Saturday, March 17, 2012

A Short History of Pensacola, Florida: 450th Birthday

From the Feb. 23, 2009, AP.

Pensacola was celebrating its 450th birthday back then. On Feb. 19th, King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia of Spain visited the town.

It is sometimes called the "Gateway to Florida's Redneck Riviera."

In the 1950s, adopted "City of Five Flags" slogan: Spain, Britain, France, Confederate and US.

St. Augustine, founded in 1565, claims to be the "Nation's Oldest City," but Pensacola's first settlement was de Luna's failed 1559 attempt to colonize the future state. A hurricane sank 8 of his 11 ships and the settlement collapsed in 1561. Spain did not return to the area until the 1600s.

In 1781, the Spanish defeated the British at Pensacola. In 1821, Andrew Jackson was there and there was Civil War action (see my Civil War blogs).

In 1913, the new airplane came which led to another slogan, "Cradle of Naval Aviation."

A Favorite Stop of Ours in the Winter Gulf Coast Trips. --DaCoot

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