|
|
Article: Tampa: History
- Article from:
- Cities of the United States
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2006 Thomson Gale. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
|
Tampa: History
First Established Settlement Called Fort Brooke
When Spanish explorers first arrived in the Tampa Bay region in 1528, they encountered a native civilization that had flourished there for at least 3,500 years. Several different tribes dominated the Gulf Coast, including the Tocobaga, the Timucua, the Apalachee, and the Caloosa (also spelled Calusa). It was a Caloosa village called
Tanpa
(a name meaning "stick of fire") that eventually became known to the Spanish as Tampa. Annihilated by an onslaught of European diseases against which they had no immunity, the various Tampa Bay tribes had all but vanished by 1700. Raiding parties comprised of English colonists from the ...