[BOTY]

Originally Posted by 99 pewtercoupe

Actually, the first European settlers came to the island in the 1500s so the history is a lot older.

History[edit]
The island was named for Princess Amelia, daughter of George II of Great Britain,[2] and changed hands between colonial powers a number of times. It is claimed that eight flags have flown over Amelia Island: French, Spanish, British, Floridian/Patriot, Green Cross, Mexican, Confederate, and United States.[3]

Early European settlement[edit]
American Indian bands associated with the Timucua people settled on the island around 1000, which they called Napoyca.[4] They remained there until the early 18th century.[5] In 1562, French Huguenot explorer Jean Ribault became the first recorded European visitor to Napoyca, and he named the island Île de Mai.[6][7] In 1565, Spanish forces led by Pedro Menendez de Aviles drove the French from northeastern Florida by attacking their stronghold at Fort Caroline on the Rivière de Mai (later called Río de San Juan by the Spanish, and later the St. Johns River in English).[8] They killed Ribault and perhaps 350 other French colonists who had been shipwrecked further down the coast.[9]