1.
Fort Lauderdale, Florida
–
Fort Lauderdale /ˌfɔərt ˈlɔːdərdeɪl/ is a city in the U. S. state of Florida,28 miles north of Miami. It is the county seat of Broward County, as of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 165,521. It is a city of the Miami metropolitan area, which was home to an estimated 6,012,331 people at the 2015 census. The city is a popular tourist destination, with an average temperature of 75.5 °F and 3,000 hours of sunshine per year. Greater Fort Lauderdale which takes in all of Broward County hosted 12 million visitors in 2012, the district has 561 hotels and motels comprising nearly 35,000 rooms. Forty six cruise ships sailed from Port Everglades in 2012, greater Fort Lauderdale has over 4,000 restaurants,63 golf courses,12 shopping malls,16 museums,132 nightclubs,278 parkland campsites, and 100 marinas housing 45,000 resident yachts. Fort Lauderdale is named after a series of forts built by the United States during the Second Seminole War, the forts took their name from Major William Lauderdale, younger brother of Lieutenant Colonel James Lauderdale. William Lauderdale was the commander of the detachment of soldiers who built the first fort, however, development of the city did not begin until 50 years after the forts were abandoned at the end of the conflict. The area in which the city of Fort Lauderdale would later be founded was inhabited for more two thousand years by the Tequesta Indians. For the Tequesta, disease, coupled with continuing conflict with their Calusa neighbors, although control of the area changed between Spain, United Kingdom, the United States, and the Confederate States of America, it remained largely undeveloped until the 20th century. The Fort Lauderdale area was known as the New River Settlement before the 20th century, in the 1830s there were approximately 70 settlers living along the New River. William Cooley, the local Justice of the Peace, was a farmer and wrecker, who traded with the Seminole Indians. On January 6,1836, while Cooley was leading an attempt to salvage a ship, a band of Seminoles attacked his farm, killing his wife and children. The first United States stockade named Fort Lauderdale was built in 1838, the fort was abandoned in 1842, after the end of the war, and the area remained virtually unpopulated until the 1890s. The city was incorporated in 1911, and in 1915 was designated the county seat of newly formed Broward County, Fort Lauderdales first major development began in the 1920s, during the Florida land boom of the 1920s. The 1926 Miami Hurricane and the Great Depression of the 1930s caused a deal of economic dislocation. In July 1935, an African-American man named Rubin Stacy was accused of robbing a woman at knife point. He was arrested and being transported to a Miami jail when police were run off the road by a mob, a group of 100 white men proceeded to hang Stacy from a tree near the scene of his alleged robbery
2.
Nassau, Bahamas
–
Nassau is the capital, largest city, and commercial centre of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas. The city has an population of 274,400 as of 2016. The city is located on the island of New Providence, which much like a business district. Nassau is the site of the House of Assembly and various departments and was considered historically to be a stronghold of pirates. The city was named in honour of William III of England, nassaus modern growth began in the late eighteenth century, with the influx of thousands of American Loyalists and their slaves to the Bahamas following the American Revolutionary War. Many of them settled in Nassau and eventually came to outnumber the original inhabitants, as the population of Nassau grew, so did its populated areas. Today the city dominates the island and its satellite, Paradise Island. However, until the post-Second World War era, the outer suburbs scarcely existed, most of New Providence was uncultivated bush until Loyalists were resettled there following the American Revolutionary War, they established several plantations, such as Clifton and Tusculum. In addition, slaves freed from American ships, such as the Creole case in 1841, were allowed to settle there, Nassau was formerly known as Charles Town, it was burned to the ground by the Spanish in 1684 during one of their frequent wars with the English. The name Nassau derives from the House of Nassau and ultimately from the town of Nassau, due to a lack of effective Governors, Nassau fell on hard times. In 1703 Spanish and French allied forces briefly occupied Nassau, from 1703 to 1718 there was no governor in the colony and by 1713, the sparsely settled Bahamas had become a pirate haven. The Governor of Bermuda stated that there were over 1,000 pirates in Nassau and they proclaimed Nassau a pirate republic, establishing themselves as governors. Examples of pirates that used Nassau as their base are Charles Vane, Thomas Barrow, Benjamin Hornigold, Calico Jack Rackham, Anne Bonny, Mary Read, in 1718, the British sought to regain control of the islands and appointed Captain Woodes Rogers as Royal governor. He successfully clamped down on the pirates, reformed the civil administration, Rogers cleaned up Nassau and rebuilt the fort, using his own wealth to try to overcome problems. In 1720 the Spanish made an attempt to capture Nassau. During the wars in the Thirteen Colonies, Nassau experienced an economic boom, with funds from privateering, a new fort, street lights and over 2300 sumptuous houses were built and Nassau was extended. In addition to this, mosquito breeding swamps were filled, in 1778 after an overnight invasion, American raiders led by Captain Rathburn, left with ships, gunpowder and military stores after stopping in Nassau for only two days. In 1782 Spain captured Nassau for the last time when Don Juan de Cagigal, governor-general of Cuba, attacked New Providence with 5000 men
3.
