Maritime history of Florida facts for kids
Florida is a long, flat piece of land surrounded by the Gulf of Mexico, the Florida Straits, and the Atlantic Ocean. This shape and its natural features, like reefs and shallow waters, have given Florida a long and exciting history with the sea. The weather, currents, and many natural harbors have also made Florida an important place for ships from all over the world.
People have lived in Florida for at least 12,000 years. Back then, the sea level was much higher, covering almost half of Florida. Early people lived near springs, rivers, and the coast. They ate a lot of fish and shellfish. The places where they lived are now often underwater. For at least 6,000 years, native people traveled Florida's waterways and coasts in canoes. This helped them talk and trade with other tribes. Over 300 ancient canoes have been found in Florida.
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European Explorers Arrive
In the late 1400s and early 1500s, European explorers sailed west, hoping to find a faster way to Asia. Instead, they found the Americas. The Spanish, French, and English wanted new resources, land, and people to convert to their religions. They sent soldiers, missionaries, and colonists to claim these new lands.
First Encounters in Florida
The first European to arrive in Florida was the Spaniard Juan Ponce de León in 1513. He landed near what is now St. Augustine. Ponce de León named the land "La Florida." He tried to sail around what he thought was an island, going south to the Keys and then north to Tampa.
Other Spanish explorers followed him. Pánfilo de Narváez landed near Tampa Bay in 1528. Only four people from his group survived, including Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca. Another survivor, Juan Ortiz, lived as a slave in the Tampa Bay area for almost 12 years. He was rescued in 1539 by Hernando de Soto. De Soto landed in Tampa Bay with nine ships and over 600 soldiers. He explored much of southern North America.
In 1559, Don Tristán de Luna y Arellano started a colony at Pensacola Bay. But a hurricane destroyed almost all his supply ships. He left after two years. One of his lost ships is believed to be the Emanuel Point shipwreck site, found in 1992.
French and Spanish Battles
In 1562, the French sent Jean Ribault to the New World. He wanted to start a French colony. He marked a spot on the St. Johns River in Florida for a future settlement. In 1564, René Goulaine de Laudonnière led settlers back to Florida and built Fort Caroline in what is now Jacksonville.
In 1565, the Spaniard Pedro Menéndez de Avilés captured Fort Caroline from the French. He then founded St. Augustine, which became the first lasting European colony in the United States. Later, in 1568, the French recaptured Fort Caroline. The Spanish built a watchtower at Matanzas Inlet in 1569 to spot ships coming towards St. Augustine. However, this didn't stop English privateer Sir Francis Drake from attacking St. Augustine in 1586. St. Augustine is considered the nation's oldest port.
Spanish Treasure Fleets
From the late 1500s to the 1700s, Spain sent large groups of merchant and military ships from Cuba to Spain every year. These were called the Spanish plate fleets. They carried gold, silver, and gemstones from mines in Mexico and Peru. They also carried porcelains, silks, pearls, and spices from Asia. These Asian goods reached the Americas on the Spanish Manila Galleon fleet.
The treasure fleets sailed through the Straits of Florida and up the coast of North America using the Gulf Stream. Then they headed east to Spain. Spain built forts like Castillo de San Marcos in Florida. These forts protected them from French and British attackers and pirates. They also helped save survivors and cargo from ships that wrecked along Florida's coasts during hurricanes.
Shipwrecks and Conflicts
Many Spanish ships were lost off the Florida coast. The biggest disasters happened to the fleets of 1622, 1715, and 1733. In 1622, eight ships were lost in a hurricane. In the 1900s, parts of these lost ships were found. These include the Nuestra Señora de Atocha from 1622, the Urca de Lima from 1715, and the San Pedro from 1733.
Eleven Spanish ships were lost in the 1715 hurricane. They wrecked on shallow reefs between Sebastian Inlet and Fort Pierce. More than 700 men died in that storm. The McLarty Treasure Museum tells the story of this disaster. The Mel Fisher Maritime Heritage Society Museum in Key West shows treasures and items from the Atocha and the Santa Margarita, which was lost in 1622.
During the 1600s and 1700s, Spain, France, and England kept fighting over land and religion in Florida. The British from Georgia and South Carolina tried to move south. The French moved east along the Gulf Coast from the Mississippi River valley. Spain used Castillo de San Marcos to protect St. Augustine. They also started building Fort Matanzas in 1740 for more protection from the south.
During the War of Jenkins' Ear (1739-1748), the Royal Navy patrolled the Caribbean and North American coast. One ship lost then was the HMS Fowey. Its wreck is in Biscayne National Park. In 1763, Spain gave Florida to Britain in exchange for Havana, Cuba. The British had captured Havana during the Seven Years' War. That same year, the British built a fort overlooking Pensacola Bay. Most people from St. Augustine moved to Cuba when the war ended.
