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Florida Conventions, Trade Shows, Conferences and Meetings:
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Archaeological research indicates that Florida had been inhabited for thousands of years before any European settlements. Of the many indigenous peoples, the largest known were the Ais, the Apalachee, the Calusa, the Timucua and the Tocobago tribes. Juan Ponce de León, a Spanish conquistador, named Florida in honor of his discovery of the land on April 2, 1513, during Pascua Florida, a Spanish term for the Easter season. From that date forward, the land became known as "La Florida." (Juan Ponce de León may not have been the first European to reach Florida; according to one report, at least one indigenous tribesman who he encountered in Florida in 1513 spoke Spanish.
Over the following century, both the Spanish and French established settlements in Florida, with varying degrees of success. In 1559, Spanish Pensacola was established by Don Tristán de Luna y Arellano as the first European settlement in the continental United States, but it had become abandoned by 1561 and would not be reinhabited until the 1690s. French Huguenots founded Fort Caroline in modern-day Jacksonville in 1564, but the fort was conquered by forces from the new Spanish colony of St. Augustine the following year. After Huguenot leader Jean Ribault had learned of the new Spanish threat, he launched an expedition to sack the Spanish settlement; en route, however, severe storms at sea waylaid the expedition, which consisted of most of the colony's men, allowing St. Augustine founder Pedro Menéndez de Avilés time to march his men over land and conquer Fort Caroline. Most of the Huguenots were slaughtered, and Menéndez de Avilés marched south and captured the survivors of the wrecked French fleet, ordering all but a few Catholics executed beside a river subsequently called Matanzas (Spanish for 'killings'). Later, St. Augustine and Pensacola came to serve as the capitals of the British and Spanish colonies of East and West Florida, respectively.
The Spanish never had a firm hold on Florida, and maintained tenuous control over the region by converting the local tribes, briefly with Jesuits and later with Franciscan friars. The local leaders (caciques) demonstrated their loyalty to the Spanish by converting to Roman Catholicism and welcoming the Franciscan priests into their villages.
The area of Spanish Florida diminished with the establishment of English colonies to the north and French colonies to the west. The English weakened Spanish power in the area by supplying their Creek Indian allies with firearms and urging them to raid the Timucuan and Apalachee client-tribes of the Spanish. The English attacked St. Augustine, burning the city and its cathedral to the ground several times, while the citizens hid behind the walls of the Castillo de San Marcos.
The Spanish, meanwhile, encouraged slaves to flee the English-held Carolinas and come to Florida, where they were converted to Roman Catholicism and given freedom. They settled in a buffer community north of St. Augustine, called Gracie Real de Santa Teresa de Mose, the first completely black settlement in what would become the United States.
Great Britain gained control of Florida diplomatically in 1763 through the Peace of Paris (the Castillo de San Marcos surrendered for the first time, having never been taken militarily). Britain tried to develop Florida through the importation of immigrants for labor, including some from Minorca and Greece, but this project ultimately failed. Spain regained Florida after Britain's defeat by the American colonies and the subsequent Treaty of Versailles in 1783. They offered land grants to anyone who settled the colony, and many Americans moved to the state. This Americanization resulted in 1819, by terms of the Adams-Onís Treaty, of Spain ceding Florida to the United States in exchange for the American renunciation of any claims on Texas and $5 million.
Winter in Florida, 1893On March 3, 1845, Florida became the 27th state of the United States of America. On January 10, 1861, before the formal outbreak of the Civil War, Florida seceded from the Union; ten days later, the state became a founding member of the Confederate States of America. The war ended in 1865. On June 25, 1868, Florida's congressional representation was restored.
Until the mid-twentieth century, Florida was the least populous Southern state; however, the local climate, tempered by the growing availability of air conditioning, made the state a haven, and migration from the Rust Belt and the Northeast sharply increased the population. Economic prosperity combined with Florida's sudden elevation in profile led to the Florida land boom of the 1920s, which brought a brief period of intense land development before the Great Depression brought it all to a halt. Florida's economy would not fully recover until World War II. Today, with an estimated population over 18 million, Florida is the most populous state in the Southeastern United States, the second most populous state in the South behind Texas, and the fourth most populous in the United States. The Census Bureau estimates that "Florida, now the fourth most populous state, would edge past New York into third place in total population by 2011".
From Key West to Ft. Lauderdale, Florida is a bouquet of contrasts. Back in 1960, Connie Francis introduced Ft. Lauderdale - and spring break -- to the world when she sang that Florida beaches were "Where The Boys Are." Making the Ft. Lauderdal hotels a popular lodging option next to the beaches. Today, Florida beaches are also where the supermodels and megastars are.
Where, but in Florida, can you see both the Jurassic-era reptiles of the Everglades and the sci-fi futurism of Epcot Center? Once the home to The Old Man and the Sea author Ernest Hemingway, Key West now harbors the world's most glamorous yachts and cruise ships.
Florida architecture ranges from Key West Conch to Miami Art Deco and Orlando Postmodern. But perhaps Florida's greatest contrast is with the rest of America in winter: despite the impact of hurricanes like Wilma, the "Sunshine State" averages 300 full days of sunshine a year.
Fun in the Sun
All that sunshine makes Florida beaches the place to be. From the Atlantic, to the Gulf, to Caribbean Key West, no other state offers more walks along the sand at sunset or sunrise. The shell-strewn beaches of Captiva and Sanibel islands are beachcombers' heaven. Or perhaps you'd rather spy for diamonds and pearls among the bikinied glitterati on Naples Beach along Millionaire's Row. Miami's clothing-optional Haulover Beach also frequently rates as one of the top - or, if you prefer, topless - Florida beaches.
An active Florida vacation might include swimming with Crystal River manatees, jet-boating in the Everglades, or casting for wahoo off Key Largo. Or simply sit back and root for your favorite among Florida's nine major league sports teams or eighteen MLB teams who visit for Spring Training.
Vacation Central
Each year millions make their dream of a Florida vacation come true, whether it is to push the family-fun envelope in Orlando, or to savor la vida loca in Miami.
Orlando is home to America's greatest theme park resorts, and can turn a family Florida vacation into a trip around the world: take a savanna safari in Disney's Animal Kingdom; linger at a Parisian café in Epcot, or get splashed by a whale at Sea World. Add the movie magic of Universal and MGM, mix in the g-force thrills of Busch Gardens, and you get family memories to last a lifetime.
Miami is a world unto itself. Miami's South Beach is home to the übermodel fashion scene and ultra-exclusive nightclubs-within-nightclubs where the in-crowd parties all night and all day. But whether it's the scent of fine cigar tobacco along Calle Ocho in Little Havana, or a hint of Chanel wafting amid the elaborately expensive Bal Harbour Shops, a Florida vacation in Miami can literally take your breath away.
Since Ponce de León landed in 1513, Florida has been claimed by five nations, and fiercely defended by Oceola and the Seminoles. But it took rocket science, air conditioning, and a little "Magic" to turn it into the mega-destination of today. Isn't it time you staked a claim in your own Florida vacation?
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