I was inspired to write my recent release Florida and the British, before the American Revolution and its next volume by Governor Ron DeSantis . His views of American history, based on how he’s articulated it repeatedly in public, are not informed by the experience of living in Florida or learning about our state, but by his education in Connecticut and Massachusetts, his ideology of hard-core constitutional originalism and the rhetoric of the Federalist Society. 

I wanted to write a multi-volume basic Florida-oriented history of the colonial period. Florida’s experience was entirely different than that of the colonies to the north of us.  This was a place runaway slaves could come and experience freedom and even be armed. This was a place where Catholicism thrived and this was a place where Native Americans played a critical role in the colonial experience.

The next volume which will be on the American revolution will put even more distance between the common narrative of American history, and what Florida went through. Reasons for Florida remaining tied to the British Empire rather than join the Patriot side were valid, and in many cases factored in the experiences and preferences of those who didn’t have freedom or weren’t accepted by the rebels from the 13 colonies to the north.

It’s a history that’s quite different from that which our Governor represents in his rhetoric about that period. The misconceptions he has pushed and the very narrow view of history he advocates which ironically avoids discussion of events in his home state, inspired me to write these very simple, basic works, which are meant as an introduction to the period and topic areas while dispelling stereotypes and misconceptions at the same time.