Florida's First People

Florida's First People. Seminole Heritage Trail. Prior to the Spanish arrival in the 1500s, there were hundreds of thousands of Native Americans living in Florida. Evidence of their diverse culture has been discovered in the mounds, earthworks, middens and other archaeological sites found throughout the state., What Happened to these people? , Europeans, Disease and Conflict , The Spanish colonization of La Florida began in the 1500s and was a striking blow to the original inhabitants. Many died from lack of immunity to European diseases. Others , unarmed because the Spanish prohibited them from owning guns , were slain in battle, fled their homelands or were taken captive and put into forced labor., Starting in 1680, English and Scottish soldiers from the Carolina colonies and their Creek Indian allies attacked the once-flourishing Spanish missions, killing and enslaving local Indians. By the early 1700s, very few of Florida's first people remained, and the Seminole started their migration into Florida., Fight Over Florida , In early 1818, General Andrew Jackson invaded Spanish Florida to stop cross-border violence between the Florida Indians and settlers in Georgia. Jackson used the opportunity to capture runaway slaves and seize Spanish territory. This conflict became known as the First Seminole War., In 1819, Spain agreed to cede Florida to the United States. As settlers expanded into the Florida Territory and population increased, altercations between the newcomers and Native Americans intensified.