A Concise History of Florida

A quick overview of the Sunshine State's fascinating past.



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...