Pascua Florida


Today commemorates the naming of the state - when Juan Ponce de Leon landed he was struck by the abundance of plant life, but he also wanted to honor the upcoming Easter holiday.

"Pascua" on its own means Passover.  Pascua Florida is the Feast of Flowers.

 Very Spring.

The year was 1513, and when de Leon returned to Spain in 1514 he was knighted by King Ferdinand, named governor of Puerto Rico, and granted permission to settle in Florida.  He wasn't able to return until 1521, but the native population fiercely resisted the European presence, and he was fatally wounded.

He is buried in Puerto Rico.

The Calusa were people of the Caloosahatchee culture, which is now an extinct tribe.

They were described more by Pedro Menendez de Aviles, who would establish St. Augustine in 1565.  He visited their capital, Calos, in 1566 and described the chief's house, their council, as well as their clothing.

The chief offered his daughter in marriage, understanding this would secure an alliance, but de Aviles used her more as a hostage and this caused relations to decline with the Calusa, and with the neighboring Tocobagas.

This fight became one of many Spanish-Indian wars throughout the 16th to 19th centuries.


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