Fort Lauderdale High School
–
Fort Lauderdale High School is a high school located in Fort Lauderdale, Florida serving students in grades 9 through 12. The school is a part of the Broward County Public Schools district, founded in 1899 as a school for whites, the high school is the oldest continuously functioning high school in Broward County, Florida, and the oldest in South Florida. Fort Lauderdale High has an FCAT School grade of A for the 2011-2012 school year, on October 2,1899, Fort Lauderdale’s first school would open in what was then Dade County. Ivy Cromartie welcomed nine students into a wood-framed schoolhouse located on South Andrews Avenue, by 1901, there were 18 students enrolled at Fort Lauderdale with only 997 enrolled in all of Dade County. In 1902 the School Board began offering transportation to students living in Hallandale who needed to attend school, each day, students would climb aboard wagons for the ride. By 1910, Fort Lauderdale’s population had enough to require the building of a new school so. The “modern” two-story concrete school was constructed for a total cost of $7,000, at the time, Fort Lauderdale was the only high school in the 68-mile stretch between Miami and West Palm Beach. By 1914, enrollment reached 325 with only 47 being high school students, in 1915, a 46 to 16 vote led the way for construction of a new Fort Lauderdale High School in the newly designated Broward County. The new school was located three blocks east of Andrews Avenue adjacent to Stranahan Park and was constructed for $55,000, the school was also referred to as Central High School because of the large area it served. The first graduating class in 1915 consisted of five boys, by 1916, it could boast that all nine of its teachers had college degrees. In 1924, Fort Lauderdale established its first Honor Society,1962 saw the opening of the new Fort Lauderdale High School at its present location on NE Fourth Avenue, with its first graduating class celebrating commencement in June,1963. The past few years have seen changes to the FLHS campus, most notably the opening of a new three-story classroom building, a modern library. 2007 also saw the renaming of NE4 Ave between the city divider and NE13 St as “Flying L Drive” in honor of the commitment to education. The project was completed by a group of four students in John Pellegrinos Public Affairs class, a college preparatory program designed for those interested in careers in Law, Criminal Justice, and Public Affairs. Because of its location in the county seat, the program allows access to governmental agencies that are utilized as “living laboratories” for the ultimate learning experience. Students participate in trials in a courtroom housed within the school as well as take field trips to the Broward County Courthouse to witness actual trials. Due to the high interest of its students in Pre-Law, the FLHS debate team is one of the best in the state, allows for students to take more Advanced Placement courses, putting them ahead when they enter college. They offer a variety of AP courses from Art to History to English
4.
University of Miami
–
The University of Miami is a private, nonsectarian research university in Coral Gables, Florida, United States. As of 2015, the university enrolls 16,848 students in 12 separate colleges/schools, the university offers 116 undergraduate,105 masters, and 63 doctoral degree programs, of which 59 are research/scholarship and four professional areas of study. Over the years, the students have represented all 50 states. With more than 14,000 full and part-time faculty and staff, uM’s main campus in Coral Gables has 239 acres and over 5.7 million square feet of buildings. In the 2017 U. S. News and World Report study of colleges and universities, Research is a component of each academic division, with UM attracting $346.6 million per year in sponsored research grants. UM offers a library system with over 3.1 million volumes and exceptional holdings in Cuban heritage. UM also offers a range of student activities, including fraternities and sororities. UMs intercollegiate athletic teams, collectively known as the Miami Hurricanes, UMs football team has won five national championships since 1983 and its baseball team has won four national championships since 1982. They believed that a university would benefit their community. They were overly optimistic about future financial support for UM because the South Florida land boom was at its peak, the university began in earnest in 1925 when George E. Merrick, the founder of Coral Gables, gave 160 acres and nearly $5 million, to the effort. These contributions were land contracts and mortgages on real estate that had sold in the city. The university was chartered on April 18,1925 by the Circuit Court for Dade County. By the fall of 1926, when the first class of 372 students enrolled at UM, the boom had collapsed. For the next 15 years the university barely remained solvent, the construction of the first building on campus, now known as the Merrick Building, was left half built for over two decades due to economic difficulties. In the meantime, classes were held at the nearby Anastasia Hotel, with partitions separating classrooms, in 1929, Walsh and the other members of the Board of Regents resigned in the wake of the collapse of the Florida economy. UMs plight was so severe that students went door to door in Coral Gables collecting funds to keep it open, a reconstituted ten-member Board was chaired by UMs first president Bowman Foster Ashe. The new board included Merrick, Theodore Dickinson, E. B, douglas, David Fairchild, James H. Gilman, Richardson Saunders, Frank B. Shutts, Joseph H. Adams, and J. C, in 1930, several faculty members and more than 60 students came to UM when the University of Havana closed due to political unrest
5.
