Florida Mapping The Sunshine State Through History

These books, produced from the archives ofthe Library of Congress and edited by Vincent Virga, offer a glimpse into the history of the United States through rare historical full-color maps, narrative captions, and short essays. Combining 50 rare, beautiful, and diverse maps of the Sunshine State from the collections of the Library of Congress, a foreword by Vincent Virga about the Library of Congress collection and the Florida maps, informative captions about the origins and contents of those maps, and essays on state history, this book is a collectible for cartography buffs and a celebration of Florida for residents, former residents, and visitors.

Offers a comprehensive look at the history of the state of Florida, from its discovery, exploration, and settlement through its becoming a state, to notable events in the early twenty-first century.

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.

These books, produced from the archives of the Library of Congress and edited by Vincent Virga, offer a glimpse into the history of the United States through rare historical full-color maps, narrative captions, and short essays. Combining 50 rare, beautiful, and diverse maps from the collections of the Library of Congress, a foreword by Vincent Virga about the Library of Congress collection and the Massachusetts maps, informative captions about the origins and contents of those maps, and essays on state history, this book is a collectible for cartography buffs and a celebration of Massachusetts for residents, former residents, and visitors.

From New Spain, to Old South, to New South, to Sunbelt, the story of how and why millions have come to Florida and influenced the enduring but changing meanings of a dreamstate. 52 b&w and 6 color photos, 4 maps.

A quick overview of the Sunshine State’s fascinating past, with photos and illustrations included. In 1513, Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de León first set foot on Florida’s east coast. The land he discovered was a geographic anomaly so distinctive that one day, centuries later, astronaut Neil Armstrong would say that Florida was the first shape on earth he recognized on his return from a visit to the moon. This unique state has witnessed such momentous events as the 1959 arrival of the first Cuban exiles under Fidel Castro and the 1981 launch of the Columbia—the first space shuttle. Join historian James C. Clark as he chronicles the surprising history of the Sunshine State in this concise and captivating book.

A National Book Award Nominee and a Kirkus Reviews Best Nonfiction Book of the Year. Over the centuries, Florida has been many things: an unconquered realm protected by geography, a wilderness that ruined Spanish conquistadors, “God’s waiting room,” and a place to start over. Depopulated after the extermination of its original native population, today it’s home to nineteen million. The site of vicious racial violence, including massacres, slavery, and the roll-back of Reconstruction, Florida is now one of our most diverse states, a dynamic multicultural place with an essential role in twenty-first-century America. In Finding Florida, T. D. Allman reclaims the remarkable history of Florida from the state’s mythologizers, apologists, and boosters. Allman traces the discovery, exploration, and settlement of Florida, its transformation from a swamp to “paradise.” Palm Beach, Key West, Miami, Tampa, and Orlando boomed, fortunes were won and lost, land was stolen and flipped, and millions arrived. The product of a decade of research and writing, Finding Florida is the first modern comprehensive history of this fascinating place. “A take-no-prisoners account . . . Extremely timely and relevant.” —The New York Times Book Review “The Seminole Wars, the Civil War, various massacres, Reconstruction, a second Reconstruction, Disney World, the Marielitos, voter suppression—it’s all here, and even Carl Hiaasen couldn’t make it up.” —Booklist, starred review

Describes the history, ecology, geography, economy, and sights of the Sunshine State, Florida.