People first reached Florida at least 12,000 years ago. Joan Ponce de Leon landed in Florida in 1513. He named it la Florida which means "Feast of the Flowers." In 1521, he sailed back to Florida with two hundred people and fifty horses to start a new settlement. The settlement didn't last long.  It was defeated by the natives. In 1539 Hernando de Soto sailed to Florida looking for gold and silver. He never found it but he discovered the Mississippi River in 1541. He died in 1542, and was buried in the Mississippi River. In 1519, Trstan de Luna y Arellano tried to start a settlement at Pensacola Bay, but it only lasted two years. The French started to explore Florida in 1562, explorer Jean Ribault came to Florida and explored the area. In 1564, Reve Goullaine de Laudonniere established Fort Caroline. In 1565, Perdo Mendez de Aviles from Spain took Fort Caroline and renamed it San Matoe. Two years later Dominique de Gourgues recaptured San Mantoe. After this the Spanish continued to build Forts and Roman Catholic Missions in Florida. In 1704, Colonel James Moore some colonist and the Creek Indians attacked and destroyed the Spanish Missions between Tallahassee and St. Augustine. Pensacola was captured by the French in 1719.
     In 1763, Britain traded Havana Cuba for Florida. The Spanish left Florida after the trade. The British split Florida  into two parts. East Florida with the capital St. Augustine and West Florida with the capital Pensacola. British ruled Florida for 20 years.
     In 1781, Spain captured Pensacola from the British and in 1784, they gained control of the rest of Florida as part of part of the peace treaty that ended the American Revolution. When the British left Florida, Spain took over and offered land grants to the settlers of the United States. Slaves also came into Florida to get away from slave drivers in the U.S. Spain left Florida to the United states according to the terms of the Adams - Onis Treaty.
     In 1818, General Andrew Jackson battled with the Seminole Indians. Later this war was called the First Seminole War.
     In 1824, Tallahassee was chosen to be the capital of Florida, because it is halfway between St. Augustine and Pensacola.
     The second Seminole war happened between 1835 - 1842. The war began over whether the Seminole Indians should move west across the Mississippi River into Oklahoma.
     When Andrew Jackson was president of the United States, the government spent more than 20 million dollars and many lives of U.S. soldiers to force the Seminoles to move out of Florida. Some of the Indians left by themselves, but others were captured and sent west and some escaped into the Everglades.
     By 1840, half  the people living in Florida were African American Slaves and the other half were Whites. The population was 54,477. Steamboats were running along the Apalachicola and St. Johns Rivers. Railroads were also planned. Florida was admitted to the United States as a state on the 3rd of March, 1845, and is the 27th state. Florida's state bird is the Mockingbird, the state flower is the Orange Blossom, the state animal is the Florida Panther. Florida's state song is "Old Folks at Home"
     The population of Florida in 1990, was 12,937,925. The population in 1980, was 9,739,992. The population grew at a rate of 32.83% in ten years. The state sales tax is 6% and there is no state income tax.
     The area of Florida is 58,560 square miles and the total land area is 54,252 square miles. There are 67 counties in Florida. The largest county is Palm Beach.  It is 2,578 square miles. The smallest county is Union.  It is 245 square miles.  The total water area is 4,308 square miles. From St. Mary's River to Key West is 447 miles. From the Alantis Ocean to Perdido River is 361 miles. The distance from Pensacola to Key West is 792 miles by road. The highest natural point in Florida is 345 feet near Lakewood in Northeast Walton county. The geography center is 12 miles Northwest of Brooksville in Hernando county. The total shoreline is 2,276 miles long and the total area of beaches is 663 miles. St. Johns River is the longest river in Florida.  It is 273 miles long. The largest lake is Lake Okeechobee and is 700 square miles wide. There are about 7,700 lakes and 4,500 islands bigger than 10 acres.
     Florida is a large agriculture state it has about 40,000 farms. The major farm product is citrus fruit. Other crops grown are tobacco, vegetables and melons. There is a large number of dairy and beef cattle farms and large numbers of broiler chickens are raised. Florida has about 15 million acres of commercial timberland. Mining is also a large industry phosphate rock, peat, zircon and masonry cement are a few of the minerals mined. Florida ranks one of the top states in fishing. Fish are caught in the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico. Twice as much fish is caught out of the Gulf of Mexico than the Atlantic Ocean. Florida has more than 15,000 manufacturing plants. Some of the major products manufactured are electronic equipment, transportation equipment, printed materials and processed food. Florida has a large number of tourist. People come to florida to see the beaches, Disney World, Universal Studios, Kennedy Space Center, Sea World, the Gulf Islands and the National Parks.
     
     

            Walt Disney World covers forty-seven square miles and  there are four theme parks: The Magic Kingdom, Epcot, The Disney Studios, and Disney's Animal Kingdom. Three water  parks: Blizzard Beach,Typhoon Lagoon, and River Country.  There is also a lot of shopping in Disney World. The Magic  Kingdom was the first theme park built at Walt Disney World.  It took 2½ years to build, and cost about $400 million dollars.  On October 1, 1971,  The Magic Kingdom opened to 10,000  visitors.
             The Magic Kingdom is divided up into seven different lands, Main Street USA, Adventureland, Frontierland, Liberty Square, Fantasyland, Mickey's Toontown Fair and Tomorrowland.
             A few things to find on Main Street is shopping and  the Walt Disney World Railroad that is powered by a real 1928 steam engine.
             In Adventureland you'll find The Pirates of the Caribbean. It is a underground ten minute boat ride through a Caribbean town under attack by pirates. The theme song is "Yo Ho, Yo Ho....A Pirates Life for Me" Other rides you will see in Adventureland are The Swiss Family Treehouse,  Jungle Cruise, and Tropical Serenade.
     
            Frontierland is themed to the Old  West and the American Southwest during  the 1770s to the 1880s. One place to visit  is Splash Mountain. It is one of the three  mountains at The Magic Kingdom. It is  based on Walt Disney's 1946 film "Song of  the South." When you get on the ride you  will board a hollowed out-log and travel  through backwoods, swamps and bayous in search of Brer Rabbit's laughing. In total there are four watery drops, three of them are small, the last one is very big it is40 mph down a 52 foot water fall at a 45 degree angle. The theme song to this attraction is "Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah".
     
     
            Other attractions at the Magic Kingdom are Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Tom Sawyer Island, The Country Bear Jamboree, Diamond Horseshoe Revue, The Haunted Mansion, The Liberty Square,  Riverboat, Peter Pan's Flight, Cinderella's Golden Carousel, and It's a Small World, The Extra Terrorestrial  Alien Encounter, and many others.
     Epcot was the second theme park  built at Disney World. Walt Disney wanted it  to be a community of tomorrow. He wanted  people to live there to show what the future  would be like. This never happened because  Walt Disney died in December of 1966.  In  1975, Card Walker, president of Walt Disney  Productions decided to build the Epcot Center. It cost about one billion dollars. Epcot center is an Environmental Prototype Community Of Tomorrow. It opened on October 1, 1982.
            Some other parks to visit at Disney World are Disney's Animal Kingdom, The Disney Studios. Three water parks Blizzard Beach, Typhoon Lagoon, and River Country. There is also Fantasia Gardens, Miniature Golf, and Discovery Island.