Ponce De Leon
La Florida is 500 years
old and is celebrating its own discovery by Juan Ponce De Leon this month. They've even unveiled a statue of Ponce De Leon in St. Augustine. Governor
Scott attended much of the festivities and held a cabinet meeting in St.
Augustine also as they celebrated the first siting, landing, and naming of the
state in what most people consider our nation’s oldest city. An actual
descendant of the famous explorer dressed the part and reenacted the discovery
on the beach with a fanfare of cannon blasts. I read a biography of Juan Ponce
De Leon a while back (in fourth grade) and from that I can tell you that he
really got around, especially in the Caribbean. He was once the governor of
Puerto Rico among other jobs exploring and enjoyed a pretty good rapport with
Spanish royalty (his financial backers) back in the day, a mere 500 years ago.
The biography and the celebrations did a pretty good job of glossing over the
uglier side of Florida’s history that includes the enslavement and genocide of
the native peoples and the introduction of non-native animals (pigs, for one)
and diseases that had a drastic impact (negative) on the people and the ecosystems.
Non-native animal species, like the Burmese python, that have been more recently
introduced are still causing havoc in the fragile ecosystem (the Everglades)
today so one could argue that some of Florida’s less than positive history is
still in the making today.
On the other side of
the coin, Florida, and the rest of our nation wouldn't be what it is if it weren't for the early explorers and we wouldn't be here either. I know that is
a big generalization but I guess I am for a more balanced and honest (less
fictional) approach to the retelling of history and I wonder if a lot history doesn't better fit the category of fiction than fact. That said, I’d like to
think the focus of these celebrations could be more about the importance of sensible
and responsible stewardship of the resources and beauty of the great state of
Florida as time and history marches on into the future and less about soothing
our collective conscience with historical fiction.
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