Week 9 of 32 • Page 4
Week 9 of 32 • Page 1
FL4-2
ACROSS
3. leader of the Spanish colony
that brought the first
European diseases
5. to convince someone to
accept a new belief
6. a body of land surrounded by
water on three sides (like
Florida)
7. a group that explores a new
land
DOWN
®
1. to gain control over others
by force
2. belief that something is true
that cannot be seen
4. to set up a part of one’s own
country in a new land
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Vol. 12 Issue 2
of missions from this
period?
5. Define the character
trait of responsibility.
6. The opossum is a
marsupial. What
does “marsupial”
mean?
7. What do the Florida
counties of Bradford,
Clay and Union have
in common?
Spain sent
ships full of
missionaries
and priests to
“La Florida” to
bring religion
to the Florida
natives.
Hidden Picture
Sam has found a very unusual treasure ship. He
doesn’t see any old gold coins or silver bars or
Spanish goods from the past, but with your help, he
may find modern American goods: a new television,
headphones, telephone, bottle of soda, skateboard
and camera. Have fun!
Y
ou are living during the time of the Spanish missions.
You and your sister want to go to the mission to learn
what the European people teach, but your father happens
to be the shaman of your people. He doesn’t want you to
go. He says that shaman children must be examples. You
really want to go, but you don’t want to disobey your
father. After thinking it over, you come up with a plan. Before you begin to
write, think about what your plan is going to be. Now write to tell what your
plan is going to be.
Week 9
Spanish Missions
• Bradford, Clay and
Union counties
• Gold, God and Glory
Attract People to
Florida
• Opossum
Ships Full of Spanish
Missionaries Come to Florida!
Think and Review Questions
1. Why did Spain send
missionaries to
Florida?
2. Name at least one of
the obstacles for the
missionaries.
3. What two things
happened because of
Vasquez’s group of
colonists?
4. Why can’t we find
many of the remains
Second Quarter
THIS WEEK
To learn more about the
people, places and topics
discussed in this week’s
issue, visit the following
Web sites with a parent or
teacher:
• Learn more about the
counties of Florida.
Go to the Web site
www.florida.countiesmap.c
om and get to know all 67
counties!
• Learn more about Spanish
missions and missionaries
in Florida.
www.floridahistory.org/flori
dians/
spanish.htm
• Learn more about the
opossum.
wld.fwc.state.fl.us/critters/
opossum.asp
George W. Bush is not the only son of a president to
become a president. John Quincy Adams, our sixth
president, was the son of John Adams, our second
president.
W
hy on Earth would a country like Spain spend a
whole bunch of money, and go to all the trouble of
sailing across the sea with captains and soldiers,
just for the chance to colonize a little old peninsula (land
surrounded by water on three sides) like Florida? That’s a
pretty good question. But the answer is not so simple. First of
all, in the 16th century, Florida wasn’t just the little “stickingout part” of the United States that it is today. The first Spanish
explorers gave the name of La Florida to an area of land that
included present-day Florida, as well as about half of the whole
United States. Now that’s a bunch of land! It’s also a big
colonization opportunity. But here’s where the answer gets
even tougher: The first Spanish colonists couldn’t get much to
grow in Florida soil, and it didn’t look like there was much
gold or silver either. So what would Spain want with land
where there weren’t any hidden riches and where crops
wouldn’t grow? The answer might amaze you! One thing there
was plenty of in Florida was people (all natives). To the
Catholic Church in Spain, that meant missionary opportunities.
Spain sent ships full of missionaries and priests to the New
World of La Florida, not to look for gold and not to grow
crops, but to bring their religion to the Florida natives.
Can You Dig It?
W
ould you like to be an archaeologist?
Archaeologists study places where people
lived long ago. They also study the things
people created and how they used them.
Archaeologists often learn what happened in
history from artifacts instead of from books or
other written documents.
One of the places where Florida
archaeologists work is the Mission of San Luis.
The mission was established in 1656. It was the
residence of the lieutenant governor and
headquarters for the Spanish military and their
families. There were also more than 1,400
Apalachee Indians who lived very near the
mission. Over the next several hundred years,
the mission had many people live there. In
1819, it became an 800-acre plantation. One
family owned the plantation until 1983.
The state of Florida bought San Luis.
Archaeologists have been hard at work digging
ever since. They have found the Franciscan
church, the Apalachee council house and the
Spanish fort. They have also found more than
45,000 artifacts from people who lived there at
one time. You can visit San Luis and see what
has been found. You can also learn about the
daily life and tasks of the people who lived in
Florida long ago.
There are many places to look for artifacts in
Florida. Some archaeologists work underwater.
They study shipwrecks and look for things that
belonged to pre-Columbian Indians. You too
can be an archaeologist. Students that attend
Florida universities and colleges can volunteer
to assist in underwater archeology. If you are
interested in history, archeology and
shipwrecks and are not afraid to go in the
water, you can be part of Florida’s history!
Spanish Mission Era
Week 9 of 32 • Page 2
At the peak of the missionary period, more than 50 missions operated
between St. Augustine and Pensacola.
Baptism or Battle?
One of the problems early missionaries
faced was that the priests and missionaries
were almost always accompanied by
Spanish soldiers. The missionaries were
sent to convert people (to convince them to
accept new beliefs), and the soldiers were
sent to conquer people (gain control over
them by using force). Can you see why that
might have been a problem? The native
Floridians must have been confused as they
heard about peace and faith (a belief that
something is true that cannot be seen) from
the missionaries, while the soldiers tried to
conquer their lands and make them slaves.
