Miami / Miami Beach
The city of Miami lies on the south-east side of the Florida peninsula, separated from the Atlantic Ocean by the Biscayne Bay lagoon and Miami Beach with its huge hotels and apartment blocks. Miami's pleasant winter climate has led to its mushroom
growth into a vastly popular holiday destination that draws more than 8 million visitors every year. It has the world's biggest passenger seaport, a port of call for numerous cruise ships, and a large international airport. It has more than 600 large and medium-sized hotels, numerous motels, several thousand restaurants and cafes and some 50 foreign consulates - reflecting the city's importance as a center for business and holiday travelers.
The first European to sail into Biscayne Bay was the Spanish navigator Ponce de Leon in 1513. In 1567 Spanish Jesuits established the mission station of Tequesta, on the site of Miami, and the settlement which grew up round it became a base for the Spanish silver fleet on its voyage to Europe. After the Spanish withdrawal in 1821 the first American settlers came here to grow cotton and tropical crops. In 1871 William Brickell established a trading post on the estuary of the Miami River (the Indian name Mayami means "Great Water"). Five years later Julia Tuttle, an incomer from the North, acquired a considerable area of land to the north of the river, and on her initiative Henry M. Flagler extended his East Coast Railroad to Miami in 1895-96. The Royal Palm Hotel was then built at the rail terminus. The Spanish-American War of 1898 brought great profits to Miami. The development of the offshore island of Miami Beach now began. During the Second World War Miami was a hospital and recreation center. A building boom began after the war that is ongoing today.
Fidel Castro's revolution on Cuba led many Cubans to leave home and settle in the Miami area, and Cuban refugees played a considerable part in the development of the Miami area. In the early eighties there was another migration from Cuba. This period also saw an influx of refugees from Haiti, who for the most part live the life of underdogs in the Miami area. In August 1992 Hurricane Andrew devastated much of southern Florida.
Miami is an important and influential cultural centre with linguistic ties to North American, South and Central America as well as the Caribbean. The city has three official languages - English, Spanis and French Creole. It has the largest Spanish-speaking population in the western hemisphere, aside from Latin America.
The beaches of Greater Miami are a major highlight for the tourist industry, drawing visitors from around the world. Miami is also home to two national parks, the Everglades and Biscayne. Biscayne National Park has the only living tropical reef in the continental United States.
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