Social Education 77(1), pp 14–18 ©2013 National Council for the Social Studies Charting the Land of Flowers: Exploration and Mapmaking in Spanish Florida Rodney Kite-Powell Produced by cartographers of many nations over the course of six centuries, maps the Mississippi and south of the Great detailing Florida and the North American continent tell tales of exploration, conflict, Lakes would generally be referred to as and change. Before 1492, Europeans were unaware of what existed on the other La Florida.2 Ponce de León hoped that side of the Atlantic Ocean. That reality is illustrated quite well on two maps that the new land would be rich in gold and show the “known world” from the European perspective in the years preceding silver and offer Spain a strategic foothold Christopher Columbus’s voyages: Hartmann Schedel’s Liber Chronicarum (Nuremberg in eastern North America. Chronicle—Map of the World) published in 1493; and Martin Waldseemüller’s Other Europeans, likely slave hunters, Strassburg Ptolemy, published in 1513 as a refinement of Claudis Ptolemy’s world had probably already landed on Florida’s map, but without information regarding the New World. With our twenty-first cen- shores, and at least three maps that pre- tury hindsight, we see them as uninformed. However, the intellectuals of this period date Ponce de León’s first voyage may viewed themselves as extremely knowledgeable, and that knowledge is embodied in show the Florida coastline—Juan de these two Old World maps. la Cosa’s world chart, created around 1500, the Cantino Chart, dated ca. 1502, By the turn of the sixteenth century, from the indigenous people of Puerto and Peter Martyr’s map from 1511. Spain and other powerful European Rico that in the land to the north there Additionally, when Ponce de León and countries were well aware of the New was abundant gold. In the spring of his crew made landfall, they encoun- World and the incredible potential 1513, he set out on a royally sanctioned tered at least one American Indian who across the Atlantic Ocean. Columbus exploration in an attempt to locate this understood Spanish.3 followed his initial 1492 expedition with northern land. On Easter Sunday, April Some historians believe that after cross-Atlantic voyages in 1493, 1498, 2, 1513, after traveling northwest from Ponce de León first landed near and 1502. There was still an incredible Puerto Rico for almost a month, Ponce Melbourne Beach, he then sailed around amount to learn about this strange land, de León and his crew finally caught sight the peninsula and northward as far as and no shortage of people eager to explore of land. Known as Bimini by the native Charlotte Harbor, or possibly Tampa what lay outside the borders of Schedel’s islanders in the Bahamas, he gave the Bay. While repairing ships and gather- and Waldseemüller’s maps. The names landmass a new name. According to ing supplies, his party was attacked by Juan Ponce de León and Hernando de seventeenth-century historian Antonio Calusa Indians and forced to return to Soto are well known. Those men, plus de Herrera y Tordesillas, “thinking that Puerto Rico. These native people may Pánfilo de Narváez, Tristán de Luna, this land was an island, they called it well have remembered or been told of Pedro Menéndez de Avilés, Francisco La Florida, because it was very pretty Spanish slavers who had reached the west María Celi, and many others, struggled to behold with many and refreshing coast of Florida long before Ponce de to first explore, then dominate, and ulti- trees, and it was flat, and even: and also León. In 1521, Ponce de León returned mately understand what we now know because they discovered it in the time to Florida with a charter from the King as the United States of America and the of Flowery Passover (Pascua Florida), of Spain to establish a colony. Historians state of Florida. Juan Ponce wanted to agree in the name, estimate he landed near Sanibel Island A companion of Columbus on his sec- with these two reasons.”1 For the next in Charlotte Harbor, but was again ond voyage, Ponce de León had heard century, most of North America east of driven off by the Calusa. In the battle, Social Education 14 Map 1 Hartmann Schedel’s Secunda etas Mundi, created in 1493, shows the world as it was known to Europeans before knowledge of Christopher Columbus’s voyage. Though his “discovery” of the New World occurred one year earlier, knowledge of his findings were still widely unknown. Map 2 Among the oldest purported maps to include Florida is a 1513 map of the Americas by Martin Waldseemüller. Scholars still disagree on whether Waldseemüller’s map shows Florida to the northwest of the island of Isabella (Cuba) or part of China. January/February 2 013 15 he received a leg wound that became a congressional committee chose Shaw’s on shore. A hurricane struck the Florida infected, leading to his death in Havana Point in Bradenton; others now favor panhandle a month after the colonists in July 1521. the area between the Manatee and Little arrived. Aside from the loss of human Seven years later, a red-bearded, one- Manatee River or even farther south in life, the colony also suffered the destruc- eyed fleet commander named Pánfilo the area around Charlotte Harbor. The tion of 10 of the 13 ships (including the de Narváez led the first known explora- Uzita chief refused to meet with the ship where most of the colony’s food was tion of Tampa Bay. In 1527, he received conquistadors, saying he would rather stored). About half of the group’s supplies permission from Emperor Charles V to receive their severed heads. Captured were washed out into the Gulf of Mexico. conquer and colonize the lands between Indians, when asked where gold could be Lack of food and tense relations among the Cape of Florida and the Río de Las found, consistently directed the Spanish the colonists led to the eventual failure Palmas in Mexico. Launching his expedi- explorers north, toward a land where of this effort by the Spanish to establish tion from Cuba in 1528, he landed on the the shine of gold was said to rival the a permanent settlement. Pinellas peninsula, marched overland sun’s glow. Other nations also showed an interest to Old Tampa Bay and gave it the name De Soto and his men found more than in Florida. French Huguenots, uneasy Bahía de la Cruz (Bay of the Cross, later just unhappy American Indians when in their Catholic-dominated homeland, changed to Bahía de Espíritu Santo or they arrived on the shore just south of made an attempt to settle in Florida in Bay of the Holy Spirit). Soon after land- Tampa Bay. They also encountered Juan 1564. Led by Rene de Laudonniere and ing, Narváez led a violent confrontation Ortiz, a crewmember on one of Narváez’s Jean Ribuat, the colony of Fort Caroline, against the Tocobaga over the perceived ships that went back to Cuba but returned located near present-day Jacksonville, treatment of the remains of several to Tampa Bay in 1529 looking for any lasted about a year. During that time, Spaniards from a wrecked Spanish ves- trace of the lost expedition. Captured an artist named Jacques Le Moyne de sel. To rid themselves of the Spanish, the almost immediately, he lived as a cap- Morgues documented the people, flora, Tocobaga told Narváez that gold could tive among Florida’s native people for and fauna of Florida (dubbed New be found to the north, in the land of 11 years. That knowledge would prove France by the settlers). He also created Apalachen. Narváez started overland helpful to de Soto: Ortiz would serve as a map of Florida—all of which were with 400 Spaniards and ordered his translator for the expedition. engraved and published by Theodor ships north in search of a good harbor. The de Soto expedition strengthened de Bry in 1591. The ships did not find a harbor north the Spanish claim to Florida and pro- The French colony came to a bloody of Tampa Bay and returned to Cuba. The vided an enormous amount of new infor- end at the hands of Spaniard Pedro marchers were not so fortunate. Only mation about the interior of the continent Menéndez de Avilés and his armada of four survivors reached Mexico after an and the diversity of the native peoples. 10 ships and over 1,000 soldiers and sail- eight-year ordeal. One of the survivors, Indeed, a new map of the continent was ors. Menéndez’s fleet arrived in Florida Alvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca, wrote an created around 1544 by Alonso de Santa on September 8, 1565, and founded what account of the expedition. Another survi- Cruz. Unfortunately, the expedition also is the oldest European settlement in the vor, Estéban or Estevanico, was born in left a trail of destruction. The Spaniards United States: St. Augustine. Menéndez Morocco and enslaved by the Portuguese routinely entered towns, captured the attacked the French at Fort Caroline, before being sold, in 1520, to Spaniard tribal leader, and demanded tribute from then fought and killed all but a hand- Andrés Dorantes de Carranza. He was the people. ful of survivors at an inlet just south of probably the first person of African Tristán de Luna followed closely on St. Augustine that bears the name of descent to travel across North America. the heels of de Soto and attempted to the action there (Matanzas, or “place Estéban traveled with Cabeza de Vaca, establish a colony on Florida’s north- of slaughter”).