Paleo-Indians entered Florida at least 14,000 years ago.[12] By the 16th century, the earliest time for which there is a historical record, major groups of people living in Florida included the Apalachee of the Florida Panhandle, the Timucua of northern and central Florida, the Ais of the central Atlantic coast, and the Calusa of southwest Florida.[13]

European arrival
Main articles: New Spain, Spanish Florida, French and Indian War, Treaty of Paris (1763), West Florida, East Florida, Indian Reserve (1763), American Revolutionary War, Gulf Coast campaign, Treaty of Paris (1783), and Spanish West Florida

Map of Florida, likely based on the expeditions of Hernando de Soto (1539–1543).

The Castillo de San Marcos. Originally white with red corners, its design reflects the colors and shapes of the Cross of Burgundy and the subsequent Flag of Florida.

East Florida and West Florida in British period (1763–1783)
Florida was the first region of what is now the contiguous United States to be visited and settled by Europeans. The earliest known European explorers came with Juan Ponce de León. Ponce de León spotted and landed on the peninsula on April 2, 1513. He named it La Florida in recognition of the flowery, verdant landscape and because it was the Easter season, which the Spaniards called Pascua Florida (Festival of Flowers). The following day they came ashore to seek information and take possession of this new land.[14][15] The story that he was searching for the Fountain of Youth is mythical and appeared only long after his death.[16]

In May 1539, Hernando de Soto skirted the coast of Florida, searching for a deep harbor to land. He described a thick wall of red mangroves spread mile after mile, some reaching as high as 70 feet (21 m), with intertwined and elevated roots making landing difficult.[17] The Spanish introduced Christianity, cattle, horses, sheep, the Castilian language, and more to Florida.[18] Spain established several settlements in Florida, with varying degrees of success. In 1559, Don Tristán de Luna y Arellano established a settlement at present-day Pensacola, making it one of the firsts settlements in Florida, but it was mostly abandoned by 1561.

In 1564–1565, there was a French settlement at Fort Caroline, in present Duval County, which was destroyed by the Spanish.[19] Today a reconstructed version of the fort stands in its location within Jacksonville.

In 1565, the settlement of St. Augustine (San Agustín) was established under the leadership of admiral and governor Pedro Menéndez de Avilés, creating what would become the oldest, continuously occupied European settlements in the continental U.S. and establishing the first generation of Floridanos and the Government of Florida.[20] Spain maintained strategic control over the region by converting the local tribes to Christianity. The marriage between Luisa de Abrego, a free black domestic servant from Seville, and Miguel Rodríguez, a white Segovian, occurred in 1565