Preliminary Table of Contents - List of Figures; List of Tables; Introduction by Walter Nugent and Malcolm Rohrbough; Preface; 1. The Secrets of the Land; 2. Discovering the Secrets; 3. The Spanish Tidewater Frontier, Part I, 1562-1586; 4. The Tidewater Frontier, Second Phase, 1586-1608; 5. The Inland Frontier, 1608-1650; 6. Death, Rebellion, A New Accommodation, and New Defenses - La Florida's Frontiers, 1650-1680; 7. The First Contests with the English, 1680-1702; 8. The Military Frontier At Last; 9. New Tidewater Frontiers, 1763-1790; 10. The American Frontier Envelopes East Florida, 1790-1821; 11. The American Frontiers, 1821-1860; Appendix - U.S. Confirmed British and Spanish Land Grants, 1764-1820; Notes; Bibliography; Index

Paul E. Hoffman is Professor of History at Louisiana State University and author of several books including the prize-winning A New Andalucia and a Way to the Orient: The American Southeast during the Sixteenth Century. He is honored by LSU with appointment as the Paul W. and Nancy W. Murrill Distinguished Professor.

Hoffman's expertise in the history of the Spanish borderlands is evident as he recounts the story of Florida's frontiers from the age of the entrada to the period of the American settlements. The author's familiarity with the sources is clear as he carefully presents Spain's repeated attempts to overcome Native American resistance, weather, geography, and its own colonial system to establish a successful colony. Thanks to his understanding of the documents and knowledge of recent research, Hoffman (Louisiana State Univ.) unfolds the Spanish-Indian story as instrumental in grasping the first 125 years of La Florida after the arrival of the Europeans. Spanish dependence on the Native peoples for food and labor is clear. Warfare with English and French imperial rivals increased the pressure on this outpost of Spain's global empire, but La Florida survived until overwhelmed by the rising numbers of immigrants from the US. The presence of 642 Europeans in 1574, compared to the 35,000 present in 1830, may reveal something about Spain's potential for success. With numerous highly useful maps and informative figures and tables, Hoffman's volume will inform readers at every level. Upper-division undergraduates and above.--J. H. O'Donnell III, Marietta College"Choice" (01/01/2002)