Problem Points of Various Research Methods and Prospects for Their Solution in the Study of 16th- to 18th- Century Spanish Florida

Abstract

Making use of the method and the results of Herbert Eugene Bolton, founder of the Latin American Historical Review who proved that Spanish heritage is crucial for understanding American history, the article examines some of the main questions every researcher studying 16th-centiry Spanish Florida is confronted with. The author identifies important methodological problems regarding the topic and proposes some solutions, while also initiating specific debates on the development and Christianization of Spanish Florida during the 16th to the 18th centuries. The methodological conviction of the article is that scientists cannot avoid historicism; it also shows specific problems of the narrative and typological method, as well as the potential for further analysis of such methods as source studies and documentary. One also discusses the cartographic problem and the periodization of what is considered Spanish Florida in the 16th century.