Discovery & the First Spanish Period

For many more examples from this period, please visit a special online exhibit on Florida maps put on by
the University of Miami Libraries by clicking here

There are few available maps of Florida from this early period called the First Spanish Period (actually 1565-1763). Very few maps are available from the Spanish archives. Mapmakers from other nations continued to use the name Florida on regional maps and hemisphere maps but the exact size of the designated area was open to question or open to political expedience. Even though some of the maps are not limited to Florida as we know it, they are of interest because of the variations and reasons why the discrepancies existed.