where did the name of florida come from
Since the first European contact was made in 1513 by Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de León -- who named it Florida, informally La Florida ((la floˈɾiða) "the land of flowers") upon landing there in the Easter season, Pascua Florida -- Florida was a challenge for the European colonial powers before it gained statehood in the United States in 1845. It was a principal location of the Seminole Wars against the Native Americans, and racial segregation after the American Civil War.