Heading for the Keys with Bluegreen? Florida vacation wasn’t really a concept in 3,000 B.C. but that’s when the first Native Americans allegedly arrived. And while early inhabitants were not wearing Tommy Bahama shirts and
Tweeting their activities, they were assuredly barefoot, drinking fruity drinks and eating lots of delicious seafood.
These native Indians, which were either related to the Calusa of southwest Florida or the more peaceful Tequesta (who lived near the mouth of the Miami River), are the far-lesser-known inhabitants during the rich Keys history. They had an abundance of natural resources: food from the sea, and palm trees, which provide food, drink and building materials. The lack of fresh water sources must have been a real challenge. But the Indians were eventually wiped out by a combination of poxes from white men: disease, swords, guns, and one item more closely associated with the Keys of today: rum. By about 1750, there were no Indians left.
Ponce de Leon made history when his expedition arrived here in the 1500s. He was allegedly looking for the Fountain of Youth, and while today’s bar-lined Duval Street in Key West has that effect on many, Ponce made note of the towering mahogany trees that grew in the islands, and knew he’d found a fountain of logging income. (After many discoveries along the Florida coastline, DeLeon was eventually killed by a Calusa Indian’s poisoned arrow, during an expedition to southwest Florida).
Early Spanish explorers gave the Keys their name of "Cayos" (Keys). These Spaniards were less than impressed, due to lack of water, lack of gold, and tropical insects. But a large number of islands in the chain keep part of their original name, including Cayo Largo (Key Largo). Hundreds of Spanish Galleons eventually passed through the Keys on their way home from Central America, where they’d found the gold they sought, but shallow waters and coral reefs doomed many of these expeditions. “Wreckers would go out and salvage the cargo and ships, and save the crew,” says Monroe County Historian Tom Hambright.
Wrecking was taken up by British soldiers who had settled in the Bahamas after losing the Revolutionary War, explains Hambright. “You got rewarded on what you saved, including the value of the ship, usually about 20-25%. It was quite lucrative. But to get your license, you had to be an American citizen. Many of the castaways from those days also wound up as island residents. There were also slave hunters.
Early fishermen in the Keys came from Cuba. These friendly and hard-working Cubanos lived under Spanish rule while plying their bounty from the sea. Their outposts were called
Ranchos. “Records are sketchy,” says Harbright, “but most seemed to come over only in the winter. They were catching and drying mullet, and taking them to the poor people of Havana for Lent. In those days, the Church was very strict and you had to give up meat, so they took home mullet. It was easy to dry and smoke. Occasionally I’ve seen big schools of mullet come in here in the wintertime, but it’s rare now.”
In the 1800s, American anglers began visiting during cold New England winters, and catches were reduced. But the hook was set, and the Florida Keys would forever be known as a great place to fish. Fishing is still one of the top things to do in the Keys during Bluegreen vacations. Media, primitive as it was in the 1800s, picked up on the angler’s angle, and tourism was born. With them came even more fishermen looking for a better life. In the period from 1820 to 1900, the Keys became a busy maritime hub, with a constant flow of goods from and to Havana, Cuba and Nassau, in The Bahamas. Today, the tradition continues at Bluegreen's The Hammocks at Marathon Resort, albeit with flip-flips and umbrella drinks. Viva la Keys!
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