FLORIDA HISTORY TIMELINE

The Florida history timeline begins about 12,000 years ago with the first known human inhabitants.

There were several ancient Indian tribes that lived in Florida thousands of years before the Seminoles arrived. These tribes are gone, but are remembered in the history of Florida.

Most historians break this history down into at least 11 periods:

1. Early human inhabitants, including ancient Indian tribes that were here long before the Seminoles.

2. European exploration and colonization(1513-1565). Pensacola and St. Augustine founded.

3. First Spanish Period(1565-1763). Spanish had total control over Florida peninsula.

4. British Florida(1763-1784). The British got Florida in 1763 in a swap for Havana, Cuba after the Seven Years War(1756–63).

5. Second Spanish Period(1784-1821). The Brits left Florida after losing the Revolutionary War. Spanish came back for another try.

6. Territorial Period(1821-1845). Spain gave Florida back to the United States. Andy Jackson became governor, and Florida became American.

7. Statehood(1845-1861). In the 1860 Presidential election, no Floridian voted for Abe Lincoln.

8. Civil War and Reconstruction(1861-1877). Florida was one of the Confederate States of America.

9. Florida Development(1878-1926). Dredges, swamp reclamation, new towns, cities, developments, highways.

10. The Great Depression in Florida(1926-1940). What the sorry economy didn't destroy, the 1926 Miami hurricane did.

11. World War II and the Post-war Boom(1940-2009). Continuous economic growth lasted until about 2008. The first year in which population did not increase was 2009.

The events in this Florida history timeline are discussed in more detail in the histories of Florida regions, towns, parks and heritage sites elsewhere on this website.

For example, read about the 1926 Miami Hurricane to learn why it had such a devastating effect on the Florida history timeline.

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