Juan Ponce de León, Spanish governor of Puerto Rico, discovered Florida in 1513, during his search for the legendary Fountain of Youth. Landing near the St. Johns River, he claimed the region (and all of North America) for Spain. He named it Pascua Florida (“feast of flowers,” the Spanish name for Easter). In 1528 Pánfilo de Narváez, after he was named Spanish governor of the area, explored Florida while seeking gold. Hernando De Soto traveled across the region in 1539. In 1549 Spanish priests attempting to establish the first missions there were massacred by Indians in retaliation for earlier killings of Indians by Spaniards.

French explorers, led by Jean Ribault, visited the eastern coast in 1562, while seeking to establish a colony in the New World for fugitive Huguenots (French Protestants). Frenchmen built Fort Caroline on the northeastern coast in 1564 but were killed by Spaniards the following year. The Spanish, led by Pedro Menéndez de Avilés, in 1565 had established St. Augustine, which became the first permanent European settlement in North America.

Spain retained control of Florida but was under great pressure from the English colonies to the north. In 1763 the Spanish were forced to cede the region to Great Britain. Two British colonies, East and West Florida, were created, and at the start of the American Revolution many Tories from the north fled there. During the war, Spain captured West Florida. After the war, Britain officially returned both Floridas to Spain.