Florida State University
–
Florida State University is an American public space-grant and sea-grant research university. Its primary campus is located on a 1,391. 54-acre campus in Tallahassee, Florida and it is a senior member of the State University System of Florida. Founded in 1851, it is located on the oldest continuous site of higher education in the state of Florida, the university is classified as a Research University with Very High Research by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. The university comprises 16 separate colleges and more than 110 centers, facilities, labs and institutes that offer more than 360 programs of study, the university has an annual budget of over $1.7 billion and an annual economic impact of over $10 billion. Florida State is home to Floridas only National Laboratory – the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory and is the birthplace of the commercially viable anti-cancer drug Taxol. Florida State University also operates The John & Mable Ringling Museum of Art, the university is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. Florida State University leads Florida in four of eight areas of external funding for the STEM disciplines, FSU officially launched the Raise the Torch, The Campaign for Florida State on October 17,2014. The campaign has a goal of more than $1 billion which will improve academics, research. As of September 30,2016, Florida State Universitys Raise the Torch campaign has raised $938,972,249, for 2017, U. S. News & World Report ranked Florida State as the 38th best public university in the United States. FSUs intercollegiate sports teams, commonly known by their Florida State Seminoles nickname, compete in National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I, in their 113-year history, Florida States varsity sports teams have won 20 national athletic championships and Seminole athletes have won 78 individual NCAA national championships. In 1819 the Florida Territory was ceded to the United States by Spain as an element of the Adams–Onís Treaty, the Territory was conventionally split by the Appalachicola or later the Suwannee rivers into East and West areas. Florida State University is traceable to a set by the 1823 U. S. Congress to create a system of higher education. The 1838 Florida Constitution codified the system by providing for land allocated for the schools. In 1845 Florida became the 27th State of the United States, in 1851 the Florida Legislature voted to establish two seminaries of higher education on opposite sides of the Suwannee River. Francis W. Eppes and other city leaders established an academy called the Florida Institute in Tallahassee as a legislative inducement to locate the West Florida Seminary in Tallahassee. The East Florida Seminary opened in Ocala in 1853, closed in 1861, the East Florida Seminary is the institution to which the modern University of Florida traces its foundation. Two years later the institution absorbed the Tallahassee Female Academy founded in 1843 as the Misses Bates School, the West Florida Seminary stood near the front of the Westcott Building on the existing FSU campus, making this site the oldest continually used location of higher learning in Florida. In 1860–61 the legislature started formal training at the school with a law amending the original 1851 statute
6.
