"As virtually the first scholar to penetrate the history of Florida, Patrick's work will remain for many years the foundation for all further efforts."--Florida Historical Quarterly

"Hard to beat. . . . Professor Patrick has bound up a lot of history into a very tidy and readable package."--Saturday Review

"Undertakes something new in presenting in one volume four hundred years of the history of this state."--Journal of Negro History

Originally published in 1945, this concise volume covering Spanish, French, British, American, and Confederate rule of Florida commemorated the state's centennial anniversary. Reissued numerous times, it is not only a seminal text but also one that has remained relevant and in demand over the years.

Distilling five centuries of history, Rembert Patrick chronicles Florida's changing identity from European discovery to emerging economic juggernaut. He reveals the political complexities underlying the early white settlements, as the peninsula became a pawn in the global chess game among European powers; he traces the slow growth of Florida as it evolved from frontier territory to antebellum state, then underwent the upheaval of the Civil War and Reconstruction; he shows how the steamboat and the railroad led to greater urbanization, particularly along the coast; and he pointed to the bright future in store for the state in the immediate post-WWII period, thanks to improved roads, air travel, agriculture, tourism, and the military.

Patrick, the first of many giants among Florida historians, created a highly readable account of Florida's history whose appeal is as relevant today as when it was first published. This facsimile of that original edition is being released as part of the state-wide celebration of the five hundredth anniversary of the discovery of "La Florida."

Rembert W. Patrick (1909-1967) was professor of history at the University of Florida and a prolific contributor to southern historiography. The Florida Historical Society has recognized his distinguished career by naming an annual award in his honor.