The Latin American, Caribbean and Latino Studies Program and the Department of History welcome Dr. J. Michael Francis who will speak on “Before Jamestown: Europeans, Africans, and Indians in La Florida, 1513-1603,” on Friday, March 3, 2017, at 3:00 PM, in room 251 ten Hoor Hall.

Dr. Francis is the Hough Family Chair of Florida Studies at the University of South Florida in St. Petersburg. He received his Ph.D.from the University of Cambridge. At the University of South Florida, he teaches classes on colonial Latin America, Early Florida History, the Spanish Borderlands, Pre-Columbian Americas, and Spanish paleography. Dr. Francis is an outstanding teacher and lecturer, with an extensive list of publications. His most recent book (coauthored with Kathleen Kole), is titled Murder and Martyrdom in Spanish Florida: Don Juan and the Guale Uprising of 1597. His next book project, titled The Martyrs of Florida, is under contract with the University Press of Florida .

Dr. Francis’ talk will give us an overview of the first hundred years of Spanish presence in Florida, their interactions with the people of African descent that they brought with them, as well as their interactions with the Native Americans who inhabited Florida during those years.

This event is sponsored by the Latin American, Caribbean and Latino Studies Program and the Department of History.

Dr. Francis will speak in 251 ten Hoor Hall at 3:00 PM on Friday, March 3, 2017.

All are welcome.