Ponce de Leon Killed by a
Calusa Arrow
The American Indians had mixed feelings about the Spanish. The missionairies
were teaching them about peace and faith, while the conquistadors were trying
to take their land and make them slaves.
Rockin’
the Boat
T
he missionaries had many obstacles (challenges).
One was that the natives already had religion!
Some were willing to change to Christianity, but many,
including the natives’ religious leaders, or “shamans,”
were not. The shamans often encouraged their tribes
to fight the Spanish colonizers (people who set up
their countries in a new land). One problem with
fighting was that the Spanish had guns. What would
you do if you were an angry native? Most natives
usually chose not to fight. But sometimes, the natives
got so angry that they fought anyway—guns or no guns!
Some missionaries were killed in these battles, but the
natives usually lost. One battle was caused because the
missionaries tried to get the natives to change their
marriage rules. You see, some native men had many
wives, and the missionaries didn’t like that one bit! Five
missionaries were killed in that battle. The Spanish
responded by destroying villages and crops as a
warning. Boy, that’s some warning!
The first missionary effort in Florida was
a huge failure. The great explorer Ponce
de Leon brought missionaries on his
second voyage to Florida, with orders
from King Ferdinand to “treat the
American Indians as best as you can.”
Someone should have told the American
Indians! The first men off the boat were
met with flying arrows. The Calusa
Indians didn’t want anything to do with
Spaniards, and that included
missionaries. Ponce de Leon was injured
in the skirmish. He sailed to Cuba, where
he died from his wounds. It’s tough to be
a great explorer!
Bradford, Clay and
Union Counties
I
f you love the wide, open spaces of Duval County are moving
there and also because the
the country, but you like to be
beautiful St. John’s River is
close enough to visit the city when
there. The county seat is Green
you really need to, you’ll love
Cove Springs. The U.S. Army’s
Bradford County. The largest
Camp Blanding is also in this
businesses are makers of mineral
county. The largest businesses
sand, work clothing and lumber.
make concrete, asphalt, lumber and
There are three universities, two
minerals.
vocational schools (where students
Now let’s hop back over Bradford
get specific job training), and three
County and visit Union County. It’s
community colleges, all within a onethe smallest county in Florida. No
hour drive. The county seat is
major highways go through Union
Starke.
County, so things are
While you’re in the
pretty quiet. The largest
neighborhood, swing
Lake Butler
businesses in this area
over to Clay County.
UNION
CLAY
are lumber, clothing,
It’s one of the fastestStarke
trucking and healthcare.
growing counties in the
Green Cove
BRADFORD
The county seat is Lake
state. This is because
Springs
Butler.
people from gigantic
Vol. 12 Issue 2 Oct. 2009 © Florida Studies Weekly (ISSN 1524-8801) is published in August, October, January and March by American Legacy Publishing, Inc. Periodicals Postage Paid at Pleasant Grove, UT 84062 and at additional mailing offices.
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Week 9 of 32 • Page 3
Where Did They Go?
You may have seen a postcard or
picture of the famous Alamo in
Texas. Did you know that the
Alamo was once a Spanish
mission? All over Texas, New
Mexico, California and Arizona,
there are remains of old Spanish
missions that attract tourists and
scientists. But what about Florida?
Our state has as much Spanish
missionary history as any place in
the country, but you don’t see
many tourists visiting Florida’s
old Spanish missions. Why not?
The answer is simple: No one
knows where the remains are!
Most people think the missions
weren’t built very well, so they
were destroyed by hurricanes,
fires or wars with other European
colonists. Not only were the
mission buildings
destroyed, but most of
the American Indians
left or were driven
out of Florida. No
survivors
remained to carry
on the mission
traditions. While
the rest of the
country may not
think of Spanish
missions when
they think of
Florida, without
them, our state’s
history might have
turned out very
differently. So even
though they didn’t leave
much around for us to look at,
our hats go off to those
hardworking Florida colonists of
yesterday: the Spanish
missionaries!
Trading Goods and
Germs?
A man named Vasquez set up a
colony in Florida in 1523. It was
unsuccessful, but a couple of
interesting things happened
because of that group. First of all,
the Vasquez colony brought the
first European diseases to Florida.
Because the natives had never
been exposed to any of these
germs, their bodies hadn’t built up
a defense against them. Germs that
wouldn’t have caused a European
to catch even a little cold brought
serious illness and often death to
the natives. These diseases
eventually caused the extinction of
many Florida tribes.
This colony also brought new
goods into the Florida economy.
The Vasquez colonists traded
Spanish goods with the American
Indians, who traded them to other
American Indians, who then
traded them to still others. Later
expeditions (groups of explorers)
found Spanish goods in American
Indian villages hundreds of miles
away. It’s funny how stuff gets
passed around!
Ponce de Leon
1513
Spanish Explorers
1516-1560
French Explorers
1523
Hernando de Soto
1539
Pedro Menendez
1565
Opossum
Did Gold, God or Glory
Attract More People to
Florida?
_______________________________
_______________________________
_______________________________
_______________________________
_______________________________
_______________________________
This question is meant as an enrichment activity.
Extra research is required. Your teacher has the
answer in the Teacher Edition of this paper.
T
he opossum is a Florida
marsupial. This means
that the mom carries
her babies in a
pouch on her
tummy.
Opossums are
found in nearly
all parts of
the state.
They have
furry bodies and
feet with little
fingers that look
like human hands.
Their tails are very
long and hairless, sort
of like a rat’s tail, and their
noses are very long,
too. In fact, there
are people who have
mistaken a young
opossum for a
rodent.
Opossums are
the only North
American
marsupials. The
opossum has a gray
and white face, black
ears and a black tail
with a white tip. They
grow to be about 40
inches long.