| Tampa | |
| |
| Nation: | France |
|---|---|
| Region: | Florida |
| Info: | Conquerable Port
This port has a Natural Harbor |
| Resources: | Fertile Soil Fertile Soil (Sugar) Fertile Soil (Grapes) Limestone Guano Caves Natural Harbor |
| NPC Level: | Unknown |
Part of the French Economic Tutorial takes place here.
History[]
Because they did not leave written records, not much is known about the cultures who called the Tampa Bay area home before European contact. When the first Spanish explorers arrived in the 1520s, they found a ring of Tocobaga villages around the northern half of Tampa Bay from modern-day Pinellas County to Tampa and Calusa villages along the southern portion of the bay in modern-day Manatee County.
Expeditions led by Pánfilo de Narváez and Hernando de Soto landed near Tampa to look for gold and possibly start a colony. But neither conquistador stayed in the region for long once it became clear that the only riches to be found in the area was the abundant fish and shellfish in the waters of the bay. The native inhabitants, who derived most of their resources from the sea, were not interested in sharing and repulsed any Spanish attempt to establish a permanent settlement or convert them to Catholicism.
However, the newcomers brought a weapon against which the natives had no defense: infectious disease. Archeological evidence reveals a total collapse of the native cultures of Florida in the years after European contact. Its native villages abandoned and disregarded by its colonial owners, the Tampa area would be depopulated and ignored for more than 200 years.
Source: Wikipedia article on Tampa, Florida
Alternate History[]
Following the defeat of the Spanish in Florida at St. Augustine and the end of the Wars of Religion in France relative stability came to the colony. Successive waves of immigrants settled around the Florida coast, first at Grenville and then in Tampa Bay. With the constant threat of Spanish attack from Cuba and pirate raids from nearby Carlos Harbour the garrison is on constant alert.