Account of the Narváez Expedition: Translation of Cabeza de Vaca's firsthand account of the Narváez expedition.
Narváez: Overview of Narváez’s voyage, his route, and images.
Charles V appointed Hernando de Soto governor of Cuba, with jurisdiction over Florida. In May 1539, de Soto led a well-prepared and provisioned expedition of almost 1,000 men to conquer and settle Florida. De Soto landed near Tampa Bay and marched into the interior of the North American mainland, where they battled through the Florida swamps. De Soto discovered the only survivor of Narváez’s expedition, who joined the group as a translator and guide. De Soto marched north to the town of Apalachen and spent the winter there. De Soto ordered native villages to supply his men with food, women, and workers or risk being labeled as rebellious, the punishment for which was the cutting off of the rebel’s hands. Still searching for gold, de Soto continued north to present day Savannah, Georgia and eventually west along the Tennessee River.
The De Soto Chronicles: Site includes text of accounts of the De Soto expedition.
De Soto Biography: Biography of Hernando de Soto.
De Soto Landing: Account of de Soto’s landing in Florida.
De Soto Expedition: Short account of the de Soto expedition. Includes a map of the expedition.
De Soto’s Landing in Florida: An account of the de Soto expedition’s landing in Florida. From a full-text reprint of a book on de Soto by historian John S. C. Abbott.
Luis de Velasco, governor of Mexico, chose Tristán de Luna y Arellano to head an expedition to settle Florida in 1559. De Luna and 1,500 soldiers, settlers, and Dominican priests set out with a year’s worth of food and provisions. Upon landing in Pensacola Bay, de Luna founded Santa María de Filipinos. All but three of de Luna’s ships were destroyed by a hurricane on September 19, wiping out most of his provisions and killing many of his company. De Luna continued his explorations and eventually found a native town that gave them food, which was soon exhausted by the large party. Supplies from Velasco saw them through the winter, but lack of food forced de Luna to send out a party to the native town of Coca. Dissention and dissatisfaction at hardships and lack of treasure prompted de Luna’s men to abandon him. De Luna returned to Cuba.
The Luna Papers: Full-text of documents about de Luna’s expedition by Herbert Ingram Priestley, author, professor of Mexican history at the University of California, Berkeley and director of the school's library.
The de Luna Expedition: An account and map of the de Luna expedition.
Tristán de Luna: A brief biography of de Luna.
Tristán de Luna: Information on the archaeological investigation of de Luna’s shipwreck.