Introduction 简介
People first reached Florida at least 12，000 years ago.The rich variety of environments in prehistoric Florida supported a large number of plants and animals.The animal population included most mammals that we know today.In addition，many other large mammals that are now extinct（such as the saber-tooth tiger，mastodon（[古生]乳齿象，庞然大物），giant armadillo（犰狳），and camel roamed the land.
Written records about life in Florida began with the arrival of the Spanish explorer and adventurer Juan Ponce de Leon in 1513.Sometime between April 2 and April 8，Ponce de Leon waded（跋涉）ashore on the northeast coast of Florida，possibly near present-day St.Augustine.He called the area la Florida，in honor of Pascua florida（“feast of the flowers”），Spain's Eastertime celebration.Other Europeans may have reached Florida earlier，but no firm evidence of such achievement has been found.
On another voyage in 1521，Ponce de Leon landed on the southwestern coast of the peninsula，accompanied by two-hundred people，fifty horses，and numerous beasts of burden.His colonization（殖民）attempt quickly failed because of attacks by native people.However，Ponce de Leon's activities served to identify Florida as a desirable（合意的，悦人心意的）place for explorers，missionaries（传教士），and treasure seekers.
In 1539 Hernando de Soto began another expedition in search of gold and silver,which took him on a long trek through Florida and what is now the southeastern United States.For four years,De Soto's expedition wandered,in hopes of finding the fabled wealth of the Indian people.De Soto and his soldiers camped for five months in the area now known as Tallahassee.De Soto died near the Mississippi River in 1542.Survivors of his expedition eventually reached Mexico.
No great treasure troves awaited the Spanish conquistadores（西班牙征服者，征服者）who explored Florida.However，their stories helped inform Europeans about Florida and its relationship to Cuba，Mexico，and Central and South America，from which Spain regularly shipped gold，silver，and other products.Groups of heavily-laden Spanish vessels，called plate fleets，usually sailed up the Gulf Stream through the straits that parallel Florida's Keys.Aware of this route，pirates preyed on the fleets.Hurricanes created additional hazards，sometimes wrecking the ships on the reefs（暗礁，收帆）and shoals（浅滩，鱼群，大量）along Florida's eastern coast.
In 1559 Tristan de Lunay Arellano led another attempt by Europeans to colonize Florida.He established a settlement at Pensacola Bay,but a series of misfortunes caused his efforts to be abandoned after two years.
Spain was not the only European nation that found Florida attractive.In 1562 the French protestant（新教徒）Jean Ribault explored the area.Two years later，fellow Frenchman Ren Goulaine de Laudonnièe established Fort Caroline at the mouth of the St.Johns River，near present-day Jacksonville.
French response came two years later,when Dominique de Gourgues recaptured San Mateo and made the Spanish soldiers stationed there pay with their lives.However,this incident did not halt the Spanish advance.Their pattern of constructing forts and Roman Catholic missions continued.Spanish missions established among native people soon extended across north Florida and as far north along the Atlantic coast as the area that we now call South Carolina.
The English，also eager to exploit the wealth of the Americas，increasingly came into conflict with（冲突）Spain's expanding empire.In 1586 the English captain Sir Francis Drake looted（抢劫，劫掠）and burned the tiny village of St.Augustine.However，Spanish control of Florida was not diminished.
In fact，as late as 1600，Spain's power over what is now the southeastern United States was unquestioned.When English settlers came to America，they established their first colonies well to the Northwest Jamestown（詹姆斯敦）（in the present state of Virginia）in 1607 and Plymouth（普利茅斯（英国港市））（in the present state of Massachusetts）in 1620.English colonists wanted to take advantage of the continent's natural resources and gradually pushed the borders of Spanish power southward into present-day southern Georgia.At the same time，French explorers were moving down the Mississippi River valley and eastward along the Gulf Coast.
The English colonists in the Carolina colonies were particularly hostile（敌对的，敌方的）toward Spain.Led by Colonel James Moore，the Carolinians and their Creek Indian allies attacked Spanish Florida in 1702 and destroyed the town of St.Augustine.However，they could not capture the fort，named Castillo de San Marcos.Two years later，they destroyed the Spanish missions between Tallahassee（塔拉哈西[美国佛罗里达州首府]）and St.Augustine，killing many native people and enslaving（奴役）many others.The French continued to harass（烦恼）Spanish Florida's western border and captured Pensacola in 1719，twenty-one years after the town had been established.
