Socioeconomic developments in the Tampa Bay area during reconstruction

Abstract

After the U.S. Civil War, plentiful and varied natural resources, combined with a sizeable, multicultural population influx, led to the increased development of the lumber, fishing, citrus and cattle industries in the Tampa Bay area, on the Gulf coast of Florida. These industries all had the Cuban market in common, but different segments of society concentrated on different industries, with varying outcomes. White native Tampans, with a few notable exceptions, made the fewest economic gains during the era, which to some degree leveled the playing field going into the Gilded Age, thereby making the Tampa Bay area relatively unique within the former Confederacy.