Florida is our Home

Hell, dear reader, and welcome back to our blog! Here at Shredneck, Florida holds a special place in our hearts. Based out of Sebastian, Florida, we have spent our lives in the Sunshine State and, quite honestly, we don’t think we would be the people we are today if it wasn’t for the cultural, economic, and geographic influences that surround us. In today’s post, we thought we would take a different route than our previous posts, and give a little more detail about the state that we call home. We hope that by the end of this post you have learned some interesting information about the state of Florida and why this state has had such an influence on us here at Shredneck. Continue reading below to learn more.

Florida Features Some Unique History

The history of Florida, like most states, can be traced back to the first Native Americans that inhabited the peninsula some 14,000 years ago. These early natives left behind many artifacts and structures that have been studies up until the present day; however, it wasn’t until 1513 that the world was given written historical documents pertaining to this interesting southern landscape. Florida was the first mainland state to be settled by Europeans and, as such, the discovery of Florida marked the beginning of the colonization of North America. For the purposes of this blog, we will begin our little history lesson at the point that it was discovered by Spanish conquistadores.

Spanish Florida (1513 - 1763)

While some early maps appear to show the landmass that is Florida, it wasn’t until 1513, when Juan Ponce de León sighted the Florida mainland, that credit was officially given for its discovery. On March 3, 1513. Ponce de León left from Punta Aguada, Puerto Rico with three ships loaded with 200 people. After making landfall on April 7th, Ponce de León and his party briefly explored the land south of present-day Augustine before sailing south to the bottom of the peninsula to further explore the Florida Keys. Further attempts to explore and colonize the Florida peninsula were, by and large, disastrous. Ponce de León returned to the peninsula in 1521 with settlers and equipment in an attempt to set up a permanent colony; however, they were soon driven off by the Calusa tribe. This fighting resulted in injury for Ponce de León and he died in Cuba later that year from the wounds he sustained.

In 1565, Pedro Menéndez de Avilés established St. Augustine, Florida, the oldest continuously inhabited European settlement in any U.S. State. After its establishment, St. Augustine became the most important settlement in Florida, and, as a result, was often attacked by other colonizing countries who were also looking to establish dominance in the New World. In an attempt to settle disputes and bring a little stability to the land, Spain traded Florida to Great Britain for control of Havana, Cuba. This trade ended almost 200 years of Spanish control in Florida.

The Road to Statehood

After Spain ceded control of Florida to Great Britain, the British split the peninsula into East and West Florida. The British spent a lot of time and energy making sure that Florida developed into a full fledged colony that could be used to provide resources to Great Britain. When the rest of the original 13 colonies declared independence from Great Britain, many Florida residents condemned the move. For the most part, the people in Florida had been largely unaffected by the Stamp Act of 1765, the causal factor cited by many colonists as the reason for independence from Great Britain, meaning that the vast majority of the population remained loyal to the crown. Florida refused to send delegates to the first Continental Congress and it wasn’t until 1845, after many tumultuous years of war and passing of ownership, that Florida finally became a part of The Union.

Join us again next time as we continue to cover some additional Florida facts and remember to visit our website to check out all of our fishing t shirts, hunting t shirts, and the other outdoor clothing items that we offer at Shredneck. We are dedicated to providing the best in outdoor apparel and we are certain that once you experience the quality of our clothes, you will want Shredneck in your wardrobe at all times.