Description
Book SynopsisA history of colonial Florida.
Trade ReviewHoffman's expertise in the history of the Spanish borderlands is evident as he recounts the story of Florida's frontiers from the age of the entrada to the period of the American settlements. The author's familiarity with the sources is clear as he carefully presents Spain's repeated attempts to overcome Native American resistance, weather, geography, and its own colonial system to establish a successful colony. Thanks to his understanding of the documents and knowledge of recent research, Hoffman (Louisiana State Univ.) unfolds the Spanish-Indian story as instrumental in grasping the first 125 years of La Florida after the arrival of the Europeans. Spanish dependence on the Native peoples for food and labor is clear. Warfare with English and French imperial rivals increased the pressure on this outpost of Spain's global empire, but La Florida survived until overwhelmed by the rising numbers of immigrants from the US. The presence of 642 Europeans in 1574, compared to the 35,000 present in 1830, may reveal something about Spain's potential for success. With numerous highly useful maps and informative figures and tables, Hoffman's volume will inform readers at every level. Upper-division undergraduates and above.October 2002
-- J. H. O'Donnell III * Marietta College *
Table of ContentsPreliminary Table of Contents:
List of Figures
List of Tables
Introduction by Walter Nugent and Malcolm Rohrbough
Preface
1. The Secrets of the Land
2. Discovering the Secrets
3. The Spanish Tidewater Frontier, Part I, 1562-1586
4. The Tidewater Frontier, Second Phase, 1586-1608
5. The Inland Frontier, 1608-1650
6. Death, Rebellion, A New Accommodation, and New Defenses: La Florida's Frontiers, 1650-1680
7. The First Contests with the English, 1680-1702
8. The Military Frontier At Last
9. New Tidewater Frontiers, 1763-1790
10. The American Frontier Envelopes East Florida, 1790-1821
11. The American Frontiers, 1821-1860
Appendix: U.S. Confirmed British and Spanish Land Grants, 1764-1820
Notes
Bibliography
Index
