History Talk with J. Michael Francis on Florida's Hispanic Roots

Five hundred years ago, Juan Ponce de León landed on what he believed was another Caribbean Island. In honor of the Pascua Florida, or Easter Sunday, he named the “island” la Florida. In this fascinating talk, historian J. Michael Francis explores the legacy of Ponce’s voyages to the peninsula, exposing the many myths that dominate popular perceptions about the Spanish colonization of Florida. He’ll also examine the lives of the many forgotten protagonists in 16th-century Florida, as Europeans, Africans, and Indians forged a New World.