The Miami region of Florida had been an area of occupancy for the Tequestas, a Native American tribe for around a thousand years. Later, the area came under the Spanish and this led to the construction of a Spanish mission there back in 1567. The Fort Dallas was built there in 1836 and the entire region was engulfed by the Second Seminole War. Located on the Miami River’s banks, Fort Dallas was an important military base. This fort rested in Union hands at the time of the American Civil War but was later abandoned.

Also known as the Florida Wars, the Seminole Wars were actually a series of clashes in Florida among Native American groups, all collectively referred to as Seminoles. Their allies as well as the US Army were also actively involved in these wars. The Second Seminole War lasted from 1835 to 1842.

Miami is supposedly the only foremost city in the USA that was envisaged by a woman named Julia Tuttle. She was a native citrus grower. In fact, the area of Miami was popularly called as “Biscayne Bay Country” during the early phase of its growth. The region had also been widely described as a promising wilderness. It was also illustrated as one among the best building sites in Florida. During the Great Freeze (1894-1895) the crops of Miami were the only ones that survived while all others collapsed. With Henry Flagler, an industrialist, Julia Tuttle managed to give official recognition to Miami as an urban centre in 1896. From a population of just over 300, the city of Miami began to prosper in the 1920s, witnessing a rise in population as well as infrastructure only to be weakened after the downfall of the land boom in Florida. The Miami Hurricane in 1926 and the 1930s Great Depression only added to its woes.

The cosmopolitan Miami provides tourists with a blend of tradition and modernity. Located in the southern tip of the State of Florida, its foremost inhabitants were the Tequesta Indians some 10,000 years ago. Their stay was comfortable until the Spanish decided to claim the land during the sixteenth century. The shift in the global outlook towards Miami happened only during the 19th century. Suddenly, the place saw itself rise as an international hotspot. Seminole Indians along with the natives of the Bahamas came to Miami and helped the residents to salvage shipwrecks. Thus, the entire culture of Miami was painted in a colorful mix of a number of varied cultures and that gives it the identity that it has now. The rich citrus grower, Julia Tuttle was the one responsible for the establishment of the city of Miami in its present form. On her persuasion, the wealthy tycoon named Henry Flagler expanded a railroad to Miami and built a layout for the city as well as a luxury hotel. With a population of only 300, Miami thus became a part of the United States of America in 1896.

After some impressive progress shown, the city was hit by a powerful hurricane in 1926, which in addition to the destruction of thousands of houses, also killed some hundred people. This led to the beginning of an even tougher time-period marked by devastating storms and the Great Depression of the 1930s. However the State jumped back impressively with the boost provided by the aviation sector and Pan Am, who succeeded in finding tourists by phrasing Miami as the “Gateway to the Americas”. This led to a surge in the economic growth of Miami and there was the added population splurge due to the World War immigrants that saw a rise in the population.