Tallahassee, Florida
–
Tallahassee /ˌtæləˈhæsi/ is the capital of the U. S. state of Florida. It is the county seat and only incorporated municipality in Leon County, Tallahassee became the capital of Florida, then the Florida Territory, in 1824. In 2015, the population was 189,907, making the city the 126th-largest city in the United States, the population of the Tallahassee metropolitan area was 377,924 as of 2015. Tallahassee is the largest city in the Northwest Florida region as well as the center for trade and agriculture in the Florida Big Bend. Tallahassee is home to Florida State University, ranked the nations thirty-eighth best public university by U. S. News & World Report and it is also home to the Florida A&M University, one of the countrys largest historically black universities by total enrollment. Tallahassee is home to the Florida State Capitol, Supreme Court of Florida, Florida Governors Mansion, the city is also known for its large number of law firms, lobbying organizations, trade associations and professional associations, including the Florida Bar and the Florida Chamber of Commerce. It is also a regional center for scientific research. In 2015, Tallahassee was awarded the All-American City Award by the National Civic League for the second time, Tallahassee is currently ranked as the 18th best college town in the nation by Best College Reviews. During the 17th century several Spanish missions were established in the territory of the Apalachee to procure food, the largest, Mission San Luis de Apalachee, has been partially reconstructed by the state of Florida. They found large areas of cleared land previously occupied by the Apalachee tribe, earlier, the Mississippian Indians built mounds near Lake Jackson around AD1200, which survive today in the Lake Jackson Archaeological State Park. The expedition of Pánfilo de Narváez encountered the Apalachees, although it did not reach the site of Tallahassee, hernando de Soto and his expedition occupied the Apalachee town of Anhaica in what is now Tallahassee in the winter of 1538–1539. Based on archaeological excavations this site is now known to be located about 0.5 miles east of the present Florida State Capitol, the DeSoto encampment is believed to be the first place Christmas was celebrated in the continental United States. During the First Seminole War, General Andrew Jackson fought two separate skirmishes in and around Tallahassee, the first battle took place on November 12,1817. Chief Neamathla, of the village of Fowltown, just west of present day Tallahassee had refused Jacksons orders to relocate, Jackson responded by entering the village, burning it to the ground, and driving off its occupants. The Indians later retaliated, by killing 50 soldiers and civilians, Jackson reentered Florida in March 1818. According to Jacksons adjutant, Colonel Robert Butler, they advanced on the Indian village called Tallahasse two of the enemy were made prisoner, Tallahassee became the capital of Florida during the second legislative session. It was chosen as it was equidistant from St. Augustine and Pensacola. The first session of Floridas Legislative Council—as a territory of the United States—met on July 22,1822 at Pensacola, the second session was in St. Augustine and required western delegates to travel perilously around the peninsula on a twenty-eight-day trek
7.
Grand Cayman
–
Grand Cayman is the largest of the three Cayman Islands and the location of the territorys capital, George Town. In relation to the other two Cayman Islands, it is approximately 75 miles southwest of Little Cayman and 90 miles southwest of Cayman Brac, Grand Cayman encompasses 76% of the territorys entire land mass. The island is approximately 22 miles long with its widest point being 8 miles wide, the elevation ranges from sea level at the beaches to 60 feet above sea level on the North Sides Mastic Trail. Grand Cayman Island includes five of the six districts of the Cayman Islands, Bodden Town, East End, George Town, North Side, and West Bay. Bodden Town - Founded in the 1700s, Bodden Town district comprises the part of Grand Cayman Island. The village of Bodden Town was the capital of the Cayman Islands. Its population is listed at 5,764. East End - The East End district is located at the east side of Grand Cayman Island and consists mostly of the Village of East End, numerous attractions, restaurants. Its population is listed at 1,371. George Town - The capital of the Cayman Islands and world-famous centre for offshore banking, North Side - Includes Kaibo, Rum Point, and Breakers. Its population is listed at 1,079. Sand Point Cove in Rum Point is home to a Bioluminescent Bay or Bio Bay, West Bay - Has numerous tourist attractions including the Cayman Turtle Farm and the Cayman Motor Museum. Towns in the West Bay district include Seven Mile Beach, Hell and its population is currently listed at 8,243. The remaining district is Sister Islands, which consists of the islands of Cayman Brac and its population is currently listed at 1,937. Of the flora, a representation of the variety of plant life on Grand Cayman can be found at the Queen Elizabeth II Botanic Park located in the North Side District. Wild banana orchids, ghost orchids, thatch palm trees, red birch trees, mahogany trees and various fruit trees such as avocado, mango, guinep, naseberry, breadfruit, and tamarind. Yellow mastics, black mastics are also seen in the park as well as on the 2 miles -long Mastic Trail, elsewhere outside the park, all of these species can be seen around Grand Cayman, including coconut palm, Casuarina pine, mangrove, and poinciana trees. Fauna seen in locations around the island include blue iguanas, Grand Cayman amazon parrots, Central American agouti, and Gecarcinus ruricola
8.
Seven Mile Beach, Grand Cayman
–
Seven Mile Beach is a long crescent of coral-sand beach on the western end of Grand Cayman island. Seven Mile Beach is known for its beauty, recently receiving the honor of The Caribbeans Best Beach from Caribbean Travel and it is public property and one is able to walk the full length of the beach, regardless of where you are staying. The Seven Mile Beach is the most popular and most developed area of Grand Cayman and it is home to the majority of the islands luxury resorts and hotels. Despite the name, a generous measurement puts the actual length at just a bit over 6.3 miles long, a realistic length for the uninterrupted sandy beach is about 6 miles. The beach falls victim to erosion, which has reduced its size in some areas. Like the rest of Grand Cayman, the development around the Seven Mile Beach was severely damaged in Hurricane Ivan in September 2004, restaurants open to the public can be found at most of the resorts, which includes several public beach bars. Some small reefs are located just off shore which offer good snorkelling, most notably by the Marriott hotel, Government House, and just north of Seven Mile Public beach
9.
