Judith Bense, a lifelong archaeologist and expert on Spanish Florida, traces the story from 1513 when Ponce de León accidentally landed on “La Florida” to 1763 when Spain lost the land to Britain after the Seven Years’ War. Bense explores how the first Spanish settlers tried to colonize Florida with aims to take over the entire Southeast, encountering harsh weather, competing colonizing nations, and Native resistance. The story includes the establishment of St. Augustine in 1565, shipwrecks of early explorers and colonists, the building of Catholic missions in the 1600s, and the journeys of people of African descent escaping slavery on northern plantations.

Topics: Guest Speaker