Florida Spanish History - The Conquistadors of Spain

Special Guest Robert Smith Jr. - Florida History and the 2014 Florida Primaries

• August 26tth - Florida Primaries
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FLORIDA OF THE CONQUISTADOR  http://floridahistory.org/conquistador.htm

MONARCHY AND MERCANTILISM IN FLORIDA

Unknown to the Indians of Florida, their destiny was being determined by political and economic forces taking place across the Atlantic Ocean in Europe. At the end of the fifteenth century, thousands of daring adventurers would be crossing the ocean to conquer within a few centuries what had taken the Indians thousands to years to inhabit.

The conquistadors of Spain who ventured into the lands of the Indians were motivated by many forces. The discovery of gold in Mexico and Peru convinced thousands of impoverished Spanish peasants to join the military. Men fropm wealthy families also joined the cause of exploring the New World. Under the rules of primogeniture, younger sons of the nobility would not inherit much of the family estate, but leading a successful colonial mission could give you the funds to build a castle.

PONCE de LEON - MAN OF MANY MYTHS

JUAN PONCE DE LEON who is acknowledged as the discoverer of Florida. Since there existed two ancient maps showing the southern helf of Florida which predate Ponce de Leon's trip to Florida, he did not discover Florida but verified it was part of North America.

The grandson of a famous war hero, Ponce de Leon was trained to be a soldier and public servant. This indicates he was not a man of wealth despite the notability of his family background.

• 1783 Florida returned to Spain in exchange for Bahamas and Gibraltar
• 1821 United States acquired Florida from Spain by treaty