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The Castillo de San Marcos in St. Augustine is Florida's dominant Spanish Colonial landmark. Construction of the fortress, which took a quarter century, was completed in 1696. With walls 16 feet thick at the base and protected by moat, the Castillo was never taken by force. The principal material is coquina, a sedimentary rock formed from billions of tiny seashells and quarried nearby. Most of the laborof quarrying and building was performed by Indians under the supervision of Spanish artisans.

Four centuries ago a 50-mile stretch of Florida's east coast witnessed the first conflict between Europeans in North America. In the years that followed, three nations shaped the area's history: Spain, who claimed it on the basis of discovery; France, who challenged that claim, alleging early exploration; and England, a latecomer in colonial expansion, who stood by waiting to develop the strength to take what she wanted. But the United States-a nation then unborn-won the land.