Hell, Grand Cayman
–
Hell is a group of short, black, limestone formations located in Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands. Located in West Bay, it is roughly the size of half a football field, visitors are not permitted to walk on the limestone formations but viewing platforms are provided. There are numerous versions of how Hell received its name, but they are variations on a ministration exclaimed. And Where the hell are you from, ironically, some of the stores in the area feature prominent quotations from the Bible on their sides. This is due to the pious and religious nature of Caymanian society, Hell is a unique formation which is characterized by jagged, spongy pinnacles of black-covered limestone. This phytokarst formation is produced when attacking filamentous algae interact with the Ironshore Formation limestone present at this location, phytokarst is a distinctive landform resulting from a curious type of biologic erosion. Filamentous algae bore their way into limestone to produce black-coated, jagged pinnacles marked by delicate, ordinary rainfall-produced karst and littoral karst are characterized by flat-bottomed pans and vertically oriented flutes, thus differing from phytokarst. Algae attack by dissolving calcite preferentially to dolomite, the ironshore karst is a special type, both in terms of its texture and origin. First, texture – it is a black, random spongework of pits, jagged ridges and it is developed in a narrow strip just above the tide line on ancient limestone rocks. If you break off a piece, you see that the black color is present near the surface. Second, origin – it is being dissolved largely by algae, bacteria and these tiny organisms bore into the rock and dissolve the calcite crystals. They are most dense within a centimeter or so at the surface, why this results in the characteristic macro-texture is not fully understood, but you always see the two elements together so they must be linked somehow. It is clear that proximity to the environment is key. Maybe the splash, spray and mist from the waves breaking provide just enough moisture to sustain the algae, so, when you travel around the Caribbean, look at the rocky shoreline, if it is limestone, biokarst may be well developed. The most famous occurrence is at a place called Hell on Grand Cayman
10.
Reggae
–
Reggae is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A1968 single by Toots and the Maytals Do the Reggay was the first popular song to use the word reggae, effectively naming the genre, Reggae usually relates news, social gossip, and political comment. Reggae spread into a commercialized jazz field, being known first as ‘Rudie Blues’, then ‘Ska’, later ‘Blue Beat’ and it is instantly recognizable from the counterpoint between the bass and drum downbeat, and the offbeat rhythm section. The immediate origins of reggae were in ska and rock steady, from the latter, stylistically, reggae incorporates some of the musical elements of rhythm and blues, jazz, mento, calypso, African music, as well as other genres. One of the most easily recognizable elements is offbeat rhythms, staccato chords played by a guitar or piano on the offbeats of the measure, the tempo of reggae is usually slower than ska but faster than rocksteady. The concept of call and response can be found throughout reggae music, the genre of reggae music is led by the drum and bass. The bass guitar often plays the dominant role in reggae, the bass sound in reggae is thick and heavy, and equalized so the upper frequencies are removed and the lower frequencies emphasized. The guitar in reggae usually plays on the off beat of the rhythm and it is common for reggae to be sung in Jamaican Patois, Jamaican English, and Iyaric dialects. Reggae is noted for its tradition of criticism and religion in its lyrics, although many reggae songs discuss lighter, more personal subjects, such as love. Reggae has spread to countries across the world, often incorporating local instruments. Reggae en Español spread from the mainland South America countries of Venezuela, Caribbean music in the United Kingdom, including reggae, has been popular since the late 1960s, and has evolved into several subgenres and fusions. Many reggae artists began their careers in the UK, and there have been a number of European artists and bands drawing their inspiration directly from Jamaica, Reggae in Africa was boosted by the visit of Bob Marley to Zimbabwe in 1980. In Jamaica, authentic reggae is one of the biggest sources of income, the 1967 edition of the Dictionary of Jamaican English lists reggae as a recently estab. Sp. for rege, as in rege-rege, a word that can mean either rags, ragged clothing or a quarrel, a row. Reggae as a term first appeared in print with the 1968 rocksteady hit Do the Reggay by The Maytals which named the genre of Reggae for the world. Reggae historian Steve Barrow credits Clancy Eccles with altering the Jamaican patois word streggae into reggae, however, Toots Hibbert said, Theres a word we used to use in Jamaica called streggae. If a girl is walking and the look at her and say Man, shes streggae it means she dont dress well
