Spanish Florida

Spanish Florida, or "la Florida", was a province of the Viceroyalty of New Spain. Originally extending over what is now the southeastern United States, but with no defined boundaries, la Florida was a minor component of the Spanish Empire. Wide-ranging expeditions were mounted into the hinterland during the 16th century, but Spain never exercised effective control over la Florida outside of a band from what is now southeastern Georgia and northern Florida, and around a few ports on the northern coast of the Gulf of Mexico.

Spanish discovery of la Florida

Juan Ponce de León arrived in America on the second voyage of Christopher Columbus. Having distinguished himself in the settlement of Hispanola, he was given permission to invade the island of Borinquen (Puerto Rico), and was named the first governor of the island in 1509. Diego Columbus (son of Christopher Columbus) replaced Ponce de León as governor of Puerto Rico in 1512, and Ponce de León subsequently received royal permission to search for land north of Cuba.

Ponce de León equipped three ships at his own expense and sailed from Puerto Rico in 1513. In late March he spotted an island (almost certainly one of the Bahamas) but did not stop. Early in April, 1513 Ponce de León reached the northeast coast of the Florida peninsula, whice he assumed was a large island. He claimed the 'island' for Spain and named it "la Florida", either because it was the season of "Pascua Florida" ("Flowery Passover", i.e., Easter) or because much of the vegetation was in bloom. Ne then explored south along the coast, around the Florida Keys and north on the west coast of the peninsula, to Cape Romano, before returning to Puerto Rico.

Popular legend has it that Ponce de León was searching for the Fountain of Youth when he discovered Florida. However, the first mention of Ponce de León searching for water to cure his aging came more than twenty years after his voyage of discovery, and the first that placed the Fountain of Youth in Florida was thirty years after that. It is likely that Ponce de León, like other conquistadors in the Americas, was looking primarily for gold, Indians to enslave, and land to govern under the Spanish crown.

Ponce de León probably was not the first Spaniard to reach Florida, although he was the first to do so with permission from the Spanish crown. It is likely that Spanish ships from the Caribbean were already secretly raiding Florida to capture Indian slaves. The Calusa Indians of the southwest Florida coast were hostile to Ponce de León at first contact, and he encountered an Indian in Florida who could speak Spanish.