Spain took Pensacola in 1781 and got the rest of Florida back in 1783. Britain gave Florida to Spain for the Bahamas and Gibraltar. Around 1797, Spain built two forts at Pensacola Bay. What remains of these forts is now part of Gulf Islands National Seashore.
Even though Britain controlled Florida for a short time, it greatly changed the economy. More British people and slaves came, and large plantations and other businesses grew. They sent their products to other British colonies and traded with Spanish Louisiana and Mexico. This was possible because maps were made, land was given out, the first road was built, and a system of shipping by rivers and coasts started. This trade continued after Spain got Florida back.
During this time, stories began about Florida's most famous pirate, José Gaspar, also known as Gasparilla. Many legends grew around him, and his memory is celebrated every February at the Gasparilla Pirate Festival in Tampa. However, most historians believe he never actually existed.
Florida Joins the United States
Spain gave Florida to the United States in 1819. Florida became a U.S. territory in 1821. Trade along the coast grew, and towns like Jacksonville, Pensacola, and Tampa became important ports. After Florida became a U.S. territory, the federal government started building lighthouses. These lights helped ships navigate dangerous areas along Florida's coasts.
Florida's first coastal navigation aid was a Spanish watchtower in St. Augustine in 1586. But the first true lighthouse was built there in 1824. Early lighthouses were often damaged by storms. The lighthouse in Key West (1825) and the lighthouse near Key West (1827) both fell in an 1846 hurricane. Twenty people died seeking shelter in them. Other lighthouses had to be moved when sand washed away from their bases. Because many parts of the Florida coast had no lighthouses, ships often wrecked, especially along the Florida Keys. For a while, wrecking (salvaging wrecked ships) made Key West the biggest and richest city in Florida.
The U.S. Navy has been very important in Florida's maritime history. In the 1820s, the U.S. Navy protected ships from pirates in the Caribbean. One patrol ship, the USS Alligator, was lost near Islamorada while guiding other ships.
In 1826, work began on the Pensacola Navy Yard and four forts to defend it. What remains of Fort Pickens, Fort Barrancas, and Fort McRee are now part of Gulf Islands National Seashore.
Near the end of the 1800s, during the Spanish–American War, Tampa and other Florida ports became places where thousands of U.S. troops and supplies gathered before heading to Cuba. Later, with the invention of airplanes and aircraft carriers, the U.S. Navy set up aviation training stations in Pensacola (1913) and Jacksonville (1940).
After Florida became a state in 1845, its economy grew stronger. Ports shipped large amounts of citrus, cotton, lumber, and other goods to other states, the Caribbean, and Europe. The federal government started building coastal forts like Fort Taylor in Key West and Fort Jefferson in the Dry Tortugas. These forts helped control shipping through the Florida Straits. Fort Jefferson was never finished, but construction lasted 30 years. Many bricks were shipped there on steamboats, like the one found at the Bird Key wreck.
Florida left the Union in 1861 and joined the Confederacy. During the Civil War, Union ships blocked Florida's ports. Blockade runners brought supplies to the Confederacy and took Florida products out. One Union ship, the Maple Leaf, hit a Confederate mine in Florida waters.
After the Civil War, farming, cattle ranching, lumber, and mining became important. This led to better transportation. Railroads spread across the state, connecting ports and inland areas. Steamboats like the City of Hawkinsville, SS Tarpon, and SS Copenhagen offered regular passenger and freight service. They sailed on rivers like the St. Johns River and across oceans. Tourism grew with steamboat tours and hotels near rail lines. In 1900, the SS Copenhagen crashed into a reef near Pompano Beach. In 1994, its remains became an Underwater Archaeological Preserve.
In the late 1800s, the government improved channels and harbors and mapped Florida's waters. These changes, along with new technology in the 1900s, helped Florida's ports become important for global trade, cruise ships, and water recreation. Florida has many boats used by sport fishermen, jet skiers, wind-surfers, power boaters, sail boaters, water-skiers, and scuba divers.
The Florida Keys have the only coral reefs in the continental United States. These reefs are home to many fish and corals, but they are also dangerous for ships. Thousands of ships have wrecked in the Keys and other Florida waters over the centuries. The most famous Spanish wreck found west of the Florida Keys was the Nuestra Señora de Atocha. It was found in 1985 after a 16-year search by Mel Fisher. The treasure from this ship is worth a lot of money.
In recent times, the U.S. Coast Guard has helped many Cubans trying to reach Florida's shores. Many try to cross the strait in homemade rafts and boats. It is not known how many have been lost at sea.
