A Notorious Place… Florida
In just one month’s time, you will suddenly begin to hear phrases like… “Arrrgh, matey, wenches” on every street corner! And if you see some individuals dressed like pirates, you will know that ” Talk Like a Pirate Day” has officially arrived. The day officially begins on September 19th, but I’m giving you a heads up so that you can enjoy the day to the fullest. But before we delve into all the fun stuff, I thought that I would look to see if we had any honest to goodness pirates in the south… and of course we did. But lets go back and see how it all began.
Florida was discovered by Ponce de Leon on Easter Sunday 1513 For the next decade he searched for the elusive Fountain of Youth while fighting off malaria, yellow fever and Calusa Indians. The land he christened “Pascua de Florida” (feast of flowers) would be his death. In 1521 de Leon and his men met their match when the ran across the Calusa chief known as San Carlos on Ostero Island near present day Ft. Myers. Depending on who you ask, he was either buried there, or was returned to Cuba or Spain Regardless of where his body was buried, his quest for the fountain of youth was for naught.
Compared to the rest of the Spanish Main Florida was no great treasure trove. However, due to its location it was strategically important. Spain used Florida as a staging area for her convoys. Groups of heavily-laden Spanish vessels, called the plate fleets, usually sailed up the Gulf Stream through the straits that parallel Florida’s Keys. Aware of this route, pirates preyed on the fleets. Hurricanes created additional hazards, sometimes wrecking the ships on the reefs and shoals along Florida’s shores. More…
Stay tuned for more on “Talk Like a Pirate Day”… it’s something that you won’t want to miss! It’s celebrated around the world, but it’s even better in the south…
Tags: Florida-keys, Pirates, Ponce-de-Leon, Talk Like a Pirate DayRelated Stories
POSTED IN: Festivals, Fairs, and Events, Southern Byways, Talk Like a Pirate Day, Things to See in Florida
2 opinions for A Notorious Place… Florida
StarkedSF editor
Aug 20, 2007 at 1:39 pm
There’s plenty of notorious piracy in Florida to this day–financial fraud piracy in particular. I doubt you could walk from one end of Boca Raton to the other and keep all you clothes.
Alex
Aug 20, 2007 at 7:43 pm
I live in Tampa, everyday is Pirate day here. All the Pirates come down here in search of some treasure.
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