The Heroes of La Florida

The heroes of La Florida represent a group of individuals who lived during Florida's first Spanish period, from around 1565-1763. These individuals – Spaniards, Africans, and members of various Native American groups – hold in common that they lived lives of incredible dignity and courage during a time of dramatic change and horrible danger.

History is filled with dark deeds and impossible cruelties, even in the years before technology enabled a more detached and efficient implementation of evil than prior centures dreamed of. Often, the teaching of history emphasizes the struggle for power as, not just a, but the, basic motive for action. We tell our stories children of tyrants who triumph over those aspiring tyrants who only circumstance compelled to ordinary lives. We tell children that history is dark, that people are wicked, and that power is the supreme goal.

Of course, much of history is dark, and many people do very wicked things for the sake of power itself. In our curriculum, however, we wish to bring forward a different way of approaching grade-school social studies-- an approach based on heroism. By focusing on how the cultivation of virtue transformed some ordinary people into unsung heroes, we can teach children the value of proper priorities and a proper disposition toward oneself and others.

The history curriculum provided on this website therefore focuses whenever possible on the true historical stories of individuals who, whatever their "side," ennobled those around them by living for something beyond the acquisition of power.

This curriculum will begin with the early days of Florida's European contact, introducing Fray Bartolomé de las Casas, "The Defender of the Indians," as he was so called in the 1500s, as well as his collaborator, Fray Luis Cáncer, a pacifist priest who died unarmed upon his arrival in Tampa Bay. From here, the story will lead to those priests and lay brothers who, following in their footsteps, died while trying to teach and preach on Florida's shores. Of special note will be the story of Fr. Blas Rodriguez, who asked his attackers for time to pray and give his belongings to the poor before he should die. These holy men, who were motivated by authentic faith to eschew earthly rewards, lived selflessly during a time when many would die or kill to gain glory. 

Once the Spanish had established a lasting presence in Florida under Pedro Menéndez de Avilés, their written records came to include the noble exploits of numerous Spanish soldiers and settlers and Native American men, women, and children. When the British slave raids began destroying the Florida missions chain in the early 1700s, hundreds of people died. These people, who put a face to the cruelty of the policy, met death with courage and sincerity. Children will be asked to consider Don Patricio, an Apalachee chief who was known as the "cacique of the poor," or Antonio Cuipa, an Apalachee second-in-command who excelled the Spanish priests as a preacher and educator, so well did he understand his people.

In the end, we hope to provide materials that allow students to flesh out Florida history and to find in it something challenging both intellectually and morally.