The History of Northeast Florida

For nearly five hundred years, people have dreamed about creating a canal that would link the Atlantic Ocean in Northeast Florida to the Gulf of Mexico .  As soon as early explorers realized that Florida was a peninsula, they looked for a way to traverse it by ship without sailing around its southern cape.  Over the years, the idea came and went, depending upon the desire of governments to improve commerce and national security. The 1500’s were a tumultuous time in Florida history.  Spain , France and England were all competing for domination in the new world.  When Spanish forces under the leadership of   Pedro Menendez de Aviles  rousted the French stronghold of Fort Caroline at the mouth of the St. Johns River in 1565 it secured Spain ’s stronghold on the northern Atlantic coast of Florida .  It also allowed Spain access to the interior of the Florida peninsula for further exploration and conquest. A French soldier captured during t...