Florida was far more than just the first permanent settlement within the present boundaries of the United States; it was a strategic outpost of the Spanish Empire in American and a cradle of frontier institutions. [Note: The boundaries of Spanish Florida fluctuated greatly during the colonial period. Initially Spain claimed all territory lying between the Atlantic Ocean in the east and a north-south line drawn through the mouth of the Rio Grande in the west. The Gulf of Mexico and the Florida Keys constituted the southern limits of the province, while to the north the colony reached to the vaguely defined “land of the codfish,” probably present-day Nova Scotia.] The colony was a barrier against foreign encroachments on the Gulf of Mexico, key to the riches of New Spain, and a protection for the Bahama Channel on the route of homeward-bound Spanish treasure fleets. Settlement of Florida also kept the enemies of Spain from turning the peninsula into a haven for sea dogs and pirates who sought to prey on the galleons plying the narrow Bahama waterway. (Tepaske GSF)