The Spanish Empire sent Spanish explorers recording nearly one hundred names of groups they encountered, ranging from organized political entities such as the Apalachee, with a population of around 50,000, to villages with no known political affiliation. Other area theme parks include Universal Orlando Resort and SeaWorld. The outpost brought a small population of civilians to the area, and the town of Tampa was first incorporated in 1855. Black Cuban Francisco Rodriguez became a lawyer in 1951. In 2000 Congress authorized the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP) at $8 billion. Beginning in the late 19th century, illegal bolita lotteries were very popular among the Tampa working classes, especially in Ybor City. Elliott built Masonic Temple No. [n 1] The Methodists were followed by the Baptists, who organized the First Baptist Church of Tampa in 1859,[26] and the Catholics, who founded a parish in Tampa the following year.[27]. While "Tanpa" may be the basis for the modern name "Tampa", archaeologist Jerald Milanich places the Calusa village of Tanpa at the mouth of Charlotte Harbor near current day Pineland. [36] They converted 26,000 natives by 1655, but a revolt in 1656 and an epidemic in 1659 proved devastating. Pánfilo de Narváez's expedition explored Florida's west coast in 1528, but his violent demands for gold and food led to hostile relations with the Tocobaga and other native groups. Plant ran a railroad line west across central Florida to connect the Tampa Bay area to his railroad network, including his South Florida Railroad. After acquiring the Tampa and Sulphur Springs Traction Company in 1913, Tampa Electric had almost 50 miles (80 km) of track, increasing to 53 miles (85 km) by 1926. To achieve this goal, large sections of coastal marshes were either ditched or diked to remove the moist sand that the mosquitoes required to lay eggs on. The British built good public roads and introduced the cultivation of sugar cane, indigo and fruits as well the export of lumber. He was the island's governor for two years until the king replaced him with Columbus' son. In the 1890s, Las Novedades, Tampa's oldest restaurant, opened.[55]. What part of North America did Champlain... How did European contact change the Americas? This was accomplished partly through violent actions by white paramilitary groups targeting freedmen and their allies to discourage them from voting. Two decades later, in 1845, Florida was admitted to the union as the 27th US state. It was notably devastated in 1586, when English sea captain and sometime pirate Sir Francis Drake plundered and burned the city. On March 3, 1513, Juan Ponce de León organized and equipped three ships for an expedition departing from "Punta Aguada", Puerto Rico. Segregation continued into the 20th century. Students then began patronizing Panama City, where 500,000 visited in 2013. In 1891, a Cleveland woman named Julia Tuttle decided to move to South Florida to make a new start in her life after the death of her husband, Frederick Tuttle. Flagler's railroad connected cities on the east coast of Florida. The plan was to set up a farming colony. It is believed to mean "sticks of fire" in the language of the Calusa, an Indian tribe that once lived south of the area. Sinkholes and basins in the beds of modern rivers (such as the Page-Ladson site in the Aucilla River) have yielded a rich trove of paleo-Indian artifacts, including Clovis points. Juan Ponce de León, a famous Spanish conqueror and explorer, is usually given credit for being the first European to sight Florida in 1513, but he probably had predecessors. Founded in 1887, it is located on the highest geographic hill in Tallahassee. How many ping pong balls can you fit in a mini-cooper? It was approximately 100 metres (330 ft) lower than present levels. Florida's written history begins with the arrival of Europeans; the Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de León in 1513 made the first textual records.