Spain's adversaries moved even closer when England founded Georgia in 1733，its southernmost continental colony.Georgians attacked Florida in 1740，assaulting（袭击）the Castillo de San Marcos at St.Augustine for almost a month.While the attack was not successful，it did point out the growing weakness of Spanish Florida.
Britain gained control of Florida in 1763 in exchange for Havana，Cuba，which the British had captured from Spain during the Seven Years'War（1756—1763）.Spain evacuated（撤出，排泄）Florida after the exchange，leaving the province virtually empty.At that time，St.Augustine was still a garrison（驻军，卫戍地，要塞）community with fewer than five hundred houses，and Pensacola also was a small military town.
The British had ambitious plans for Florida.First，it was split into two parts：East Florida，with its capital at St.Augustine；and West Florida，with its seat at Pensacola.British surveyors mapped much of the landscape and coastline and tried to develop relations with a group of Indian people who were moving into the area from the North.The British called these people of Creek Indian descent Seminolies，or Seminoles.Britain attempted to attract white settlers by offering land on which to settle and help for those who produced products for export.Given enough time，this plan might have converted Florida into a flourishing（繁荣的，欣欣向荣的）colony，but British rule lasted only twenty years.
The two Floridas remained loyal to Great Britain throughout the War for American Independence.However,Spain captured Pensacola from the British in 1781.In 1784 it regained control of the rest of Florida as part of the peace treaty that ended the American Revolution.
When the British evacuated Florida，Spanish colonists as well as settlers from the newly formed United States came pouring in.Many of the new residents were lured（引诱）by favorable Spanish terms for acquiring property，called land grants.Others who came were escaped slaves，trying to reach a place where their U.S.masters had no authority and effectively could not reach them.Instead of becoming more Spanish，the two Floridas increasingly became more“American”.Finally，after several official and unofficial U.S.military expeditions into the territory，Spain formally ceded（放弃）Florida to the United States in 1821.
On one of those military operations，in 1818，General Andrew Jackson made a foray（袭击）into Florida.Jackson's battles with Florida's Indian people later would be called the First Seminole War.
By 1840 white Floridians were concentrating on developing the territory and gaining statehood.The population had reached 54，477 people，with African American slaves making up almost one-half of the population.Steamboat（汽船，轮船）navigation was well established on the Apalachicola and St.Johns Rivers，and railroads were planned.
Florida now was divided informally into three areas：East Florida，from the Atlantic Ocean（大西洋）to the Suwannee River；Middle Florida，between the Suwannee and the Apalachicola Rivers；and West Florida，from the Apalachicola to the Perdido River.The southern area of the territory（south of present-day Gainesville）was sparsely（稀疏地，稀少地）settled by whites.The territory's economy was based on agriculture.Plantations（种植园，大农场）were concentrated in Middle Florida，and their owners established the political tone for all of Florida until after the Civil War.
These development projects had far-reaching effects on the agricultural，manufacturing，and extractive industries of late-nineteenth-century Florida.The citrus（柑橘类的植物）industry especially benefitted，since it was now possible to pick oranges in south Florida；put them on a train heading north；and eat them in Baltimore（巴尔的摩，美国马里兰州的一城市），Philadelphia（费城（美国宾西法尼亚州东南部港市）），or New York in less than a week.
In 1898 national attention focused on Florida，as the Spanish-American War began.The port city of Tampa served as the primary staging area for U.S.troops bound for the war in Cuba.Many Floridians supported the Cuban（古巴（人）的）peoples'desire to be free of Spanish colonial rule.
By the turn of the century，Florida's population and per capita wealth were increasing rapidly；the potential of the“Sunshine State”appeared endless（无止境的，无穷的）.By the end of World War I，land developers had descended on this virtual gold mine.With more Americans owning automobiles，it became commonplace to vacation in Florida.Many visitors stayed on，and exotic（外来的，奇异的）projects sprang up in southern Florida.Some people moved onto land made from drained swamps.Others bought canal-crossed tracts through what had been dry land.The real estate developments quickly attracted buyers，and land in Florida was sold and resold.Profits and prices for many developers reached inflated（膨胀的，通货膨胀的）levels.