[Desron13]

"There's a good reason why the Spanish in Florida are not part of American history. They were the ENEMY."

Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't old Andrew Jackson give the Spanish governor of Florida two weeks to pack up and clear out or he would come down there with an army and "hang him from the nearest tree"? Seems to me that pretty much did it for Spanish history in Florida until we received our Cuban guests thanks to the kind ministrations of Fidel Castro.

[Clemenza]

There were Cubans and Spaniards in the Tampa and Key West area in the late 19th century who came to work in the cigar factories in those two cities. In Tampa, they were joined by the Sicillians in the 1900s.

Of course, the big story in Florida is how the old cracker elite (ranchers and citrus farmers) were displaced by "yankees" (who now make up the majority of the population of Florida) who were involved in real estate and finance.

I spent my high school years (1990-1994) in South Florida, and never once heard a southern accent or saw the St. Andrew's Cross being flown.