HISTORY OF PILOTING IN FLORIDA Between 1608.and 1620, the Spanish explorers completed their coastal survey of the east and west coasts of Florida and prepared the first reliable "mapas"(or charts) of coastal Florida. These charts, many of which were prepared in part by "Piloto" Diego Gonzalez, allowed other navigators to travel the waters with some safety. On one of the earliest maps of Florida, an area of Maimi, now known as Lake Okeechobee, had the same sounding name as Miami. It was called Maimi River and Maimi Bay (also called Bocas de Miguel de Mora) but unlike today's Pronunciation, Miami was pronounced My-me, following the Calusa Indians' pronunciation. By the end of the 17th century several forts were built close to the seacoast to provide greater defense of the region and the growing lumber industry. Forts were established in Tampa, Pensacola and Apalachicola. Local pilots were engaged to help ships navigate the coast with maximum safety In 1698, the first map of Pensacola was prepared. About this time, Pensacola became the busiest coastal region in Florida, functioning much like a modern-day port. A bustling trading area, Pensacola was often counted on as an important defense of the Florida coast. In 1763, Florida was transferred to British rule for a period of 20 years (until just after the American Revolutionary War). Florida pilots, for this short period of time, came under British pilotage laws. In 1774, the "Recopilacion de las Leyes de Indias" (recompiling of the Laws of the Indies) was published in Madrid. It regulated piloting and navigation. Later these laws were also applied to Florida when the colony was returned to Spanish rule in 1783. Between 1781 and 1810 Spain suffered tremendous defeats at sea and met with great political uprisings in America. This led to the independence of most of Spanish colonies. Ultimately, in 1818, Andrew Jackson led a United States invasion of the area and Spain ceded Florida to the United States in 1819. By 1822, Florida became a territory established a governor and legislative council. Seventeen years later in 1839, the legislative board began licensing pilots. Florida's first comprehensive statute regarding Pilot Commissioners, pilots and pilotage dates back to August 3rd, 1868, when Chapter 1670 (the precursor of the present Chapter 310) was approved. After 1868, Pilot associations were finally formed to unify pilot efforts, coordinate the safety of vessels and to stabilize pilot service. Before pilot associations were formed piloting was a highly competitive and often dangerous mad race to the sea. Until 1872 ships paid "offshore pilotage." This meant that if a pilot "spoke a ship" and boarded beyond the arc of visibility of the port's outermost and highest navigational aid, he was paid an additional sum which equaled one-fourth the customary rate. Gradually offshore pilotage was abandoned in favor of the bar pilot system in which pilots are engage at the harbor entrance. The evolution of pilot regulation was three fold. First, the licensing of the pilots. Second, the expansion of government regulation as needed and third, the development of port associations. The need to maximize the safety of life, ship and property as well as the need to preserve the natural environment, has never changed through the centuries.. The Florida State Pilots Association has, since its verybeginnings, focused on those very objectives. SPANISH HISTORY